(c/o drew2011.com)
On Sept. 13, Middletown mayoral candidate Dan Drew won a landslide victory against challenger Christine Bourne in the Democratic Party primary. Drew will challenge Republican incumbent Sebastian Giuliano in November’s general election.
According to WesDems President Ben Florsheim ’14, members of the group spent time making phone calls and going door-to-door to campaign for Drew. Florsheim added that he hopes the group will be more involved in the campaign as they look forward to the general election.
“We also wanted to make the people who are registered Democrats on campus aware that there was a primary,” he said. “There really was no reason that they would know because it was so soon after classes started. We sent out mass text messages to people who we knew were registered in hopes that they would find some time on Tuesday to be able to vote.”
Florsheim said that the group normally does not get involved in primary elections, but made an exception due to the level of enthusiasm in the community for Drew’s campaign and because of his specific opponent.
“This was a special case because of just the nature of Dan’s opponent in the primary,” he said. “I think, it was a massive vote of no-confidence in her ability to be mayor. She didn’t have a platform, and she had originally filed to run as an independent in the general election. Dan Drew is the democratic candidate, he always was the democratic candidate and in our view there were no other legitimate democratic candidates in the race.”
Drew said that he was thrilled with the level of support he received.
“I’m just very pleased with the overwhelming support I received from the people of Middletown,” he said. “I think that the direction in which I would like to take the city of Middletown is in line with the direction which the citizens would like to see the city go.”
Drew said that he hopes to focus on the town’s economy, create jobs in the technology and “green” sectors, and refocus resources on progressive change. Florsheim said that Drew also hopes to work with Wesleyan students on a number of changes.
“He has also expressed a definite interest with working with the University as well,” Florsheim said. “He wants to work with students on things like bike lanes in the city and environmental initiatives which he said really can’t take hold without the support of students. He’s definitely acknowledged that Wesleyan is an integral part of the Middletown community.”
Drew said that he was very grateful for the work WesDems has been doing on the campaign.
“I am aware of the work [WesDems] has been doing, and they’ve been very helpful on the campaign doing voter outreach, and I’m very happy to have them,” he said. “I think that any time the city and the University work together it’s a win-win.”
Florsheim said that Drew has expressed interest in an appearance on campus and added that WesDems hopes to bring all of the mayoral candidates to campus. Florsheim added that WesDems hopes to focus on getting Wesleyan students registered to vote in Middletown as the election approaches.
“It’s easy to switch back if you want to vote in 2012 in your home state,” he said. “The voting precinct is a block away from Broad Street Books, and students’ votes count in a small election like this, and there are lots of reasons for them to care about Middletown’s future even if they’re only going to be here for four years.”
The Cardinal Conservatives declined to comment on the outcome of the primary.
According to Drew, a mayoral debate is scheduled for Oct. 25. Florsheim said that he hopes that the debate will serve to further establish Drew as an appealing candidate with a progressive vision for Middletown.
“I think most Middletown residents are going to recognize [Drew as a candidate] and say, ‘This is the guy that we need to help fix what’s been wrong in the past couple of years,’” Florsheim said.