Hyper Local News Pages

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

11/06/08 Reader Submitted Comments: MY TOWN - MY OLD GREENWICH



Binney Park, Old Greenwich


Greenwich Roundup:


NO OFFENSE, but I find it stressful living just over the border in Old Greenwich.

There are murders in the town of Greenwich, with absolutely no concequences. Hmmmmm. Maybe if I feel like killing someone, I should come over and do it in Greenwich. I could probably leave fingerprints on the murder weapon, side-swipe a few cars, hit Christ Church, weave in and out of the cones along the AVENUE..... and STILL GET OFF SCOTT FREE.....Oh, yeah. I could, because this is what Greenwich has become.

If the killing sprees arent enough, the lack of accountability VIA NO COMPRENDE ENGLAIS from every newspaper MIGHT. OK, Greenwich Post says.....uhhhhhh..... where's the news? There's nothing here to read. Greenwich Times......hmmmm.......this has last Thursday as todays date? Did I miss an entire week? Where was I???What happened to the news? Did they run out of ink? Is there a paper shortage?

Wait......did everyone quit to join up with our local hero at "OUR JOE"?? Damn, that sure impresses me that he comes to the Hyatt In Old Greenwich.

The stress in Greenwich is flowing north to MY TOWN. MY OLD GREENWICH. Yes, that is what I said. MY OLD GREENWICH. I live here, I own a house, I pay taxes, I even voted here ......this is MY TOWN. The day some liberal, irritable, hormonal, narrowminded, out-of- towners starts calling it "OUR OLD GREENWICH",....

Well, I will shove the stress straight up.....yeah, you know. And then I'm gonna throw a "LESS STRESS PARTY" and invite Obama, Osama, P Diddy, LL COOL J, Prince, Lil' Master C, and all the other STARS who are too cool to have normal names.....and I'm gonna let "the dish", DISH OLD GREENWICH like she has never DISHED BEFORE.

Can you feel my pain?

Its stress from GREENWICH AVENUE Comming to SOUND BEACH AVENUE..


COMMENT:


We Sure Do Get A Lot Of Complaints Referring To Ex-Greenwich Time Editor Joe "The Censor" Pisani's Hot New Blog Called Our Greenwich. We Are Beginning To Thank Joe "The Censor" Pisani Must Be Cheerfully Deleting Complaints And Flames At "Our Greenwich", Thus Causing Angry Greenwichites To Come To This Open Forum To Complain About Pisani And His Continued Arrogant Methods Of Operation.


It Appears That Pisani Is Just Not Happy Unless He Is Censoring Greenwich Residents.


Why Can't Joe Pisani Do The Right Thing And Tell Martha Moxley's Family

And Others That He Is Sorry For What He Has Done To Hurt Them?


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09/29/08 GOING POSTAL: Anonymous In Old Greenwich Is Wondering: If anyone else has experienced postal problems lately in the Greenwich area?




Other Peoples Mail Is In My Mailbox

Anonymous says:

We've had lots and lots of items go astray over the past few weeks (and indeed over the past few years) some of which were rather important.

It's also difficult to ascertain just how much isn't being delivered when you've not actually posted it.

Anyone else have the same problem?"

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11/05/08 Teen Stress Lecture Sounds Stressfull



The lecture will be presented simultaneously in Spanish and English.....

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11/05/08 The Raw Greenwich News Feed For Wednesday



Treasury To Expand Borrowing With 3-Year Note
The Post Chronicle
... to get key people into place and come up with their own thoughts," said Stephen Stanley, Chief Economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. Regarding financial markets, the Treasury again urged brokers to take steps to prevent ...

Jacobs, Hoxie and Plugge to be Inducted in Rental Hall of Fame
Rental Equipment Register
... Rentals would acquire more than 250 rental companies and quickly grow to become a $3 billion corporation. Based in Greenwich, Conn., United Rentals remains the worldwide rental industry's largest company with more than 700 branches in the United ...

Himes Defeats Shays In 4th District
The Hartford Courant
... in 1970 and Shays in 1987. Connecticut's newest congressman-elect is a 42-year-old former investment banker from Greenwich who had argued that Shays was wrong on the two biggest issues of his career: the war in Iraq and the state of the economy. "We ...

Constance B. Poillon
Fredericksburg.com
... "Connie" Poillon, 72, died unexpectedly Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008, in Fredericksburg. She was a longtime resident of Greenwich, Conn., retiring to Virginia in 2003 with her husband, George. She was the daughter of the late F. Clay Buckhout and Martha ...

Himes defeats Conn. Rep. Shays
New Haven Register
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays has lost his bid for an 11th term in Congress. Shays, who is the last New England Republican in the House of Representatives, lost to former Greenwich businessman Jim Himes.

112 Seats For House Dems; 24 in Senate [Capitol Watch]
Hartford Courant
The House Democrats declared victory Tuesday night, saying they had reached 112 seats in the chamber.

Nymex Gas Jumps as Gains for Equities May Signal Strengthening Fuel Demand
Bloomberg
... since July 10. ``I would look at $7 as a support point now,'' said Tom Orr, research director at Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Connecticut. A moving average shows the average value of a security or commodity over time. Some traders look at moving ...

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11/05/08 The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed


The Perrot Memorial Library Blog
Perrot's Website - Our website is temporarily unavailable through the usual route. Today, November 5th, please access our website directly through this address: http://198.66...

For What It's Worth
*All quiet on the front* Real estate activity in town is just about nonexistent. No contracts, no sales, few new listings and very, very few showings of ex...

Greenwich Forum
Greenwich Republican Frantz takes Dist. 36 seat - 1 Comment, last updated on Wednesday Nov 5 by DCinOS

Tribune Company's Greenwich News Feed
Dems make inroads all across nation - WASHINGTON - Democrats retained control of the U.S. House and pushed for historic gains in their majority by solidifying their dominance in the Northeast a...

The Harvest From Harvest Time Church On King Street
Day 48: A people with willing hearts - And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people) and when he opened it, all the people stood up. (Neh. 8:5) These ...

Greenwich Gossip
And the Winner is... - The polls in Greenwich will be open for another three hours, but your scribe is already looking forward to the moment when, as Kipling put it, "the tumult ...

Saramerica
Yay for feisty Irish broads! - I just got back from doing some poll standing for local Democratic candidate Ed Krumeich and I met this wonderful lady stopped to speak with me on her way ...

Greenwich News
Conn. court upholds Obama's place on ballot - A Connecticut judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday that alleged election fraud and questioned whether Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was qualif...

Greenwich Diva
The world celebrating Obama’s victory -

Rock Star Diary
Obama - FINALLY! Your Welcome World - OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG We did it! FINALLY. I can honestly say that I am proud to be an American again. Not only did we win! We cremated McCain. Ding don...

Joy Haenlein's Our Greenwich Page
Mr. Himes goes to Washington - In introducing our new congressman in South Norwalk last night, Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy talked about the decision Jim Himes made two years ago to ...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
WASPS - They're Over - Even before an African-American became our president, WASP power and decorum were ebbing. Actually, unless WASPS - read: George W. Bush - already had power, ...

John Ferris Robben - T-shirt Philosophy Page At Our Greenwich
Greenwich Election night Photographs - “I dont care what you vote for, but Vote” “Love the U.S.?” Community OUTreach Coat Drive. Sign posted inside door at front of Old Greenwich School. Vote! ...

The Blonde Excuse
Nashville - Next stop on our crazy whirlwind of a road trip was Nashville, Tennessee! The whole time we had been on the road, all Nicole could talk about was getting to ...

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11/05/08 SHAYS AND HARRISON LOSE BIG TIME: Greenwich Citizen Editor Don Harrison Bent Over Backwards To Help Shays, But It Did Not Do Any Good!!!!!!!!

No Influence:
Greenwich Citizen Editor Don Harrison's Poorly Maintained And Infrequently Updated News Website Was No Help What So Ever To His Best Buddy Chris Shays.

Himes Upsets Shays in 4th District Stunner





By Frances Moore and David Hennessey

Defying many predictions about this year's 4th Congressional District race, Democratic challenger Jim Himes upset longtime Republican incumbent Christopher Shays in Tuesday's election.


Himes will become the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years.

"From the bottom of my heart I thank you," Himes said in his acceptance speech. "Tonight we have changed history."

Shays addressed his stunned supporters during his concession speech at the Norwalk Inn and Conference Center Tuesday night.

"I felt we were going to win this race, I really did," Shays said. But, he said he had only one regret: "I was hoping a very positive campaign with a good record could overcome this tsunami that we all know is there We did our very best but we had this tsunami that we knew was on its way."

The jovial crowd of Shays supporters who gathered at the Norwalk Inn Tuesday night.....


....Both Shays and his wife, Betsi, were happy with the overall campaign. "We have never wanted to win by lowering our standards or compromising our principles," she said.

Using the analogy of a submarine that is tested only once the vessel has been submerged in the water, Betsi said. "The integrity of this vessel has been tested and tested and tested and it has stayed strong Tonight we lost an election but we didn't lose our souls."

Shays commended his staff for its dedication. "It's really difficult to leave at this moment because I have the best staff in Congress," he said.

"I have always known that you can have a great election when you win and a great election when you lose," Shays said. "You want it to end with this great celebration [but] my two-year contract has not been renewed.".....


.....During the moving on process, Shays asked that his constituents not give him their sympathy.

"There's only gratitude for what I've had," he said, listing among the things he is most grateful for as his family, his constituents and being a citizen of the United States. "I'm a blessed man, that's the bottom line. It doesn't get better than that."

Betsi Shays followed by saying, "I don't think there's a more grateful politician in this country than this guy."

Moving on from the topic of his own race, Shays asked his supporters not to minimize the importance of supporting the next presidential administration.

"It is so important for whoever is president. I would have liked to have been a part of that," Shays said.


Please Read The Full Story About Shays....





Local Election Results



151st District, State House


CAMILLO: 5,290


KRUMEICH: 4,185





36th District, State Senate


FRANTZ: 14,256


DIAMOND: 8,191


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11/05/08 Greenwich Time Local News Links - Election Recap


Democrat Ed Krumeich concedes the race for the 151st State Senate seat as Selectman Lyn Lavery watches.

(Keelin Daly/Greenwich Time photo)

Dems soak in Obama victory

All was quiet at the Democratic headquarters just before the states' polls closed at 8 p.m., but everything changed with one loud announcement.

"He's got Connecticut," one woman yelled about Democrat Barack Obama after hearing the projected presidential results on television, prompting a group of anxious people to crowd around the television and erupt in cheers.

The cheers didn't stop there, as more good news continued to pour into the Greenwich Senior Center, where a gathering of more than 100 Democrats watched the tide turn in their predominantly conservative town.

Though Democrats were dealt two upsets in the local races with candidates Edward Krumeich, vying for the state House 151st District seat, and Mark Diamond, a candidate for the state Senate 36th District seat, losing their bids to the Republicans, the mood was still one of victory, especially after the announcement that Obama had carried Greenwich and Jim Himes was going to unseat longtime U.S. Rep Christopher Shays, R-Conn.

"There is no way around it, Obama carried the town of Greenwich," said David Roberson, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, leading to applause that was amplified as an unexpected announcement came in that the incumbent Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, Shays, had just conceded.

"I think it is absolutely fantastic. I am thrilled," said Michael Sandifer of Greenwich, who said he was a longtime supporter of Himes.

"We put in a lot of work here and we did......


Black residents relish victory

By Eileen Byrnes
Special Correspondent
Article Launched: 11/05/2008 01:00:00 AM EST

STAMFORD - For Drew Hawkins, voting for Barack Obama was a moment that brought tears to his eyes. Joseph Nunn cast his vote reflecting on the days when he was in the deep south and not allowed to ride in the front of the bus.

Lynn Sullivan said she brought her 10-year-old daughter to the polls today because she wanted her to witness history, and Lise Leist said she was so excited about voting early Tuesday morning that sleep the night before was fleeting.

All are black and adamant Obama supporters who were out in Stamford Tuesday night watching the election results roll in. Each said this election has brought them hope.

Nunn, the outgoing board chair of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut, said supporting Obama and being.....

...."I walked and reflected on every step," the incoming board chairman of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut said while sipping drinks and smoking cigars at the Connecticut Cigar Co. on Bank Street, where he gathered with friends Tuesday night.....

....But Anderson R. Livingston, who gathered with Hawkins to watch the election results at the private cigar club, said the African-American community has to be realistic about the immediate changes that will take place with the Obama election.

Livingston said he believes the group forced to make the biggest adjustment with an African-American president is the non-educated white male from southern or midwestern states. And he is optimistic that adjustment will be positive.

"When a poor white guy in America can say (Obama) helped me, that is when you are going to see positive change," he said. "That is going to be the more important part of how this plays out. The world as I know it doesn't exist anymore."

Full Story

Greenwich voters rebuke Republican tradition

By Colleen Flaherty
Meredith Blakeand
Neil Vigdor
Staff writers
Article Launched: 11/05/2008 01:30:51 AM EST

Greenwich voters made history Tuesday night, casting aside its Republican tradition to back a Democrat for president for the first time since 1964 as Barack Obama carried the town and the nation.

But residents stayed true to the town tradition of sending an all-Republican delegation to the General Assembly in Hartford and backed 21-year Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays even as Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes beat Shays in the overall vote.

Voting was heavy at polling places across town as voters joined in what many saw as a history-making election at a time of critical choices for the nation.

Members of the town's longtime minority party were exultant as they surveyed the political landscape from their headquarters at the Senior Center on Greenwich Avenue, on a night when the nation also made history by electing its first African-American president and the 4th District sent a Democrat to Congress for the first time since 1966.

"This is a remarkable time in Greenwich," said Selectman Lin Laverey. "Barack Obama took Greenwich. It's amazing. Who ever thought in our lifetime we would see this."

Unofficial returns without absentee ballots counted showed Barack Obama and Joe Biden with 52.8 percent of the local vote, compared with 46.7 percent for Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin. Independent candidates Ralph Nader and Matthew Gonzalez received 0.5 percent of the local vote. The Democratic presidential ticket prevailed in most of the town's election .....

.....With the retirements of Nickerson and Powers, state Reps. Livvy Floren, R-149th District, and Lile Gibbons, R-150th District, become the seniors members of Greenwich's legislative delegation. Both Republicans, running unopposed, won a fifth two-year term.

Unopposed in all but one of her previous re-election bids, Floren, 66, a Round Hill Road resident, represents western and backcountry Greenwich, as well as North Stamford. She is an assistant Republican leader of the General Assembly and a member of the Finance, Aging and Government Administration and Elections committees.

"I'm really looking forward to the next two years," Floren said in an interview at Republican headquarters. "There's going to be a lot of challenges. I'm impressed with the wonderful turnout. I've got the sense that people really thought this was an historic moment."

Never having been opposed during a general election, Gibbons, 65, is a ranking member of the General Assembly's Human Services Committee. An assistant Republican leader in the House, she also serves on the Energy and Finance, Revenue and Bonding committees. A resident of Sunset Road in Old Greenwich, her district lies along the town's shoreline.

Gibbons too reflected on the GOP's mixed showing Tuesday night.

"Greenwich is no longer the Republican stronghold that it used to be 10 years ago," she said in an interview. "We have our work cut out for ourselves to get our message out on smaller government and lower taxes."

In town races, Sharon Vecchiolla, 62, won a ninth two-year term as Democratic registrar of voters after running unopposed. On the GOP side, Fred DeCaro III, 37, won the uncontested race for Republican registrar, succeeding retiring Veronica Baron Musca, who held the position since 1996.

Full Story

GOP in high spirits despite losses

By Colin Gustafson
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 11/05/2008 01:17:57 AM EST

A Democrat may have been closing in on the White House Tuesday night, but members of Greenwich's Grand Old Party were in high spirits at the party's Cos Cob headquarters as a handful of Republican candidates for state office appeared headed for victory.

The mood was upbeat at the former Minuteman Cleaners on East Putnam Avenue, where more than 200 town Republicans gathered to chat with fellow party members, sip wine and nibble on finger food as they awaited the arrival of local and national election results.

With the party kicking off at 8 p.m., voters mingled quietly in front of a large American flag draped in the middle of the room between two plasma-screen TVs broadcasting live election results from Fox News.....

.....According to the registrars of voters, there are 13,604 registered Republicans and 9,081 Democrats in Greenwich, where Republicans have seen their 2-to-1 advantage over Democrats diminish in recent years.

"The town is shifting more toward Democrat," Ducret added, pointing to a local poll showing Obama leading in Greenwich. But "regardless of what people think nationally," he continued, "locally, you're still getting a very strong base of support for Republicans."

Lifelong Greenwich resident Hans Helbig, 86 - who sported a fisherman's cap covered in dozens of pins from presidential and Congressional campaigns dating back to the candidacies of Ronald Regan, Richard Nixon, even Dwight Eisenhower - said he was thrilled by the results.

"I'm a Republican," said Hans. "I wear the hat because it just feels like the right thing to do tonight."

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11/05/08 Greenwich Post Local News Links - Election Recap

Fred Camillo thanked his supporters at the Republican Town Committee headquarters in Cos Cob Tonight after polls reported he won the race for state representative.
— Sara Poirier Greenwich Post photo

Republicans sweep in local races

Written by Ken Borsuk and Sara Poirier, Post Staff

As Republicans in Washington, D.C., went defeated, Greenwich Republicans still had reason to cheer tonight as L. Scott Frantz and Alfred Camillo Jr. won their races to Hartford, beating Democrats Mark Diamond of Stamford and Edward Krumeich II of Cos Cob, respectively.

Fred DeCaro, a candidate for the town’s registrar of voters position along with Democrat Sharon Vecchiolla, and state Reps. Lile Gibbons and Livvy Floren all ran unopposed.

Republicans’ unofficial tallies also showed that Riverside resident Mr. Frantz, running in the 36th District, beat Mr. Diamond 15,254 to 8,644, and Riverside’s Mr. Camillo, running in the 151st District, beat Mr. Krumeich 5,333 to 4,222.

“Greenwich Republicans are alive and well,” Ms. Floren said......

....While Democrats have enjoyed gains in voter registration in town, Mr. Krumeich said he felt the numbers were still to daunting for him to overcome the Republican advantage. He speculated that voters who went for Mr. Obama then shifted to Mr. Shays, who won Greenwich, and then stayed on the Republican line.

Mr. Krumeich fell 132 votes shy in 2006 and significantly more this year and he cited Mr. Camillo’s strong community ties for the change.

“I think the Republicans did a good job picking a candidate who had strengths in districts which I needed and was not able to get,” a disappointed Mr. Krumeich said. “I don’t think this was an issues campaign, frankly. I think Freddy was able to play to his strengths, which are his ties to the community, and I don’t think a lot of people thought about the issues or even thought about the future of Greenwich’s representation in Hartford.”

Himes announces win over Shays

Written by Andrew Kersey, Hersam Acorn Newspapers

Jim Himes' campaign announced at 9:45 p.m. from Norwalk Brewhouse that Christopher Shays just called to concede. The crowd here burst into sustained applause, then began chanting "Jim, Jim, Jim" while continuing to watch local and national returns on a large screen TV in the bar.

Republican state senate candidate Scott Franz has 57% of the vote and Mark Diamond has 41% with 60% of precincts reporting.

Republican state senate candidate Toni Boucher also leads Democrat John Hartwell 53% to 47% with a total of 53% of precincts reporting.....


Shays concedes to Himes

Written by Chip Reid, Hersam Acorn Newspapers

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays is returning to Washington, but this time, it’s to clean out his office.
The 11-term Fourth District Republican conceded his race against Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night, ending his 21 years in office.....

.....As he left the stage, Mr. Shays ruled out running for any new office. He kissed an American flag before embracing his wife and supporters.

Mr. Shays’ loss ends a 21-year run in the House and also gives New England an entirely Democratic delegation. The race garnered national support as both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee targeted the district as being key to either maintaining control of the House or winning it back.



Shays camp expresses optimism

Written by Chip Reid, Hersam Acorn Newspapers

Members of the Chris Shays’ staff expressed a feeling of optimism Tuesday night as polls in Connecticut closed.

Mr. Shays, a Republican incumbent for the state’s Fourth Congressional District, is seeking his 11th full term. He faces strong opposition from Greenwich businessman Jim Himes. Despite the predictions of a close race, Mr. Shays' campaign manager Michael Sohn said he believes the Republican will pull through.....

....Mr. Sohn said one message the Shays campaign worked very hard to convey was voters could cast a ballot both for Mr. Obama and for Mr. Shays.

“This is the first time since 1996 that we haven’t had a Senator between Chris and the presidential candidate,” Mr. Sohn said. “We worked very hard to get our the message that people could vote for whomever they wanted. We wanted to make sure people knew how to find Chris’ name on the ballot.”

As 8 p.m. approached, Mr. Sohn said Mr. Shays remained upbeat.

“It’s been a hard campaign and I think we have run a very good, a very positive campaign,” Mr. Sohn said. “We’re all very upbeat and feeling very positive.”

More...

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11/05/08 Shays Loses House Seat in Connecticut - New York Times


Christopher Shays, a 21-year incumbent for the U.S. House of Representatives
in Connecticut, embraced a voter on Tuesday.
(Photo: Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times)


Updated, 9:57 p.m. GREENWICH, Conn. — Representative Christopher Shays, a moderate Republican, lost his House seat on Tuesday evening. Heavy voter turnout by Democrats threw the election to Mr. Shays’s Democratic challenger, Jim Himes.

Here in Greenwich and the other prosperous towns of southwestern Connecticut that were once solidly Republican but have increasingly trended Democratic, most voters interviewed said they were voting for Senator Barack Obama, but some said they planned to vote for Mr. Shays, while others said they would vote down the line for Democratic candidates.

At Greenwich Town Hall, Arthur Shulman, 65, a registered Democrat, brought his 18-year-old son, Andy, to the polls with him. Both planned to vote for Mr. Obama for president and Mr. Shays for Congress. Mr. Shulman said that he counted Mr. Shays as a personal friend and that the congressman was an independent thinker with a strong sense of ethics, although Mr. Shulman said he disagreed with Mr. Shays on the Iraq war.

“It’s more important to vote for a man that you think has integrity and that will vote his conscience, rather than having to agree with his stance on every single issue,” said Mr. Shulman, who is retired from a job in finance.

Andy Shulman, a high school student, said he favored Mr. Shays because of his views on technology. Mr. Shays supports network neutrality, while Mr. Himes is more supportive of efforts to regulate the Internet, the younger Mr. Shulman said.

“It’s an important issue to me, because I’m very involved with the Internet and technology,” Andy Shulman said.

Debra Temoche, 35, an office manager, voted for the first time in 15 years, in Norwalk. She said she voted for Mr. Obama and Mr. Himes. “I think we’ve rammed our heads into the wall long enough. We need a new direction,” she said. “I see the country going into a downward spiral. I wanted to make sure the right people got into office.”

Nathan Covello, 50, a security guard at Greenwich High School, was still undecided about the Congressional race as he headed into the polls. “This is a tough one,” he said of the two candidates. “I like both of them. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get in there.” He said he liked Mr. Shays’s experience but also Mr. Himes’s promise of a fresh approach.

“I don’t know if I want experience or new blood. The only thing I don’t like about Shays is Bush.”

He said he felt both parties were equally to blame for creating the economic crisis, along with the American people.

Paul Golden, 64, a commercial printing broker, also voted for Mr. Obama and Mr. Himes, although he is a registered Republican and generally votes down the party column. He had voted for Mr. Shays many times, he said, but started voting against him after hearing him “sell” the Iraq war at a town hall meeting in 2003. Mr. Shays — as did President Bush and politicians of both parties who voted to authorize the war in Iraq — said at the time that he believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

“I never believed it,” Mr. Golden said. “I feel the entire administration has put this country in a tailspin that it’s going to take a long time to get out of. Eight years of Bush got us the biggest deficit in history.”

A few Republicans said they were sticking with their party’s candidates.

George Hanna, 56, said he voted in Stamford for Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, and with Mr. Shays because of their stance on tax cuts and Social Security.

He said the income ceiling for the middle-class tax bracket had been steadily revised downward by the Obama campaign. “It’s the amazing shrinking middle class,” he said, noting the high cost of living here.

“Someone who makes $200,000 a year is decidedly middle-class in this area,” he said.He said the Democratic tax plan would unfairly punish those who earn more and foster dependence on government.

Mr. Hanna said voted for the Libertarian candidate in the Congressional race two years ago, but is a registered Republican.

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