The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Glassman back in the race for Esty’s seat
Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of profiles on candidates for the U.S. House from Connecticut’s 5th District.
SIMSBURY — Mary Glassman thought she would never return to elected office.
But on March 30, the former eight-term first selectman of Simsbury got a call from her Los Angelesbased son, who had already spoken to her two other grown children. “He said, ‘Mom, I think you should run for Congress,’ and I told him I didn’t think there was an opening,” Glassman said. “But he said, ‘No, Mom, there’s going to be an opening, and I think it’s time for you to step up.’ ”
Her son was right.
Four days later, following revelations that she covered up an office abuse scandal, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty announced she would not seek a fourth term representing Connectiut’s 5th Congressional District.
That same day, Glassman jumped into what had suddenly become Connecticut’s most competitive congressional race.
In doing so, Glassman entered under circumstances similar to those in 1991, when a candidate for Simsbury first selectman suddenly dropped out of the race and Glassman’s husband, Andrew, talked her into running.
“Somebody dropped out and I dropped in; it’s fate, I guess,” said a smiling Glassman, a two-time Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and the manager of the Capitol Region Education Council. “I really felt obligated to run, because this is such an important seat.”
Glassman, who is being challenged in the Aug. 14 primary by former star Waterbury high school teacher Jahana Hayes, insists that being elected eight times as a Democrat in a Republican town and working in the state capital earned her the party’s endorsement at the district nominating convention two weeks ago.
But Glassman concedes the 5th District is difficult to win, because of its diversity of cities and towns and because it encompasses so much of northwestern and central Connecticut.
“It is probably the toughest to win of all the congressional districts because it was held by a Republican for 24 years, and because it is important to the nation,” Glassman said of a district that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton by just over 50 percent in the 2016 presidential election. “I spoke with Elizabeth about it, and she said it’s a tough district.”
Glassman’s strategy over the next 11 weeks is to listen to as many voters as she can and to share her story, which she describes as a 5th District story.
That story takes lessons from growing up in an immigrant home in New Britain, where Glassman learned the importance of service, and where she learned government assistance can make lives better. Her story takes lessons from her political experience, which has taught her to temper toughness with kindness and to balance courage with cooperation.
Glassman says the way to show voters what she’ll do for them in Washington is to tell them what she has done in office.
State Rep. Bob Godfrey, DDanbury, her law school classmate and longtime friend, agrees.
“She was the CEO of Simsbury for a long period of time, so she must have been doing something right, because Simsbury is hardly a Democratic stronghold,” said Godfrey, who represents Danbury. “She is smart, she is a hard worker, and she is really experienced in public policy, which are all important qualities to be a member of Congress.”
Glassman will spend the summer raising money. Her campaign had raised $170,000 by the end of last week, with plans to raise $340,000 more by the primary, she said.
Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, has been in the race for four weeks and has only begun to raise money. After losing the party endorsement to Glassman by three votes, Hayes issued a challenge to supporters to raise $10 from 1,000 donors in 24 hours.
By contrast, Esty had $1.5 million on hand when she dropped out of the race.
People of the 5th
When Glassman speaks with voters in the 5th District, she is struck by how engaged they are — and by how exasperated they are.
“They are frustrated with the process in Washington.” Glassman said. “On an issue like health care, they want to know, ‘Why can’t we get simple, basic health care? Why does it have to cost so much? They really don’t want to hear finger-pointing or excuses. They want to hear about results.”
As such, Glassman believes she is positioned to identify with voters’ concerns about everything from Social Security to school security.
“We are working hard to listen to voters and to understand how we can leverage local, state and federal policy to make a difference in their lives,” Glassman said. “Without having the benefit of serving locally and at the state level, I would not have the ability to understand how all of government can work together.”
The values she learned as a child, started with her mother, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, who was a single mother for a while after the death of her father, an immigrant from Italy. Her mother kept the family afloat with the help of Social Security.
“She taught us never to forget where we came from, and to focus on being kind and making a difference,” Glassman said of her mother, who turns 90 this year. “We need to make sure that all kids have the same opportunity and hope that they can do better.”
Glassman’s best friend from kindergarten agrees the heart of Glassman’s service ethic is in her early childhood experience.
“She is just a warm-hearted and intelligent person who always has other human beings at heart,” said Heidi Calderone, of Berlin. “What I don’t like about politicians is you really can’t trust them, but I have always felt like I can trust her.”
Trust in Esty was a casualty in late March, when Heart Connecticut Media broke news that she failed to act quickly to remove her former chief of staff, after learning of allegations that he punched and sexually harassed a former employee in Esty’s office.
Esty admitted she covered up the scandal by giving her ex-chief of staff a favorable review that helped him get a job with the Ohio office of Newtown-based Sandy Hook Promise.
At the time the scandal broke, there was only one other candidate in the race to represent the 5th District — Republican Manny Santos.
Santos, the GOP’s endorsed candidate, is in a primary against Southbury’s Ruby O’Neill and Watertown businessman Richard Dupont.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what effect the Esty scandal will have on the primary race in a midterm election year when Democrats hope to capture control of the House of Representatives from Republicans.
Already, Glassman said, voters are seeking assurances that Esty’s replacement has the ability to run an office that is open and inclusive.
“I think that is a fair issue for voters in this race, to ask, ‘Have you managed people?’ ‘Have you managed staff?’ ” Glassman said. “Voters want to be sure that you have the management experience to run an office that is respectful, and that is free of sexual harassment.”