Benjamin Florsheim
Benjamin Florsheim | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Middletown, CT | |
| Assumed office November 12, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Drew |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Daniel Florsheim February 13, 1992 Mequon, Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University |
| Website | benflorsheim.com |
Benjamin Daniel Florsheim (born February 13, 1992) is an American Democratic politician and the current mayor of Middletown, Connecticut.[1] Florsheim was elected mayor in 2019 and is the youngest in the city's history.[2] He is also the treasurer on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut.[3]
Early life and education
Ben Florsheim was born in Mequon, Wisconsin and is a descendant of Milton S. Florsheim, whose family founded, owns and operates Florsheim Shoes.[4] He grew up in Salt Lake City before moving to Middletown in 2010 to attend Wesleyan University, his father's alma mater.[3][4] As a freshman, Florsheim became involved with the Democratic Party in Middletown.[3]
In 2014, Florsheim graduated from Wesleyan with a bachelor's degree in Government.[5] He was employed in the Office of United States Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut as an outreach assistant before running for political office.[4]
Honors Thesis
As an undergraduate at Wesleyan, Florsheim authored a television script as an honors thesis, entitled, "The Trail: A Dramatic Series".[6][7] Two days after Florsheim took office, the Wesleyan student blog Wesleying released an article, detailing how the script tells the story of the young "Dan Singer" in the town of "Middleburgh", and a graduate of "Olin University", who runs against "Pete Salafia" in the local mayoral election.[7] The article drew parallels between Florsheim's writing and reality.[7]
Political career
Florsheim began running for mayor of Middletown in 2019 on a platform of improving schools, civic engagement/government transparency, revitalization of Middletown's riverfront, continued work on downtown and the North End, keeping/attracting small businesses, "greening" Middletown, improving parks and open spaces, and social, racial, and economic justice via working with private and non-profit sectors, as well as with input from community stakeholders.[8]
Florsheim won in a September 2019 mayoral Democratic primary and moved on to the November 2019 election.[9][10]
In November 2019, Florsheim ran against council minority leader and former mayor Sebastian Giuliano and won 51–47%.[11][12][13] At his swearing in, he became the youngest mayor in the history of Middletown.[2]
Florsheim endorsed Bernie Sanders for 2020 president.[14]
Regarding the 2020 Middletown city budget, Florsheim seeks to "maintain things as level as possible", and also wants to see the state of Connecticut reimburse the city for tax-exempt properties.[15]
Electoral history
| 2019 Middletown Democratic mayoral primary[16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ben Florsheim | 1,359 | 33.41% | |
| Democratic | William J. Russo | 1,181 | 29.03% | |
| Democratic | Mary A. Bartolotta | 926 | 22.76% | |
| Democratic | Geen G. Thazhampallath | 602 | 14.80% | |
| Majority | 178 | 4.38% | ||
| 2019 Middletown mayoral general election[17] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Ben Florsheim | 5,846 | 50.17% | |
| Republican | Sebastian N. Giuliano | 5,428 | 46.59% | |
| Write-in | Valeka Clarke | 22 | 0.19% | |
| Majority | 418 | 3.58% | ||
References
- ↑ "Benjamin Florsheim 02/13/1992". connvoters.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cassandra Day (2019-11-13). "History is made in Middletown as Mayor Florsheim, diverse array of other elected officials sworn into office". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "About Ben". Ben Florsheim for Mayor of Middletown. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 McWilliams, Kathleen. "Ben Florsheim, the 27-year-old Democrat running for mayor in Middletown, hopes people buy into his optimism, vision for the city". courant.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ "Ben Florsheim". Linkedin. Retrieved 6 April 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Florsheim, Benjamin (2014-04-15). "The Trail: A Dramatic Series - Episode 101 - ?Getting to Yes? - With Commentary by the Author". Honors Theses - All.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 fresca (2019-11-14). "The Prognostication of Ben Florsheim's Senior Thesis". Wesleying. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ "Issues & Vision". Ben Florsheim for Mayor of Middletown. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Cass; Day, ra; Mill, Jeff (2019-09-10). "Florsheim wins Middletown's Democratic mayoral primary election". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ "Middletown mayoral primary winner; people asked 'how old are you?'". WTNH.com. 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Cass; Day, ra; Bannister, Valerie (2019-11-05). "Florsheim wins Middletown mayoral contest in unofficial tally". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Staff, Press (2019-08-08). "Middletown candidate for mayor, Wesleyan grad qualifies for primary". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Cassandra Day (2019-11-06). "Democrats win big in Middletown's municipal election". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Staff, Press (2020-01-30). "Middletown leaders endorse U.S. Sen. Sanders for president". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Cassandra Day (2020-01-21). "Middletown's new mayor rolling up his sleeves, tackling 2020 budget". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ Cass; Day, ra; Mill, Jeff (2019-09-10). "Florsheim wins Middletown's Democratic mayoral primary election". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ↑ "Election results from around the state". fox61.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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