Democratic House candidate to speak

Democratic Congressional candidate David Costello presents a lecture titled Afghanistan After the Taliban: Lessons Learned from International Interventions in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in Hirasawa Lounge, Chase Hall, 56 Campus Ave. A social hour with refreshments at 4 p.m. will give attendees a chance to speak to the candidate informally. The public is invited and admission is free.

An Old Town native who now lives in Lewiston, Costello served overseas as a U.S. foreign-aid officer, responding to political and humanitarian crises in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia. Between 1989 and 1994, he was a top aide to Maine Secretary of State Bill Diamond and assisted in expanding voter participation, improving motor vehicle safety laws and regulations, promoting campaign finance reform and facilitating Maine business incorporations.

The Bates College presentation is part of a series of candidate talks sponsored by the Bates Democrats. In addition to his experiences abroad, Costello will discuss the events of Sept. 11 and subsequent U.S. military action in Afghanistan, and the goal of reaching a new understanding concerning collective security.

In his run for Congress, Costello advocates guaranteeing our nation’s physical and economic security through responsible engagement in world affairs and the refinement of the defense, trade, and foreign policy establishments; providing affordable, quality health care through a comprehensive single-payer national health insurance system; and bolstering Social Security by, among other things, establishing government-subsidized savings accounts that supplement Social Security rather than supplanting it.