Politics & Government

Working Families Flyer Attacks Middletown's Former Republican Mayor

As the city's GOP common council candidate questions why he's being singled out by Connecticut's labor-based third party, its executive director says Seb Giuliano's past statements offer a 'bleak picture' of Middletown.

With just days remaining until Middletown's municipal elections, Connecticut's labor-based third party has mailed out a political flyer that viciously attacks the city's former Republican mayor who's running for common council.

"Piddletown," a derogatory term for the city's daily newspaper, is attributed to an email purportedly sent by former Mayor Sebastian Giuliano. The word is printed in big letters on a mailer Connecticut's Working Families party sent to residents.

"Why would you vote for someone who refers to our town as 'Piddletown?' Who in their right mind would vote for this guy?"

Taylor Leake, spokesman for Connecticut Working Families, said this was the only political flyer mailed out by his party.

"The mailer sent to voters in Middletown does indeed raise questions about Seb Guiliano using direct quotes from the press and emails," said Executive Director Lindsay Farrell. "It presents a bleak picture of what Mr. Guiliano thinks about the city of Middletown. If there is anything inflammatory about this piece of mail, it is Seb Guiliano's own words."

Giuliano said he learned about the document early Friday morning from Republican Town Committee Vice Chair Bill Wilson. "I'm flattered."

"This is historic. Never in my memory has a party singled out one candidate at large on a slate," Giuliano said, adding he finds it strange since during this election, the Republicans have run as a team. "No one has put out individual signs or posters," he says.

A series of four questions are asked and answered on the flyer, with Giuliano's alleged responses quoted from "taxpayer-funded" emails and stories in the Middletown Press and on Middletown Patch. They refer to his six years as mayor and how he responded to reporters at press conferences, if he hired family or friends in city positions, the demotion of the city's former acting police chief, and Giuliano's at times fraught relationship with the former education board.

The flyer concludes with, "Keep Middletown moving forward. On Nov. 5, vote NO to Seb Giuliano."

Giuliano can't recall the context of each of the quotes on the flyer except for the Middletown Patch one that accuses him of patronage. "Are these my words? Yes. Do they match the questions? No."

Giuliano says he considers the flyer a boon to the remaining days of his candidacy.

Calling Working Families a "wholly-owned" subsidiary of the Democratic Town Committee, adding current Middletown Mayor Dan Drew is the "nominal head" of this independent party, Giuliano said, "I must scare the living daylights out of him."

Drew disputed the claim that the Democrats and Working Families were aligned politically and declined to respond to Giuliano's statement.

"I'm not going to engage with Seb Giuliano. The city of Middletown has made tremendous progress in the last two years and we're continuing to look forward, not back," Drew said. "We've spent the last two years fixing problems and we have a vision for the city that we hope to move forward in a unified, bipartisan fashion."

As proof the third party doesn't unilaterally endorse Democrats, Drew referenced Bridgeport's outgoing Board of Education member Maria Pereira, who's been highly critical of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and members of the city's Democratic party.

Connecticut's Working Families says it's a grassroots, community and labor-based party with chapters throughout the state. Goals are to bring poor, working- and middle-class issues into public debate, according to the web site.

Just before last year's election, Working Families sent out an email in support of Chris Murphy for U.S. senator which details its political philosophy.

"The Working Families Party only backs candidates who will fight for an economy that works for everyone, not just the super-rich. They are about taking a stand against the big money and special interests trying to buy the elections, and electing candidates that stand up for our values. Values like raising the minimum wage, making health care more affordable, improving education for our children, and making taxes fairer," according to the email.

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