Ex-Mets manager will run for mayor
‘Why not make it the greatest city ib America?’ Valentine asks
STAMFORD — Bobby Valentine is taking the field.
The Stamford native, Rippowam High School graduate, former Major League Baseball player and New York Mets manager, and current college athletics director announced Friday he is running for mayor.
“Many people … see things and ask why did they happen, and others see things that didn’t happen and ask why not — I’m one of those guys,” Valentine said earlier this week during an interview at his sports academy in Springdale.
“I just want to know why not make it the greatest city in America, why not spend your time so that the people that you grew up with and the people that live with you are happy and content as they’re living, and I think that I’ve done a lot and I’ve learned a lot, and maybe my experience could make things better.”
That experience, he noted, includes opening a restaurant in downtown Stamford in 1980, becoming an MLB manager in 1985 at the age of 35 and, decades later, earning an award from the emperor of Japan after twice managing the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Why is he running for mayor now?
“Because now is a time of my life that I can, and if I don’t, I can’t,” Valentine said. “My plate is rather clear.”
Valentine has been the executive director of athletics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield since 2013. He said a succession plan is already in place for that position.
City and Town Clerk Lyda Ruijter confirmed that Valentine filed candidate registration paperwork on Friday.
Valentine, 70, is seeking the mayorship as an unaffiliated candidate, although he used to be a registered Republican.
“I don’t want to have any letter on my forehead,” he said. “I don’t like the division that those letters have created in the country and in our community, and I don’t want to be judged by a name, by a party, because this election and all, I would think, hometown and local elections are not about policy. It’s about people and it’s about needs of people, and to confuse what you’re trying to do with what (the) policy is of a party … I don’t have the time for that.”
Josh Fedeli, chairman of the Stamford Democratic City Committee, said Valentine’s decision to run as an unaffiliated candidate “seems like nothing more than a ploy to get elected in a town that is dominated by Democrats.”
“So welcome to the race, but we need real answers about what Bobby is, what his political affiliation is and how he’s going to approach being mayor,” Fedeli said.
Valentine said among his priorities as mayor would be upgrading school buildings, ensuring that teachers can afford to live in the city where they work and continuing to fix Stamford’s roads.
The current mayor, David Martin, a Democrat, is running for reelection for the last time this year. He is facing a challenge from Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons. No Republican candidate has emerged yet. The Stamford Republican Town Committee’s chairman, Fritz Blau, did not return requests for comment.
“I like David. I think David’s worked really hard his entire life to serve our community,” Valentine said. “I just think my vision could be a little brighter. I think I could possibly work with different factions of the city that possibly he’s had a little trouble with,” Valentine said.
“It’s my leadership ability, it’s my managerial ability, it’s my ability to bridge gaps that I think I’m bringing to the table — and it’s not up against David or Caroline or anybody else who might want to run.”
Valentine noted that over the years he has lived in several Stamford neighborhoods, from Waterside to the West Side to downtown to North Stamford.
While it’s his first time running for office, Valentine has held a position in city government before. In 2011, Martin’s predecessor, Michael Pavia, appointed Valentine as the city’s public safety director.
Valentine oversaw the police, fire and health departments during his 11 months in the role.
“I didn’t know what I was doing — I can be very truthful with you,” Valentine said. “And I didn’t get paid for it, so I guess it was OK that I had to learn on the job.”
While he was director of public safety, he also worked as a baseball analyst for ESPN. He was out of town because of his ESPN job when Tropical Storm Irene hit Stamford, which brought him some criticism.
Valentine said he was on the phone that weekend with the mayor and other city officials.
“They were implementing what needed to be implemented,” he said.
Valentine stepped down from the public safety post to be the manager of the Boston Red Sox.
Earlier this week, Valentine teased his announcement on his social media accounts. Twitter users guessed that perhaps he was going to be the New York Mets’ manager again. He led the team to the World Series in 2000.
Asked if he had a message for the Mets fans who had hoped he was coming back, Valentine said: “You only have so much time in your life, and I’ve given them a lot of my life.”