Waterford Municipal Election Candidate Wins Prestigious UAW Endorsement

WATERFORD, CT - On Tuesday, October 17, the United Auto Workers Region 9A CAP Council voted to endorse just one candidate in Waterford’s municipal election: Joshua Steele Kelly for Representative Town Meeting in District 3.

This is the third endorsement Kelly has received from a community organization, also having received the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers CT and NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, making him the most endorsed candidate in the town’s election, according to a release.

He is further endorsed by both the Waterford Democratic Party and the Waterford Green Party, and will appear on both lines on the November 7th ballot. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"We are proud to endorse Josh," UAW Region 9A's Director Julie Kushner said in a release. "He is not only a smart and articulate candidate, but as a member of our union, we are confident he will be a principled and progressive member of Waterford's Town Meeting."

Josh is a long-time resident of Waterford, having graduated from Waterford High School in 2013, becoming an Eagle Scout with BSA Troop 29 in the same year, and founding the town’s ever-growing Green Party in 2014.

In 2015 he was elected to the Zoning Board of Appeals as an Alternate, and in 2016 he was appointed to the Conservation Commission in the same capacity. He graduated from Wheaton College with his BA in Political Science, and he is currently attending the University of Connecticut to earn his Masters in Public Administration.

The UAW’s constitution states that it seeks “to improve working conditions, create a uniform system of shorter hours, higher wages, health care and pensions; to maintain and protect the interests of workers under the jurisdiction of this International Union”.

As both a member of the union and as an elected official, Josh aims to champion all of this and more. Josh is a proponent of labor rights, environmentalism, transparent government, 21st century education, and his campaign has aimed to inspire and promote forward-thinking on each of these subjects.

He is the author of the Waterford Green Party’s 2017 platform, and both this and more about his views can be read at joshuasteelekelly.com/on-the-issues.

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