Florsheim taps veteran city leader as deputy mayor

MIDDLETOWN — Mayorelect Ben Florsheim nominated Common Councilmanelect Vincent J. Loffredo as deputy mayor Tuesday .

“Vinnie Loffredo is the embodiment of public service and commitment to community, and I am honored he has accepted my nomination to serve as deputy mayor,” Florsheim said in a statement. “His long record of service as a Common Council member, state representative, chairman of the Board of Education is second to none, and his knowledge and love of Middletown is unparalleled.

Under the city charter, the deputy mayor serves as acting mayor during a temporary vacancy in the office. Informally, the individual also serves as an adviser to the mayor on various aspects of city business, according to a release.

Loffredo will be confirmed by the new Common Council Thursday at 6 p.m. during a special meeting at City Hall.

The lifelong Middletown resident also served on the council for two years in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and was a state legislator for District 33 for several years.

After a 10year absence from the city, he moved back and was elected to the common council again in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

Loffredo retired from the Connecticut Education Association after 42 years of service. He attended Middletown High School, Marquette University, and completed 18 graduate credits from Wesleyan

University’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.

Loffredo’s top priority is to adopt a budget that maintains and enhances city schools and city services while adopting a fair and reasonable tax rate,

growing the grand list, and securing state and federal financial resources that support our community’s goals, he said in a candidate questionnaire.

“His partnership and friendship will be invaluable to me, to my administration, and to his colleagues on the Common Council,” Florsheim added.

“I’m honored to serve as Ben’s deputy,” Loffredo said in the release. “And as a member of the Common Council, I look forward to working with Ben and the newly elected and reelected candidates who will serve all the residents of our great and diverse city and move it forward.”

He resigned from the council in December 2010, citing new work requirements as the reason. He was later appointed the director of the Connecticut Education Association’s government relations department.

The Common Council determines the deputy mayor’s salary, the charter says.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Newly elected Middletown Common Councilman and Deputy Mayor Vincent Loffredo delivered his farewell speech in January 2011 after resigning from the council. He was reelected Nov. 5.