Middletown Mayor Dan Drew considering gubernatorial run ‘Lot of factors to consider’

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew said Tuesday that he’s mulling a run for governor. Middletown Mayor Dan Drew said Tuesday that he’s mulling a run for governor. Photo: Cassandra Day — The Middletown Press Photo: Cassandra Day — The Middletown Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Middletown Mayor Dan Drew considering gubernatorial run 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

MIDDLETOWN >> Mayor Dan Drew may have an interest in running for governor of Connecticut in 2018, he said Tuesday.

“I’m only thinking about it at this point. It’s still early and there are a lot of factors to consider,” said the 36-year-old who’s serving his third term in office. Voters approved an increase in the mayor’s term from two to four years during the 2015 municipal election, along with that of Common Council members and the city’s treasurer.

Longtime Common Councilman Tom Serra, a fellow Democrat, said he wishes Drew well if he has the stamina and ambition to run — but does hold some reservations.

“It doesn’t bode well for Middletown. He has three years left in his term,” Serra said.

However, “in terms of the city of Middletown, you can’t serve two masters, so to speak, in relation to governing. If he’s spending time on his campaign,” for the 2018 gubernatorial election, Middletown would suffer, said Serra, himself mayor of the city from 1993-95. He has served on the council since 1988.

Drew did not return a phone call for comment by press time.

Serra pointed to former mayor Sebastian Garafolo, who ran for state treasurer during his term, as well as criticism of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race after unsuccessfully campaigning for his party’s nomination this year. His traveling all over the country trying to secure votes caused the quality of his work in the legislature to decline, Serra said.

He fears that the city would suffer in terms of continuous leadership if Drew were to made a gubernatorial bid. “Any time you see someone run for office, the energy for that office is not there,” the majority leader said.

In March of last year, Drew was recognized as being one of the most pro-growth and progressive public officials in the nation by NewDEAL, a network for leaders exemplifying those qualities.

Drew’s biography on the organization’s website credits him with closing an $8 million deficit in the city’s economy and upgrading the city’s bond rating. The website also includes his oversight of the city’s police force and enacting a senior relief program as reasons for his induction.

He’s credited with the implementation of solar panels on several city-owned sites, as well as successfully negotiating with FedEx Ground to build a new distribution hub at the former Aetna complex, which is expected to be completed by next year, creating several hundred jobs and boosting the city’s grand list. The new 525,000-square-foot package-sorting facility at 1000 Middle St. has been vacant for the past five years.

Since taking office in 2011, Drew has spearheaded the revitalization of the shore front of the Connecticut River, which flows along Harbor Park and moves through a great bend in the river; as well as the decommissioning of the water treatment plant along River Road and the city’s impending connection to the Mattabassett District sewage treatment plant in Cromwell, among other projects.

Drew was born in New York City and raised in New York and Connecticut and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut in 2002, then earned his master’s degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University in 2015, according to his bio.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct Mayor Drew’s age.