Politics & Government

Himes Walks Tightrope Between Wall St. & Democrats' Anger at It

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, who's district includes Norwalk, knows Wall Street after his years at Goldman Sachs, but even in the 4th District, Democrats are angry; in D.C., emotion trumps financial knowledge right now.

Once a banker at Goldman Sachs for 12 years, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes knows high finance and can act as a political broker between the financial community and Democrats in Congress, as an article in Tuesday's New York Times points out.

But there's not much of a market for that kind of brokering, the article in the "Dealbook" column adds.

Himes' knowledge helped get him a seat on the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped craft a version of what became the Dodd-Frank Act, a major change in federal financial regulations. His Wall Street ties also helped him get his job as a congressman, with many donations from Wall Street, particularly from Goldman Sachs employees.

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This year, however, his background with tarnished Goldman Sachs and contacts among the hedge fund community are less valued, both in Washington and even the Fourth District.

For the Greenwich Democrat, "whose district has one of the highest concentrations of millionaires in the country," the article states, "each new instance of fiery rhetoric meant more phone calls and e-mails from financiers angry about their status as left-wing punching bags."

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Yet the congressman may still be useful in helping Democrats scour Wall Street for political donations, the article adds.

In the Fourth District and in Washington, according to the article, Himes has been giving more emphasis other than high finance as he positions himself for next year's election.

(Two Republicans—Chris Meek of Stamford and state Rep. John Shaban, who represents Weston, Easton and Redding in the state House—have expressed an interest .)

Himes recently sponsored a rally on the Norwalk Green , although in a talk with and in the Fourth District he spoke about the economy.

Correction: The New York Times article appeared in print on Tuesday, online on Monday (the article originally said the article was published Sunday).


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