Middletown Mayor Officially Declares Candidacy For Governor

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Middletown Mayor Dan Drew has officially declared his candidacy for governor, six months after he formed an exploratory committee. Drew, a Democrat, made his announcement Wednesday in Middletown.

Drew said in a campaign notice that it has been “humbling and gratifying to see so much enthusiasm for ideas like single-payer healthcare, a progressive tax system to help the middle class, paid family and medical leave, the regulation and taxation of recreational marijuana, free college and technical schools, and a massive investment in job training to create the best trained workforce in America.”

Drew has raised more than $177,000 since he began exploring a run for governor. (To sign up for Middletown breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

In officially declaring his candidacy, Drew said he wants Connecticut’s success to be measured the same way “we’ve measured it in Middletown: by how our people are doing. I want us to measure our economic growth not just by how many jobs we have, but by how many of them pay a living wage.”

“I want to know that anyone can go to a doctor without losing their home,” Drew said. “That any child in any city can go to a school that’s as good as one in any suburb. That young people can go to college or technical school without taking on a mortgage's worth of debt before they turn 22. That workers always have the right to bargain collectively, earn a living wage, and work safely. That we treat our environment as our home instead of as a corporate dumpster. That women and girls know their place will always be where their dreams and abilities take them. That good jobs are here—and that we have a workforce that is prepared for them.”

Watch Drew’s announcement on Facebook Live below: