The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Familiar faces tapped to run Bloomberg 2020 campaign in Connecticut
A handful of familiar faces have been tapped to lead former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomerg’s presidential campaign in Connecticut.
Political veteran Brett Broesder, a newly elected member of the Milford Planning and Zoning board and a consultant for the 2018 campaigns of Ned Lamont, Susan Bysiewicz, and Shawn Wooden, has joined Bloomberg’s campaign as state director.
Broesder is a former top aide to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and former Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. Other Bloomberg 2020 Connecticut hires include another former Finch aide, Ruben Felipe, as political director. Felipe, a former state Democratic State Central Committee member who worked as the statewide Hispanic outreach director for Joe Lieberman’s 2006 U.S. Senate run, is the father of current state representative Antonio Felipe, DBridgeport.
Michelle Parente, who won a seat in November on the Milford Board of Aldermen, is operations director. Parente is a behind-the-scenes figure in Bridgeport politics, including campaign work for Mayor Joe Ganim.
Jordan Grice, a reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media who covered Bridgeport-area business news for the Connecticut Post and other publications until last week, has joined the Bloomberg 2020 campaign as communications director for Connecticut.
“In Connecticut, we’re building an organization that will not only help us win the primary on April 28, but also in November, so that we can start rebuilding America,” Broesder said. “Here’s the bottom line: Mike Bloomberg has taken on and won on some of our country’s toughest fights — be it on guns, climate, or public health — and our effort to defeat Donald Trump in Connecticut, and nationwide, will be no different.”
The challenge for the billionaire New York businessman, who built a financial news and information empire, will be to pull a successful end run around the Democratic front-runners. Bloomberg is generally polling in fourth place among
Democrats, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, ahead of South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
“Broesder has an outstanding history of building and running teams on some of the most important and high-profile campaigns across the country and in Connecticut, and we’re excited to have him lead our efforts in the Constitution State to defeat Donald Trump and to elect a proven leader to the White House,” said Rob Diamond, East Coast States Director for Mike Bloomberg 2020, in a written statement.
“Mike Bloomberg for President is building the infrastructure necessary to ensure that Democrats have the very best chance to beat Donald Trump in November, which is a win for all of us. I’m excited to be a part of this historic campaign,” Parente said.
kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
“Broesder has an outstanding history of building and running teams on some of the most important and high-profile campaigns across the country and in Connecticut.”
Rob Diamond, east coast irector for Mike Bloomberg 2020