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West U's Skelly takes on Culberson in 7th District
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| Michael Skelly, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congressional District 7, at a recent house party with hosts Holly and Sandeep Seth. (Photo by Anne Marie Kilday/THE EXAMINER) |
By ANNE MARIE KILDAY
On a recent Friday night in Bellaire, the youngsters at Holly and Sandeep Seth's home were upstairs playing the Wii and the grown-ups were downstairs talking, sipping wine and sharing snacks.
When the time was just right, Michael Skelly made all the kids come downstairs to hear his campaign speech about some of the most important issues facing the U.S. today: energy, the economy and education.
The West U resident, an Irish immigrant who started a successful wind energy business, is challenging U.S. Rep. John Culberson in the race for the 7th Congressional District seat. It is one of the most Republican districts in the country, and the Democratic candidate is running a well-funded campaign while staying safely in the middle-of-the-road.
"I am running for Congress because I want to bring to bear some of the lessons that I have learned in the business world to representing this district," Skelly said.
"Most people in this district are really frustrated that things aren't moving forward in Washington, D.C. If you look at what Congress actually accomplishes week after week, it's precious little."
In an interview at his campaign headquarters, Skelly said “getting the books balanced†is the number one issue of the day.
"A lot has come down to how do the decisions we make today play out over the next 10 to 20 years. We are borrowing 3 to 4 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) every year, and that is not a recipe for long-term prosperity."
Skelly believes that energy independence in the U.S. can be achieved by a combination of solutions, including more use of renewable resources like wind energy; better use of "traditional" energy resources; increased energy efficiency and mass transit.
In a jab at Culberson, who has opposed some federal funding for Metro, Skelly said the Houston area needs more mass transit funding.
"Most people understand that we are not going to just pave Houston in order to move people around," Skelly said. "We are going to need to implement other transportation solutions."
Skelly's views on education and health care borrow from both ends of the political spectrum.
"I think we've kicked off an important national dialogue over the past eight years about the expectations that we have about our schools, and our students, but we need to take this set of expectations and dramatically broaden those standards," Skelly says in his stump speech.
At his headquarters, Skelly said that the federal role in education should be "one of leadership."
One problem with current educational standards is that "the thresholds are really low, and one-size-fits all," Skelly said.
Skelly's position on the war in Iraq is that the U.S. should use "a safe and responsible redeployment of the troops out of Iraq."
He also said that Congress needs to act to ensure good benefits for returning veterans.
"We were sold a war that ... over a period of time ...the rationale changed," Skelly said. "First it was weapons of mass destruction, it was an Al Qaeda connection that didn't exist, it was create a democracy in the Middle East that will further other democracies," Skelly said.
"So, I think we should redeploy, and we should get very serious about how we are treating returning veterans," Skelly said.
Fundraising for Skelly's campaign has been good enough to mount an aggressive TV advertising campaign that will continue to air until the November election.
In his campaign speech, Skelly shares his uniquely American story. The son of Irish immigrants, he was 2 years old when his parents moved to the United States.
He attended school in Roanoke, Va., graduated from Notre Dame University, served in the U.S. Peace Corps and graduated from Harvard Business School.
He frequently tells people about his Irish grandmother, who urged his father to move to the U.S.
"My grandmother was right, American turned out to be the land of the dreams she had hoped for her grandchildren," Skelly said..
When the time was just right, Michael Skelly made all the kids come downstairs to hear his campaign speech about some of the most important issues facing the U.S. today: energy, the economy and education.
The West U resident, an Irish immigrant who started a successful wind energy business, is challenging U.S. Rep. John Culberson in the race for the 7th Congressional District seat. It is one of the most Republican districts in the country, and the Democratic candidate is running a well-funded campaign while staying safely in the middle-of-the-road.
"I am running for Congress because I want to bring to bear some of the lessons that I have learned in the business world to representing this district," Skelly said.
"Most people in this district are really frustrated that things aren't moving forward in Washington, D.C. If you look at what Congress actually accomplishes week after week, it's precious little."
In an interview at his campaign headquarters, Skelly said “getting the books balanced†is the number one issue of the day.
"A lot has come down to how do the decisions we make today play out over the next 10 to 20 years. We are borrowing 3 to 4 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) every year, and that is not a recipe for long-term prosperity."
Skelly believes that energy independence in the U.S. can be achieved by a combination of solutions, including more use of renewable resources like wind energy; better use of "traditional" energy resources; increased energy efficiency and mass transit.
In a jab at Culberson, who has opposed some federal funding for Metro, Skelly said the Houston area needs more mass transit funding.
"Most people understand that we are not going to just pave Houston in order to move people around," Skelly said. "We are going to need to implement other transportation solutions."
Skelly's views on education and health care borrow from both ends of the political spectrum.
"I think we've kicked off an important national dialogue over the past eight years about the expectations that we have about our schools, and our students, but we need to take this set of expectations and dramatically broaden those standards," Skelly says in his stump speech.
At his headquarters, Skelly said that the federal role in education should be "one of leadership."
One problem with current educational standards is that "the thresholds are really low, and one-size-fits all," Skelly said.
Skelly's position on the war in Iraq is that the U.S. should use "a safe and responsible redeployment of the troops out of Iraq."
He also said that Congress needs to act to ensure good benefits for returning veterans.
"We were sold a war that ... over a period of time ...the rationale changed," Skelly said. "First it was weapons of mass destruction, it was an Al Qaeda connection that didn't exist, it was create a democracy in the Middle East that will further other democracies," Skelly said.
"So, I think we should redeploy, and we should get very serious about how we are treating returning veterans," Skelly said.
Fundraising for Skelly's campaign has been good enough to mount an aggressive TV advertising campaign that will continue to air until the November election.
In his campaign speech, Skelly shares his uniquely American story. The son of Irish immigrants, he was 2 years old when his parents moved to the United States.
He attended school in Roanoke, Va., graduated from Notre Dame University, served in the U.S. Peace Corps and graduated from Harvard Business School.
He frequently tells people about his Irish grandmother, who urged his father to move to the U.S.
"My grandmother was right, American turned out to be the land of the dreams she had hoped for her grandchildren," Skelly said..
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