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DARIEN, Conn. Darien resident David Orner will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Jim Himes for Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District.
"Like so many of you, I am deeply worried about the future of our country and what that means for our children, yours and mine," Orner said in a statement released Thursday. "With unemployment stuck near 9 percent, $4 trillion in new debt in the last three years and the first ever downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating, it's clear that things just aren't working in Washington."
Orner is a former intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy and a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. He has spent most of his professional career in finance, starting as a tax lawyer with KPMG in Stamford, assisting local and international clients on a range of tax issues. Currently, he is a director in the aerospace and defense Finance group at CIT in Norwalk.
Orner criticized Himes, a Greenwich Democrat, for supporting many of President Barack Obama's policies. "These are the policies that have led to growing government spending, record budget deficits and persistent unemployment. As I travel from town to town in this district, people are saying the same thing: We need a change in direction, a change in leadership."
He believes his experience in the finance world would help him control government spending and get the economy back on track. "In order for us to grow our economy and create jobs, we need to create an environment where free enterprise and the private sector can flourish," he said.
"This means getting government out of the way by reducing its size and reach and allowing private sector innovation to take its course. It means taking on meaningful tax reform, flattening rate schedules and increasing participation," he said. "It also means putting an end to reckless federal spending and defending our individual liberties and personal freedoms."
Orner moved to Darien in 1994 with his wife Margaret. His two sons, David Jr. and Andrew, both attend local public schools and the family has been active in St. John Parish.
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