By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff

Election: Defeated Rep. Christopher Shays , R

Residence: Greenwich

Born: July 5, 1966; Peru

Religion: Presbyterian

Family: Wife, Mary Himes; two children

Education: Harvard U., A.B. 1988 (social studies); Oxford U., M.Phil. 1990 (Rhodes scholar)

Career: Affordable housing nonprofit executive; investment banker

Political highlights: Housing Authority of the Town of Greenwich, 2003-06 (chairman, 2003-06); Greenwich Democratic Town Committee chairman, 2004-08; Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation, 2006-07

Himes says he decided to run for Congress because the policies of the past eight years have shrunk economic opportunities for families. “I was a product of the American dream,” he says. “Out of a single-working-mom household and a public school, I had all kinds of doors open, and [recent policies have] increasingly closed doors economically for American families. We need to reverse that now.”

He describes energy and health care as the “critical issues of the decade.” Himes calls for a focus on alternative energy and higher efficiency standards, such as higher mileage standards for automobiles, a carbon cap-and-trade program and incentives for “green” building.

Himes says he supports domestic drilling as one part of U.S. energy policy, but he adds, “It’s dishonest to offer that up as a solution to near-term expensive gas.”

For health care, he wants a hybrid public-private system that improves efficiency and offers universal health care.

Himes identifies transportation and housing as the district’s top issues, and he says the two are interrelated. “Part of the reason our transportation problem is as bad as it is,” he says, “is because an awful lot of people can’t afford to live in the communities in which they work.”