Submitted by Anthony Mangiafico, an endorsed Democratic candidate for Common Council.
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From the moment Ben Florsheim called me to inform me he was thinking of running for mayor of Middletown, I have been a supporter. Ben brings his political experience working with Sen. Chris Murphy along with his energy, education, and passion into a mayoral race that has gotten dirty because of a man who will not participate in a debate.
We need new leadership that has a plan to make our city live up to its full potential; an open, welcoming, and vibrant community willing to embrace new projects and new ideas. That’s Florsheim for Middletown.
Bill Russo has been complaining that the process to select the endorsed Democratic candidate has been dishonest for months now. Yet Mr. Russo could not be bothered to attend the mayoral forum that three other candidates attended, Valeka Clarke, Geen Thazhampallath, and Ben Florsheim, and did not even attend the July nominating convention.
His disdain for fellow Democrats leaves many voters pondering—why exactly is Mr. Russo running as a Democrat?
Ben Florsheim has many sharp ideas that will direct our city into the future. He supports our superintendent’s, Dr. Conner’s, vision for our public schools and wants to discuss smart riverfront development. He wants to build on the Middletown-Wesleyan partnerships and focus on bringing in in more businesses to Middletown; not just Main Street, but all across our vast city.
When Mr. Florsheim lost the Democratic Party endorsement by one vote, many of us started collecting signatures for him. We stood in front of grocery stores, we attended events such as the Farmer’s Market on Main Street, and went door to door. Mr. Florsheim collected the signatures he needed and they were verified by the Registrar of Voters.
I taught second grade for many years, and it may come as a surprise to Mr. Russo that “F” comes before “R” in the alphabet. The election rules state that petitioning candidates appear on the ballot in alphabetical order. It is really that simple. Mr. Russo is attempting to distract the public from the fact that he refuses to participate in any public debates.
On Sept. 10, my family and I are voting Florsheim for mayor and I hope you will too. Let’s put dirty politics and broken promises behind us, and fight for Middletown’s promising future.
1 comment:
While I think Ben is bright and passionate, I have yet to hear about any executive or budgetary experience that he may have. Other than the DTC is he involved in any local organizations or committees?
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