Women for Himes Event at Sherman Green

Fairfield Citizen, Thursday, August 12, 2010

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, gearing up for the home stretch of his re-election campaign against state Sen. Dan Debicella, R-Shelton, on Thursday reached out to female voters during a stop at Fairfield's Sherman Green for a rally with an advocacy group, Women for Himes.

Mary Himes, the candidate's wife and honorary co-chairman of the group, was among the speakers at the campaign event. "Jim is the candidate who has integrity, determination and energy," she told the gathering of about 30 female political leaders, businesswomen and activists.

"Now you know why I have to be such a strong advocate for women," the freshman congressman joked as he began his short speech. "Otherwise my wife will move my keys."

Himes highlighted three key issues -- education, equal pay and reproductive rights -- that he feels make his candidacy more appealing to women than his opponent, Debicella, who won Tuesday's primary for the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District with approximately 65 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

Citing a moral duty to empower females as well as help end the nation's recession, Himes urged greater educational opportunities for women. The benefits of such an initiative hold "true in Pakistan, true in France, true in Fairfield County," the congressman said. To help achieve that goal, Himes cited a bill that won approval this week with his support, allocating $10 billion to school districts to both re-hire laid-off teachers and protect against deeper layoffs before the coming school year. The legislation is estimated to save 160,000 public employee jobs.

Himes also advocated equal pay for equal work regardless of gender, saying that women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to a man for the same job. He supported the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009, which is designed to eliminate wage discrimination on the basis of sex.

The candidate also vowed, "I will be unwavering in my fight for reproductive rights."

Although Debicella has criticized Himes for supporting "more government," Himes believes abortion is a personal issue where politicians should not interfere.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal," Himes concluded to applause from his audience on the green.