Trump eyes Stamfordites for administration

Trump Parc tower in Stamford. Trump Parc tower in Stamford. Photo: File Photo / Photo: File Photo / Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Trump eyes Stamfordites for administration 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — The Main Street sports bar named for baseball legend Bobby Valentine is quiet Friday afternoon. A few guests are eating burgers and watching television. Others are scanning the memorabilia that covers nearly every surface of this popular downtown watering hole owned by one of the city’s most famous and beloved native sons.

A little more than two miles away, on East Main Street, is the headquarters of World Wrestling Entertainment, a company that employs hundreds and whose presence in the city also spans decades. After growing WWE into a multimillion-dollar, publicly traded corporation, its former president and CEO, Linda McMahon, threw her hat into the political ring in Connecticut, twice vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Ties to the state’s second-largest city aside, what the two may have in common next month goes well beyond Stamford, and involves positions in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

Last week, Trump tapped McMahon, 68, to lead the Small Business Administration, extolling in a statement Wednesday her potential to be a “phenomenal leader and champion for small business and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country.”

On Friday, reports surfaced that Valentine, 66, is on the short list of candidates to become the nation’s ambassador to Japan — presumably because of his stint managing in Japan’s professional baseball league, a job that gave him fluency in the language and launched him into overseas stardom. Trump’s transition team said the president-elect has so far only named an ambassador to China.

Feels like home

The fact that two people on Trump’s radar are connected to the same suburban city — one that has seen its own star rise over the past decade — is not lost on local leaders.

“It goes to show you that Stamford really has a lot to offer, and the talent that exists here in lower Fairfield County,” said Charles Pia, vice chairman of Stamford’s Republican Town Committee.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of businesses want to move to Stamford, and we need to continue to make it a business-friendly place,” Pia said. “Bobby went away, but came home because he still felt it was home. The McMahons could have moved their company anywhere and they chose to stay here, as well.”

Mayor David Martin said Stamford is “rooting for its home team” and wishes McMahon and Valentine well, hoping they can “become part of a good administration.”

Valentine’s career has long been a part of baseball lore. A young Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Seattle Mariners. He later managed teams including the Mets, and spent seven years managing the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japanese Pacific League. A wall at his Stamford sports bar is dedicated to his memorabilia from Japan.

Valentine grew up in Stamford, excelling as a baseball and football player at Rippowam High School. The athlete boasts of being the only Connecticut high school football player to make the all-state team three times. In 1980, he opened Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Cafe, known for burgers, beer and catering to throngs of 20-somethings. Earlier this year, ground broke at 268 Atlantic St., a 25,000-square-foot space on its way to becoming a Bobby Valentine’s sports bar with off-track betting

“He makes a point to sit with everyone, talk with everyone,” said Alejandro Cordido, a manager at Valentine’s downtown bar. “He loves taking pictures. He’s just a friendly guy and a pleasure to be around. Hearing (about the potential appointment) is great news for him.”

In 2011, Valentine was chosen by former Mayor Michael Pavia to be Stamford’s director of public safety, health and welfare. He left the post — a job for which he elected to collect only $10,000 annually — after 11 months for a two-year stint managing the Boston Red Sox, and is now the athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

“Bobby has not only the intelligence for representing the United States, he also has the persona,” said Pavia, who has worked closely with Valentine and McMahon. He said their consideration “speaks highly of the vetting process that’s underway.”

At the time of his appointment to city government, Valentine was dogged by questions about whether he was qualified for the position — a hurdle he may face if chosen for the job in Trump’s administration.

“The ambassadorship to Japan is not a ceremonial position,” said Josh Fideli, chairman of the Democratic City Committee. “With the increase in turmoil in that region, this is an important job. So when you think about it in those terms, I’m not sure Bobby is the first choice. He’s an interesting choice and he’s popular in Japan, but I would wonder what the rest of that short list looks like.”

Valentine has said little of the reports. “All this talk about Japan is just speculation as far as I’m concerned,” he said in a statement, “but it’s an honor to even be in the conversation.”

Entertainment empire

Unlike Valentine, McMahon has already secured a spot in Trump’s administration, and political analysts believe her background is a good fit for the Small Business Administration.

“I think she would have made a great senator,” Pia said of the Republican’s runs for U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012, for which she spent $100 million of her own fortune. “She would have brought to the Senate her knowledge of how to run a small business and balance a budget. While that’s not exactly what she will be doing heading up the SBA, she’ll be able to spread her knowledge and help implement ideas and policies that will benefit the average Joe.”

McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, live in Greenwich, but they have operated their sports entertainment empire out of Stamford for 30 years. While Linda McMahon stepped down as the company’s chief executive in 2009, earlier this year she launched Women’s Leadership LIVE, which promotes opportunities for women in business and public service.

Perhaps fittingly, the McMahons own property here — a 3,300-square-foot, two-story penthouse they purchased for $4.1 million — at Trump Parc Stamford. The tallest building in Stamford, the 35-story high-rise was built by local developer F.D. Rich Co. and is managed by the Trump Organization.

The couple was also the third-largest financial backer of Trump’s presidential run, contributing $7.5 million to pro-Trump super PACs, the Republican National Committee and his campaign, according to the Washington Post.

“At the end of the day, it looks like political patronage,” Democrat Fideli said of McMahon’s appointment. “I’m a small-business owner and she would not have been my first choice. But she’s an intriguing choice. I’ve seen what Linda McMahon has done with WWE locally, and it’s certainly a big fuel to the economy.”

Jack Condlin, president of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce, sees McMahon’s appointment as a boon for local business.

“Linda has always been a champion of small businesses,” Condlin said. “I think she’s a great choice, and having someone from Stamford appointed to any position only bodes well for the city.”

eskalka@scni.com