Mayor Domenique Thornton and Democratic candidates for various councils, commissions and boards talked with the Middletown community Thursday Evening at Luce Restaurant. The meet-and-greet event was organized by Middletown’s Young Democrats and was well attended by voters and local high school students.
“It’s inspiring, as a lifelong Democrat, to see the participation of young people,” said Mayor Thornton at the event. “It is only through young voters that our democracy can work. If you don’t participate in the process, you can’t complain about the outcome.”
The mayor discussed issues that have been important to her during her tenure as mayor, citing the environmental and economic development that has taken place over the last eight years in Middletown, particularly the increase in retail and dining in the downtown area.
“More restaurants [and stores] are interested in coming downtown,” she said.
Despite the economic growth, the number one issue for Thornton has always been education. She began her political career by campaigning to support educational funding and has played a key role in moving the new high school building project forward. Improving the relationship between the University and the town has always been an important issue as well.
“I promoted projects such as Wesleyan’s Long Lane school acquisition, the Inn, and the Green Street Arts Center,” Thornton said. “I plan to continue a very strong [town-gown] relationship in the future.”
However, a non-University educational issue is taking center stage in the upcoming election.
“The construction of the new high school is the number one issue,” said Dan Filer ’78, who is running for a seat on the Board of Education. “We have the right site and the right people now and we need to proceed and build it. It’s going to be state-of-the-art.”
Thornton, who will oppose Republican candidate Sebastian Giuliano in the Nov. 8 election, was arrested on Sept. 14, but cleared of a DUI charge and a traffic violation Sept. 21 in Middletown Superior Court. Her blood-alcohol content was determined to be .018, well below .08, the legal limit in Connecticut. In addition, a toxicology test on a urine sample showed that there was no medication in her body that could have been dangerous in combination with the glass of red wine she had with dinner on the night of the arrest.
According to police, Thornton failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over, but she explained to several of the voters at the meet and greet that she has a spine curvature in addition to other ailments, including a sprained ankle at the time the test was administered. The overwhelming sentiment of the present members of the Democratic Party was that the mayor, who was followed for three miles before being pulled over, may have been unfairly targeted because of the upcoming election. Last year, Thornton defeated Giuliano by just 232 votes, but she has been working hard to ensure another victory.
“I’ve been going door-to-door,” Thornton said. “I started Aug. 8. I’m personally asking voters to come out and vote because every vote counts. I need the support to continue making progress. I hope people realize that it will come to a screeching halt unless we keep the Democrats in office.”
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