After years of organizing for Democrats such as John Kerry and Barack Obama, Matt Lesser ’10, who is currently on leave from the University, will serve as Democratic Representative for the 100th district of Connecticut. Lesser won a tightly contested race against three-term incumbent Representative Raymond Kalinowski (R), in which Lesser received 6,154 votes—51 percent of votes cast—while Kalinowski received 5,833.
Lesser, who served as president of the College Democrats of Connecticut while a student at the University and then as a member of Middletown’s Planning and Zoning Commission, will represent Durham, Middlefield and Middletown in the Connecticut State House.
“I’ve been involved in Middletown democratic politics for a while,” said Lesser, who plans to complete his degree, potentially at the University. “I was deeply disappointed with the kind of leadership we were getting. This was a year that a lot of people were looking for change.”
Lauren Valentino ’10, who is president of the Wesleyan Democrats (WesDems), was at Lesser’s campaign headquarters on election night.
“It was very tense—we all weren’t expecting anything,” Valentino said. “He was behind by a couple hundred votes up until the last precinct reported, [which] he won by a landslide. That’s when we knew he had clinched it. It was sheer joy.”
Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) President and WesDems member Mike Pernick ’10, who worked as Lesser’s campaign manager over the summer, credited the campaign’s volunteers for the narrow win.
“We had a truly phenomenal volunteer program,” Pernick said. “This was a tiny election, but the volunteer program rivaled a much larger one.”
Roughly 100 volunteers worked for the campaign on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., canvassing, phone-banking and increasing Lesser’s visibility among voters. Volunteers included local high school students and graduates, union members, retirees and University community members, including the WesDems.
“You can’t outspend the incumbent, but you can out-organize them,” Lesser said. “By getting so many people involved, we were able to contact every undecided voter in the district.”
Lesser’s campaign focused on the issues of developing renewable energy, protecting open space and funding for education. He characterized his campaign as taking a grassroots strategy.
“It was the old-fashioned way,” Lesser said. “Starting in April I went around knocking on doors. My goal was to knock on every single door in the district.”
Max Flescher ’12, a member of WesDems, held signs at the polls on Tuesday, and also took part in canvassing in Durham in the weeks leading up to the election.
“People were pretty happy and excited,” Flescher said. “There was a lot of campaigning. It showed me what an intense campaign it was.”
Lesser’s term officially starts in January, but last Thursday he participated in his first Democratic caucus, in which party leaders were elected and agendas were set.
“There are a lot of things on the agenda, but the two biggest priorities are balancing the state’s budget, and opening up the state’s healthcare system so that more people have access to better healthcare,” Lesser said.
When he begins his term, Lesser, who is 25 years old, will be the youngest representative in the Connecticut Congress.
“You need to work twice as hard so that people will take you seriously,” Lesser said. “You don’t want to be underestimated.”
Although the University is not a part of the 100th District, Lesser’s victory was still significant for the community that supported him.
“It’s just great knowing a Wesleyan student has been elected to a major political office,” Valentino said. “It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that Wesleyan students stood behind him and made such a major contribution.”
Pernick echoed this sentiment.
“As a Wesleyan student, I’m very proud,” Pernick said. “Wesleyan came together in support of one of its own. We now have a friend up in Hartford.”
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