{news} John Amarilios in Aug 8 Greenwich Time

Mon Aug 30 22:47:52 EDT 2004

Green Party's uphill battle for senate seat

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

Greenwich Time
August 8, 2004

Green Party candidate John Amarilios said he would love to have the 
Democratic Party help his bid to capture the 36th District state Senate seat 
from longtime incumbent William Nickerson, a Greenwich Republican.

Greenwich Democrats say they are willing to talk, but have yet to hear from 
the third-party candidate, according to Jim Himes, chairman of the 
Democratic Town Committee.

"If he approached us and wanted the DTC to support him, heck, we'd consider 
it," Himes said. "I wish we had a Democratic opponent. We don't and that 
sort of puts a Democrat in a quandary."

Democrats have not fielded a challenger to Nickerson, 65, since 1994.

Greens represent less than a fraction of a percent of the electorate in the 
36th District, which covers Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan. 
Amarilios, 46, needs the signatures of at least 300 registered voters to get 
on the ballot, names he said he submitted last week.

Both Himes and Amarilios, a Westport bankruptcy lawyer, acknowledged that 
there is still some bad blood between the two parties over the outcome of 
the 2000 presidential election.

"The biggest problem with Democrats is they somehow feel that Greens were 
responsible for the debacle in 2000," said Amarilios, referring to the last 
presidential election, in which Green Party candidate Ralph Nader won nearly 
3 percent of the national vote in a dead heat between then-Vice President Al 
Gore and George W. Bush.

Himes said those problems would not rule out the possibility of aiding 
Amarilios.

Himes would not say who he would vote for in the state Senate race, saying 
he didn't yet know enough about Amarilios or his platform to make an 
educated choice.

Asked about the prospect of

a Green-Democratic alliance, Nickerson said simply that he is looking 
forward to running on his record.

If elected, Amarilios said he would call for caps on interest rates charged 
by credit card companies and other lending institutions. He criticized the 
state's political establishment and its banking regulators for failing to 
address what he described as the threat posed by rising interest rates.

"Many families throughout the entire economic spectrum basically have been 
cajoled and invited to take on huge amounts of debt by teasers and zero 
percent interest rates," Amarilios said. "I don't think people have given 
thought to the likelihood of increasing rates on their family budget. I'm 
sure the banking industry would be horrified at my suggestion on this."

The third-party candidate also supports what is known as a full homestead 
exemption in bankruptcy cases, which he said would allow families to keep 
their home if they declare themselves bankrupt. He noted that only Florida 
and Texas have such provisions.

Amarilios graduated from New Canaan High School, received a bachelor's 
degree in economics and a master's degree in international marketing from 
Lehigh University and earned a law degree the University of Bridgeport. He 
is single and works for the Westport law firm of Carron & Fink.

Universal health care sponsored by the state, tax exemptions for the owners 
of hybrid energy vehicles and economic disincentives for sport utility 
vehicle owners are also pillars of Amarilios' platform in the areas of 
insurance and transportation.

Nickerson, who is a ranking member of the General Assembly's Finance Revenue 
and Bonding Committee opposes disincentives for SUV owners.

"The (state) income tax should not be used a social engineering vehicle, as 
the federal income tax code is," said Nickerson, who is chief deputy 
minority leader in the Senate.

Nickerson cited his support of Public Act 04-231, which provides tax credits 
for hybrid vehicle owners and those who use alternative fuel products, as an 
example of his work in the area of conservation. The law went into effect on 
July 1.

The incumbent defended his record on transportation, quality-of-life issues 
and the environment, saying that he looked forward to highlighting his 
accomplishments in the campaign.

Amarilios, a former Republi-can and later a Libertarian, is no stranger to 
uphill political battles. He received less than 2 percent of the vote in New 
Canaan's election for first selectman last year, running as the Green Party 
candidate.

_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! 
http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/