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Valentine, 70, the former Major League Baseball player and manager who currently serves as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, announced on Friday, May 7 that he plans to run for mayor the second largest city in Fairfield County - his hometown of Stamford.
A three-sport high school star in Stamford, Valentine made the announcement on social media that he plans to run as an independent candidate against incumbent David Martin and State Rep. Caroline Simmons in the mayoral race. Both Martin and Simmons are Democrats. Valentine is running as an Independent.
“It’s been great to see Stamford grow the way it has grown over the years and I want to lead us into that new world that Stamford will be in the future,” he said in a three-minute campaign video. “I’m Bobby Valentine and I’m running to be mayor of our city, Stamford, Connecticut.
“The greatest commodity I have is my time and I want to give my time and my energy and my wherewithal back to the city that has given me so much over my lifetime. We’re in it together.”
Valentine, who spent a decade in the majors with five teams before transitioning to managing, famously took the New York Mets to the 2000 World Series, where they fell in five games to the cross-town Yankees. He was named the athletic director at Sacred Heart in Fairfield in 2013.
“I feel like it’s a great time for me to get to my hometown and do some more leadership work,” Valentine said to WTNH News 8. “We are up against a big political machine with the Democrats and a real strong base political machine with the Republicans. It’s not going to be an easy situation, that’s for sure.
“It's time we emphasize people over partisanship in city government, with a focus on uniting our entire community around shared goals," his campaign website states. "I'm prepared to lead, energized by the possibilities, and thrilled for you to join me on this journey.”
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