Gingrich stars in fundraiser held in Greenwich for Shays
Stamford Advocate, Wednesday, October 22, 2008
By Neil Vigdor
Undaunted by predictions that this is a Democratic year or Connecticut's status as a solidly blue state, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was in Greenwich Tuesday for a breakfast fundraiser to support Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who is in the toughest re-election battle of his career.
Aides to Shays said there was plenty of appetite among supporters of the 21-year incumbent to see Gingrich, the pivotal figure of the 1994 Republican revolution.
"You know that almost 100 people showed up at 7:30 a.m. on a cold Tuesday morning," said Michael Sohn, campaign manager for Shays. "I think that people are curious to hear what speaker Gingrich is saying. He's one of the most intellectual people in politics."
The event, held at the Winding Lane home of Christy and Sheldon Gordon, who is a director of several companies, including one that specializes in off-shore oil and gas exploration, brought in $50,000, according to the Shays campaign.
A new University of Connecticut/Hearst Newspapers Poll shows a dead heat between Shays and Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes in the 4th District, which includes most of Fairfield County and a sliver of New Haven County.
A spokesman for Himes questioned Shays' ties to Gingrich.
"Newt Gingrich has supported wrong idea after wrong idea," said Michael Sachse of the Himes campaign. "Most notably, he led the charge to privatize Social Security, and Chris Shays supported him in that. If we had privatized Social Security, seniors throughout this district would have less available for their retirement right now."
Shays, who previously held seven public forums in the district to discuss the future of Social Security, denies having supported privatization.
Shays, his aides said, was merely testing the waters with such a plan and would only support privatization with backing from constituents and on a bipartisan basis.
Tuesday's fundraiser with Gingrich, which cost a minimum of $250 per person to attend, was displayed among a list of events on the Shays campaign Web site.
The campaign did not put out any media advisories about Gingrich's visit, however, a contrast to a string of announcements that went out prior to an Oct. 12 Shays fundraiser in Westport with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Shays' aides said the two events were quite different and that there was no press availability at the Gingrich breakfast.
According to the poll done by UConn for Hearst Newspapers, which include Greenwich Time and The Advocate, 44 percent of respondents said they would back Shays and 44 percent for Himes, with 10 percent undecided and 2 percent supporting minor party candidates.
Shays and Himes have also been running neck-and-neck in the fundraising, with Shays raising $800,175 and Himes $802,330 during the months of July, August and September, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Sohn, the campaign manager for Shays, said 90 percent of the incumbent's donations throughout the campaign have come from individuals in Connecticut, compared to just 60 percent for Himes.
"It shows that the people of Connecticut care about the work that Chris is doing and Chris is in touch with the people of Connecticut and the 4th District," Sohn said.
Sachse, the spokesman for Himes, said he would have to verify the information.
"We're not going to apologize for Jim having a lot of friends who are eager to support him," Sachse said.
In turn, the Himes campaign accused Shays of letting special interests bank-roll his bid for re-election.
"Chris Shays has taken over $700,000 in (political action committee) money, including money from (former Texas Sen.) Phil Gramm, who thinks we're in a mental recession, and money from Fannie Mae, who (Shays) blames for the financial downturn," Sachse said.
Sachse also questioned Shays' ties to the host of Tuesday's fundraiser, Gordon, who is a director of Gulfmark Offshore, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company, and said it might explain why a major environmental group recently expressed disappointment in the incumbent's record.
A spokesman for Shays dismissed the claims and said the Himes campaign was playing politics.
"That's the continuation of negative partisan attacks from the Himes campaign," said Sean Phillips of the Shays campaign.
