Thread: Veteran files to challenge Hayes in 8th Congressional Distri

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/ncwire ... 7763c.html

Published: Aug 24, 2005
Modified: Aug 24, 2005 4:45 PM
Veteran files to challenge Hayes in 8th Congressional District

By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tim Dunn, a trial lawyer and military veteran from Fayetteville who served recently in Iraq, announced his intention Wednesday to challenge four-term Republican U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes for his seat in Congress.

Dunn, a Democrat, cited Hayes' July vote switch on the Central American Free Trade Agreement as a key motivation for his campaign. Hayes had said repeatedly he opposed CAFTA, then changed his vote at the last moment to ensure passage of the agreement.

"He broke his promise to the people of the 8th Congressional District," Dunn said in a telephone interview. "With NAFTA, fast-track and now with CAFTA, those are things that ... will severely hurt our jobs here."

Hayes was not a member of Congress in 1993, when NAFTA - the North American Free Trade Agreement - was approved.

Dunn, 45, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Last year, he helped a special tribunal in Iraq prepare for the prosecutions of Saddam Hussein and other senior government leaders in that nation's former regime.

Dunn also served in the 1990-91 Gulf War and in Kosovo and said he is worried that soldiers and Marines in Iraq have not gotten sufficient support from Washington.

"I'm not setting here, being an armchair quarterback, second-guessing that" decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, Dunn said.

"What I'm concerned about is the administration and the current Congress's strategy on how to win. ... When we send our servicemen in harm's way, we ought to send them with a clearly defined mission and we ought to know what we have to do to win and when that's over, we bring them home."

Echoing a strategy already being used by Democratic hopeful Heath Shuler in his campaign to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor in western North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, Dunn said he would bring "North Carolina values" to Washington.

"I'm running because I care about the people of this district, and I'm concerned that the politicians in Washington don't seem to care about the things that matter most to the people of North Carolina," Dunn said in the statement announcing his candidacy.

Hayes noted in an interview Wednesday that Dunn has never served in elective office. His only previous campaign was for the Democratic nomination to the 7th Congressional District seat in 1996. Dunn lost the primary to Mike McIntyre, who captured the seat that fall and still holds it.

A 2002 redistricting moved Dunn into Hayes' district, which stretches from Charlotte and Cabarrus County in the west to Fayetteville in the east.

"Here's a guy with no record in serving in any kind of public office," Hayes said. "It remains to be seen what he's going to run on.

"We've always had a number of opponents," Hayes added. "This particular candidate happens to have announced first, and I'm sure there will be others. We've always got a competitive race, so I look forward to competing."

Other possible contenders for the Democratic nomination include Chris Kouri, a Charlotte lawyer who ran unsuccessfully against Hayes in 2002, and state Rep. Rick Glazier of Fayetteville.

Unlike many congressional districts, the 8th District is relatively evenly divided by party registration. Hayes won the open seat with just 51 percent of the vote in 1998 but has boosted his percentage of the vote to 54 percent or higher in each of his three re-election victories.

Hayes has been active in the district in recent weeks, meeting with voters and mailing letters explaining his CAFTA vote. He says he switched stands because of pledges that the Bush administration would give attention to the threat posed by China to North Carolina's textile industry.

Key textile employers in the district also believed CAFTA would help them, Hayes has said.

"I am absolutely confident we did the right thing for the district and anytime anyone wants to talk about it, I'm happy to do it," he said.

The Bush administration said last week it thought it was close to an agreement with China on a deal to stem the flood of low-cost clothing imports from that country; Hayes said Wednesday he is optimistic a deal will be announced by the time Chinese President Hu Jintao visits the White House Sept. 7.

"We feel like they're in a strong position to do things that will be positive for the textile industry," Hayes said.

BYE BYE FLIP FLOPIN HAYES.

interesting even if he is a lawyer.

I was a little leary of him being a lawyer as well. I will investigate and see how he stands on other issues.