He’s one of the youngest black Republicans to ever be elected to office in Connecticut. Now, this Middletown man is looking to take his political career to the next level.

Edward Ford Jr. is making a run for city council.

News 8 first profiled Ford Jr. back in 2017 when he was elected to Middletown’s Board of Education at just 20 years old.

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“When you feel that it’s time to go to the next level to benefit your community, that’s what you have to do regardless of what the critics say,” he said.

If elected this fall, Ford Jr. said he plans to focus on investing in youth programming and education initiatives.