Opponent has criticized Chris Shays, who has taken five trips to Iraq so far, for being too focused on foreign affairs
Farrell, Shays Nominated for 4th District Race
By Marc Van der Pol mvanderpol@bcnnew.com
NORWALK - The bid of 4th Congressional District challenger Diane G. Farrell was officially set into motion Monday, as almost 200 delegates of the Democratic Party nominated her to take on 17-year incumbent Christopher Shays this November.
Farrell, the two-term first selectwoman of Westport, and about two dozen of her campaigners, clapped to the beat of Marvin Gaye's Ain't No Mountain High Enough in front of a packed crowd at the Nathan Hale Middle School in Norwalk before the candidate began her acceptance speech.
"This may be a tough race but I am a tough person who can get things done for the people I represent," said Farrell, who was nominated by Mayors John Fabrizi of Bridgeport and Dannel Malloy of Stamford.
She told the crowd that the Republican administration - including her opponent - is leading the country in the wrong direction and needs to be replaced. Here in the 4th District, she placed particular emphasis on education and transportation.
"I say 'Oh yes' to an educational leader who will make our children and our schools a top priority," said Susan Cocco of Ridgefield, a Farrell supporter who gave a speech at the convention.
Farrell criticized Shays' support of the No Child Left Behind Act, which she said places too much emphasis on test scores and "leaves behind the money" for school districts to meet mandates. Farrell said every child deserves the right class size and schools in good condition.
On transportation, Farrell criticized Shays for not supporting a bill that brought more federal money to improve transportation in southwestern Connecticut. If transit issues aren't addressed more aggressively, she said, "we're going to suffer quality of life issues that we have already begun to suffer. Between the State of Connecticut and the federal government, we have not worked hard enough."
While Shays supports a federal and state gas tax to improve roads and public transportation, Farrell opposes such a tax, especially at a time when prices are high, and would rather lobby the federal government for more money. She said Rhode Island and Vermont get more on the dollar than Connecticut for transportation funding.
Farrell and other political leaders have criticized Shays, who has taken five trips to Iraq so far, for being too focused on foreign affairs. She had strong words for the current administration's foreign policy and handling of the war.
The Republican administration "should be held accountable for the war based on bad intelligence and a go-it-alone approach," she said. "This go-it-alone stuff isn't working. We are alienating friends left and right across the globe. Some sanity has got to be brought back to our foreign policy perspective."
She also criticized what she believes is the administration's fiscal mismanagement. "How can you pay for a war, give tax breaks, drive up the deficit and still say that you're balancing the budget?"
Farrell slammed the passage of the Medicare reform bill that prevents the government from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies on prescription drug prices and disallows seniors to import cheaper drugs from Canada. She also attacked the administration's stance on abortion, which she said, "systematically undermines a woman's right to chose."
Farrell said seniors throughout the district deserve the same attention they have received in Westport, where a new senior center recently was built.
In his speech, Fabrizi said the Farrell "has already been established as a great leader in our region - it's time for her to fight for us in Washington."
He said Farrell has exemplified fiscal responsibility, would embrace civil liberties and women's rights and would be vocal on national and foreign policy issues.
Malloy said it is not possible to have "respectful disagreements" with today's Republican Party, which "cares about power because they need power, not because of what they expect to do for you and me and our fellow citizens."
A Westport resident since age 3, Farrell got her start in politics and community service as a PTA president before being elected to Westport's Board of Finance in 1993, where she spent four years. Subsequently, she was elected as first selectwoman, and was re-elected in 2001 after winning more than 70 percent of the vote.
The 4th District is comprised of 17 municipalities in southwestern Connecticut. Shays has served since 1987, when he succeeded the late Stewart McKinney in a special election.
Marc Van Der Pol is a staff writer for the Fairfield Citizen News, another of the Brooks Community Newspapers.
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