Seventeen Republican officials from throughout the Fourth Congressional District today endorsed State Senator Dan Debicella for Congress. Debicella has now been endorsed by thirty-five officials from throughout Fairfield County (see attached for full list). State legislators, First Selectmen, Republican Town Chairman, and Republican State Central Committee members all endorsed his candidacy.
First Selectman Steve Vavrek of Monroe said, “Dan Debicella has the experience that we would want in a Congressman. Not only has he had a successful business career, but he has proven his commitment to small government and innovative problem-solving in his two-terms in the State Senate.”
With these endorsements, Debicella has pledges from 15 out of 42 super-delegates to the May convention. No other Republican candidates have been publicly endorsed to date. Approximately 270 delegates will choose the Republican nominee in May 2010.
Debicella is a second-term Republican State Senator representing the eastern part of Fairfield County, including Shelton, Stratford, Monroe, and Seymour. He recently announced his candidacy for Congress running against first-time incumbent Jim Himes.
Debicella is a lifelong resident of Fairfield County. He grew up in Bridgeport where his father was a police officer. He was the first in his family to go to college, attending the Wharton School and receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School. He has spent most of his career in business, having worked for management consulting firm McKinsey in Stamford, as Director of Strategy at PepsiCo in Purchase, NY, and currently as Assistant Vice President of Marketing at The Hartford Financial Services.
“Having served with Dan, I can tell you he is a legislator with both intelligence and common sense,” said Former State Senator Bill Nickerson. “He will bring a fresh perspective to controlling government spending and supporting small business to revive our economy.”
Many officials cited Debicella’s solutions on the economy and healthcare as reasons for endorsing him. “We need a Congressman who will be a practical problem solver for families in Fairfield County,” said State Representative Terrie Wood of Darien. “Dan will be an independent thinker in solving issues like the economy, healthcare, and transportation—just like Chris Shays was.”
Debicella said his campaign would contrast solutions with the ones Congressman Jim Himes has supported. “Jim Himes believes that government is the solution to all our problems—taking over the auto industry, bailing out Wall Street, and controlling our healthcare system,” said Debicella. “I have a different view of how to make life better for middle class families—market based solutions that will promote economic growth and security for our families.”
Debicella’s economic proposals have included repealing the unspent stimulus money in favor of a temporary cut in the payroll tax that small businesses and middle class families pay, and creating a federal spending cap to rein in the nation’s $1.5 trillion deficit. “We need to stop growing government, and start helping the small businesses that will lead us out of this recession,” said Debicella. Debicella added that most families have not received anything directly from the federal stimulus package, while his tax cut would give $1,500 directly to middle class families and reduce the deficit.
On healthcare, Debicella said that he was opposed to the public option that Jim Himes has championed. “We do not need a government take-over of healthcare insurance and increase costs for 94% of us with insurance to cover the 6% of us without insurance,” said Debicella. “Instead, we need to lower healthcare costs to help both middle-class and cover more of the uninsured. Bipartisan ideas like interstate competition of private insurers, medical malpractice reform, electronic medical records, preventative medicine, and no-frills insurance will all do more to help the middle class than the so-called public option.”
“I am humbled to have such broad support from throughout Fairfield County,” said Senator Debicella. “Republicans are recognizing we need a candidate with innovative, market-based ideas on the economy and healthcare to contrast with the big-government proposals Jim Himes supports.”
Debicella added that he expect more endorsements to be coming in December and January.
Of the thirty-five endorsements to date, 15 come from First Selectmen and local elected officials, 10 from state legislators, and 10 from Republican party officials (see attached page for full list of endorsements).
The Fourth Congressional District comprises most of Fairfield County, including seventeen towns from Greenwich in the west, to Shelton in the east, and Ridgefield in the north. The seat was held by Congressman Christopher Shays from 1987-2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment