But Shays? "He was there before I was," Serrani recalls. And that, those who know Shays say, is typical of the congressman, who after more than 19 years still relishes the job, starting early in the morning and finishing late at night. "There are times," confides his wife, the former Betsi de Raismes, "when he says, 'I just wish I didn't have to sleep.' "
In the course of his congressional career, Shays has risen from the bottom of the seniority pole and someone focused primarily on domestic issues to an in-demand national figure and authority on terrorism.
But as he seeks his 11th term this November, the Bridgeport Republican, who has racked up majorities of up to 77 percent in past races, finds himself vulnerable.
Largely because of growing public disaffection with the war in Iraq — and his steadfast support of it — the 61-year-old Shays is at the center of one of the nation's most-watched races. Democrats hope to topple the incumbent and replace him with Diane G. Farrell, 51, the former Westport first selectman, as one of 15 seats needed to take control of the House of Represntatives. But even facing a contest rated by political handicappers as a
Shays has always been a visible presence throughout the district, appearing at parades, celebrating the work of constituents and hosting regular public forums to solicit constituents' opinion that he takes into account in deciding an issue.
"What job allows someone to meet so many people?" he marvels one day earlier this month. "I have so much fun interacting with my constituents. I learn so much and help them understand their government."
In 1998, he invited residents to an open forum, so unique it was televised nationally, to hear their views on the possible impeachment of President Clinton, which he opposed. On another occasion, he hosted a forum to discuss Iraq, and continued discussions in a Wilton diner when some constituents still wanted to discuss the issue more than three hours later.
But on this particular August day, Shays is in Bridgeport to celebrate the work of the Southwest Community Health Center.
It is something to which he professes great attachment. He cast his first vote in Congress in support of such community-based health clinics, which he says are particularly helpful in addressing the health needs of the poor.
Daniel R. Hawkins, a lobbyist with the National Association of Health Centers, remembers the time in 2002 Shays personally went up against his majority leader, Richard Armey, to collect signatures of fellow lawmakers to free a bill from an anti-abortion rider that held up funding.
"He essentially said, 'Let my people go,' " Hawkins recalls.
"You can come to work here at 7 in the morning and he's already been here a couple of hours," says his chief of staff, Betsy Hawkings, who has worked for him for most of his Washington tenure.
When she sought employment with the newly elected representative in 1987, Hawkings wanted to help the 4th congressional district where she grew up. "What I knew about him was that he had an enormous amount of energy."
But Hawkings adds that nothing impressed her so much as the way Shays responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. As House offices were evacuated, she recalls Shays stayed on, figuring that someone had to answer calls from anxious constituents.
Even before those terrorist attacks, Shays had led several hearings exploring threats to national security. And in their aftermath, Hawkings says he agonized over what else he might have done to get more attention.
A native of Stamford, Shays grew up in Darien, the youngest of four sons. He latched onto the idea of a career in public service early, fascinated by the biographies he was encouraged to read in grade school.
By the time he was in junior high, "the core Shays qualities were really well in place and obvious when I met him in eighth grade," says his wife, who had moved to Darien from Long Island. "He was caring, fun, he was very honest and decent and hard-working."
Two of the things he worked hard at, she says, were hockey and tennis. They remain favorite pursuits for relaxation, as well as tennis and running when he has the opportunity.
A Christian Scientist, Shays went on to Principia College in Illinois. After graduating, he married Betsi. A conscientious objector to military service, Shays and his wife served in the Peace Corps in Fiji. Betsi Shays, who had a long career as a teacher, is now a Washington-based official with the Peace Corps. The couple's one child, Jeramy Alice, plans to attend Yale this fall as part of a combined program in environmental law with Vermont Law School.
The congressman himself earned master's degrees in both public and business administration at New York University.
He first won election to the state House of Representatives in the aftermath of Watergate in 1974, getting attention by bicycling around his Stamford district.
In Hartford he was known for a bipartisan approach, and won broad recognition in the 1980s when he went to jail after a state judge found him in contempt of court for insisting on speaking out on corruption. Released to attend some legislative business, he returned to finish the remainder of his seven-day term.
Shays' 1983 loss to Democrat Serrani — his longtime commuting partner to Hartford — for the job as Stamford's mayor might have seemed bleak at the time.
But Betsi Shays says the gracious way he handled defeat helped pave the way for his congressional triumph in the special election four years later to replace the late Stewart B. McKinney. Serrani said he admires his longtime friend for the way he's grown over his congressional career.
"I think Chris is more adept at digesting all this material now and taking it in and making decisions as opposed to when we were younger," he says.
"The fundamentals have stayed constant," says Betsi Shays. "I think he's become over the years more and more skillful in finding the common ground and bringing people together."
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