MIDDLETOWN — Ben Florsheim hasn’t cleared out his desk at Sen. Chris Murphy’s Hartford office. Even though he’s been on leave from the office since July, he’s worried packing up his belongings will jinx his chance to become Middletown’s next mayor.
“I wasn’t expecting to do this, this year,” Florsheim said. “I didn’t expect the Democratic field to shape up the way it did, and I didn’t hear from any of the candidates what was on my mind. It was all the usual political stuff. I, and a lot of people I am close with in Middletown, felt a sense of urgency about the four years ahead.”
Florsheim says the city is at a turning point. Young people are drawn to the city because of its historic, restaurant-filled Main Street and its progressive culture. The city’s first Pride parade drew thousands of participants in June, and the school district is recognized as one of the most innovative in the nation.
“We’ve come a long way. We’re doing well, and people are proud to live here,” Florsheim said. “Yet, people don’t think we’re doing well, and we have assets we are under-utilizing. There’s so much more we should be doing.”
Florsheim, 27, grew up in Salt Lake City and moved to Wisconsin as a teenager. He is a direct descendant of the founder of Florsheim Shoes, the iconic brand founded in 1892 that outfitted generations of men during the 20th century.
When it came time to choose a university, Florsheim chose Wesleyan University. His father had attended the school, and Florsheim had wanted to be somewhere of his own choosing, and Middletown seemed like a great city to live in, he said.
After graduating in 2014, Florsheim passed up an offer to work for Murphy in Washington, D.C., choosing to stay in Connecticut and work as the senator’s outreach assistant. Florsheim lived in New Haven briefly after he started working, but Middletown had its hooks in him.
“Every time I was in Middletown, it just felt like I was back home,” he said. “This is where my home is.”
Solving the Rubik’s Cube
Florsheim said he has plans for how to grow the grand list, support education, create a sustainable city and keep Middletown’s vibrant downtown on track, while balancing the city’s affordability.
He said he can’t promise to cut taxes, but said he’d work to identify which city services can be shared with other towns and put pressure on the state to relieve the fiscal burden placed on towns and cities.
“Middletown is in a unique position to solve that Rubik’s Cube,” Florsheim said. “We’re not immune from the fiscal forces of the state. Cities like Middletown need to start that conversation.”
Florsheim said he wants to implement a vision for Middletown that plays on the city’s strengths, fortifies areas of weakness and looks to the future.
Take developing the Connecticut riverfront, for example, he said. Plans to redevelop the city’s waterfront have been “around the corner” since his Wesleyan student days, he said.
Florsheim said he isn’t in favor of a big overly developed or commercialized plan. Instead, he said he favors a plan focused on public spaces, passive recreation and limited development.
“We are going to put together a plan for Middletown,” Florsheim said. “I dread the notion of ending up in 50 years with a bunch of empty buildings and thinking, what the hell were we thinking?”
As Murphy’s aide, Florsheim traveled the state meeting and listening to Connecticut residents and often found himself at the “nexus” of local, state and federal politics. While campaigning, he draws heavily on that experience and says he’ll bring that collaborative experience to city government.
“I know how to build coalitions, and I know what it means to build trust,” Florsheim said.
On a recent October afternoon as thunderclouds loomed on the horizon, Florsheim canvassed in the Bretton Road neighborhood. He said he knocked on more than 25,000 doors before September’s primary and has continued canvassing Middletown neighborhoods through the fall, talking with voters about what they think the city needs.
“You’re Ben,” Peggy Sapia said when she opened her front door.
Down the street, Anthony Valerio said he was delighted to learn Florsheim won the primary in September.
“I was very impressed,” Valerio said. “This young man opens the city to the larger country.”
Florsheim’s supporters point to his vision for the city and deep knowledge of government on all levels as selling points.
“I know he is ready to do this job. ... I’ve seen him be so effective as a coalition builder, as somebody who listens constantly, who thinks about creative solutions, and I know him as a person with integrity,” Sen. Murphy said at a recent campaign rally for Florsheim.
During the campaign, Republican mayoral candidate Seb Giuliano and Florsheim’s opponents have called attention to the 27-year-old’s youth and lack of city government experience to downplay his candidacy.
“Do you want to move forward with a new approach, or do you want to do the same thing?” Florsheim said. “And I don’t accept that the experience disparity is as huge as [Giuliano] says it is. He had never served in government when he was elected.”
Middletown has a history of electing younger voices to represent their city. Mayor Daniel Drew was elected to the post when he was 32, and state Sen. Matt Lesser was elected to the city’s planning and zoning commission when he was 24.
“We have come a long way as a city,” Lesser said at a campaign rally for Florsheim. “We look back 20 years, 10 years, Middletown used to be a place where people didn’t go to. Middletown used to be lumped in as a failed city, a scary city, a city that didn’t work. Now I think we are the most successful community in Connecticut. ... Ben thinks we can do that and do so much more. The future of Middletown is ahead of us, not behind us.”
Florsheim said he prides himself on running a clean campaign. He’s pledged not to accept donations from city contractors and lobbyists and has abstained from launching political attacks.
“My theory is that I’m only going to win if people want the goods I’m selling — optimism and potential,” Florsheim said.
Last week, Giuliano’s campaign accused Florsheim of “thinking he can buy his way into the mayor’s office” because Florsheim loaned his campaign $50,000 of his personal money
Florsheim responded to the accusation by saying that he is in a privileged position to front-load the cost of his campaign due to family money.
“The world has changed in huge ways that requires us to talk about class and wealth inequality,” he said. “I think that at a certain point, you have to reconcile your values with the way you live your life. I’m putting my money where my mouth is.”
Kathleen McWilliams can be reached at kmcwilliams@courant.com.