Drew committee raises $105.6K

City mayor has received support from more than 1,000 donors for possible 2018 gubernatorial bid

MIDDLETOWN >> After 12 weeks of canvassing the state while mulling a bid for governor in 2018, Mayor Dan Drew announced Wednesday that his exploratory committee has already secured 42.24 percent of the funds needed to qualify for public financing.

Drew, a Democrat serving his third term, has received support from more than 1,000 donors, with $105,600 in contributions coming from residents of 111 of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns. Nearly 90 percent of all contributions came from state residents, according Dan Drew for CT campaign manager Kyle J. Buda.

However, he’s still mum on when he may decide whether a run is in the cards.

“I don’t know yet,” Drew, 37, said, adding that he doesn’t have a firm date as to when he will make the decision. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is

in his second term in office, has not publicly announced whether he’ll seek another term. Connecticut is among the 14 states without term limits.

“Dan Drew doesn’t represent anything different from Dan Malloy,” Connecticut Republican Party Chairman JR Romano said Wednesday. “Dan of a different name is still the same. The Democrat party as a whole has failed this state.”

In Connecticut, gubernatorial candidates must raise $250,000 in small ($5 to $100) donations in order to qualify for public financing. Anyone can file with the State Elections Enforcement Commission to explore a run for statewide office (treasurer, senator, representative) without declaring a race.

When potential candidates, such as Drew, form exploratory committees, they can transition into a candidate committee at any time, according to the SEEC.

Already, Democrat Jacey Wyatt, a businesswoman from Branford, and Republican state Rep. Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, an allergist from Glastonbury, have made their gubernatorial bids public.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, both Republicans, have filed exploratory committees.

State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, hasn’t declared whether he will run, however news outlets have cited those close to him as saying he is considering a run for the office.

Shelton Mayor R. Mark A. Lauretti, a Republican, has announced he will run but hasn’t yet filed paperwork.

Drew has until April 10 to submit his quarterly filing with the SEEC.

“I’ve been having fundraisers all over the place, different house parties, restaurants, meeting with people,” the mayor said. “People ask a lot about the state budget, the state’s economy, they ask a lot about how Middletown became so successful, they ask about the things that we are doing here. It’s wonderful to meet people; we’re picking up a lot of support and it’s very encouraging.”

Drew said he is encouraged by the response to his possible candidacy.

“It’s incredible,” Drew said. “We’ve got more than 1,000 individual contributors from across Connecticut, and that’s an astounding number.”

In a release announcing his first quarterly campaign finance numbers, the mayor said certain issues are in the forefront of people’s minds.

“People are responding to our progressive message,” Drew said. “They want more economic opportunity for all. For decades, government has focused mostly on helping those at the very top, and people in the middle are being left behind. That has to change.”

Drew and his wife, Kate, have four children: Lily, 16 months, Jacob, 7, Ella, 11, and Jackson, 10.

Last March, Drew was recognized as being one of the most pro-growth and progressive public officials in the nation by New-DEAL, a network for leaders exemplifying those qualities.

Drew’s biography on the organization’s website credits him with closing an $8 million deficit in the city’s economy and upgrading the city’s bond rating. The website also includes his oversight of the city’s police force and enacting a senior relief program as reasons for his induction.

Last week, Drew announced that the city had maintained its AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s — the highest possible — for the second year in a row.

He’s credited with the implementation of solar panels on several cityowned sites, as well as successfully negotiating with FedEx Ground to build a new distribution hub at the former Aetna complex, which is expected to be completed by next year, creating several hundred jobs and boosting the city’s grand list. The new 525,000-square-foot package-sorting facility at 1000 Middle St. has been vacant for the past five years.

Since taking office in 2011, Drew has spearheaded the revitalization of the shore front of the Connecticut River, which flows along Harbor Park and moves through a great bend in the river; as well as the decommissioning of the water treatment plant along River Road and the city’s impending connection to the Mattabassett District sewage treatment plant in Cromwell, among other projects.

Drew was born in New York City and raised in New York and Connecticut and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut in 2002, then earned his master’s degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University in 2015.

For more information, see dandrew.com or Dan Drew CT on Facebook.

COURTESY PHOTO Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, 37, holds his daughter, Lily, who is now 16 months old.