Fiji RPCV Chris Shays faces challenger in Connecticut 4th District
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Faceoff for the Fourth Shays, Sanchez debate Iraq, taxes
By Ryan Jockers Staff Writer
October 21, 2002
NORWALK -- Candidates for the 4th Congressional District distinguished themselves on issues involving Iraq and tax cuts yesterday during their first debate.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, supports a pre-emptive strike against Iraq. Democratic challenger Stephanie Sanchez supports a weapons inspection program that eliminates the country's arsenal. She would attack Iraq only with support from a coalition of allies, similar to the war in Afghanistan.
"Look no further than this issue to see our differences," Sanchez told an audience of about 100 during an afternoon debate at Norwalk Community College.
Shays said the United States should attack Iraq to prevent it from acquiring and using nuclear weapons. Strong action by the United States would engender support from American allies. Failure to respond to terrorist attacks, such as the one on the USS Cole, left the country's enemies without a fear of reprisal, he said.
"By acting unilaterally, we will be able to act multilaterally," Shays said.
The Bush administration has not made clear its strategy for fighting terrorism, its plans for a "post-Saddam Hussein Iraq" and its "sense of urgency" in attacking the country, Sanchez said. Iraq's weapons should be found and destroyed through a U.N. inspection program, she said.
During the hour-long debate, the candidates responded to written questions from an audience that also sought their stance on environment, transportation and health care issues. On these topics, their positions were similar.
Both support measures for cleaner air and water. Sanchez said a Democrat-controlled Congress, though, would be better for the environment. Shays noted that, despite his party affiliation, he has been named an "environmental hero" by the League of Conservation Voters, a national pro-environment political organization.
Both candidates said they support using railroad lines and Long Island Sound to move more commuters and goods in the region.
Road congestion has only worsened during Shays' tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, said Sanchez, who promised to fight for an assignment on the Transportation Committee if elected.
Shays said he moved to Bridgeport from Stamford more than two years ago because he wants to clean up the city's "corrupt government" to attract companies "so you don't need everyone to go down to Stamford," choking the highways during rush hours.
Sanchez said she does not support further tax cuts and said the financial laws passed during the Bush administration caused the nation's economy to unravel. Shays said he supports the tax cuts in Bush's "economic stimulus package," particularly the phasing out of the marriage penalty and inheritance taxes as well as the creation of a program that qualifies some college expenses for a tax deduction.
Sanchez, a 34-year-old Greenwich native and former selectman who now lives in Stamford, painted herself as a fresh face in Congress, one not beholden to special interest groups, because she will never take money from them, she said, and seeking innovative ways to address the economic, transportation and housing issues that face the 17 southwestern Connecticut municipalities in the reconfigured Fourth District.
"I ask you this," Sanchez said in her closing statement: "Are you better off today than you were two years ago?"
Shays, 57, a Darien native who has been in Congress since 1987, said he was the "experienced face" and stressed that he still has the energy and passion to do a job he loves.
The second of four debates will be Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Wilton High School, 395 Danbury Road.
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