Republican Steve Obsitnik spent 5 years in the U-S Navy submarine force and is now a businessman. He runs a company that creates high tech jobs making wireless antenna systems that communicate with cell phones. He says the innovative technology cuts in half the number of cell towers needed for coverage.
Incumbent Democrat Jim Himes spent 12 years in the financial services industry before his election. Himes says he is proud of regulations put in place to protect consumers from bad practices on Wall Street, but he wants to make sure banks remain internationally competitive.
Obsitnik he will limit himself to 8 years in office to stop the partisanship in Washington that people are frustrated with.
Himes says he wants another term to continue putting Americans back to work.
When it comes to immigration, Himes says he supports the DREAM act to help make college a reality for more young adults. Obsitnik says he supports legal immigration and wants to create a system that will secure the border and addresses the status of millions of immigrants who contribute to the workforce.
As for energy policy, Obsitnik says he wants a national strategy that facilitates cleaner carbon sources like natural gas and would pursue alternative energy sources including nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric. Himes says he supports finding and using domestic gas and oil reserves, provided it's not done in a reckless manner that would endanger people or the environment.
Both candidates support funding veteran's health care and benefits as well as training them for jobs to reintegrate into civilian life. The candidates also say they both support women's reproductive choice and education on family planning.
Himes says Social Security has only recently started to run shortfalls, but notes that but the Social Security Trust Fund can continue to pay benefits for decades, due to a cumulative surplus exceeding $2 trillion. He says he would support modest, bipartisan changes to the system similar to what President Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neill worked out nearly 30 years ago.
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