Submitted by Kevin Maloney, CCM.
(Feb. 28, 2022) — The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), in conjunction with the Campaign School at Yale University, will again conduct a groundbreaking virtual two-day training program in March designed to assist more people of color – Black, Latino, Asian Americans, Indigenous Americans and others — with the skills needed to run for public office. This time the focus will be on State elective office, serving on state boards and commissions and connecting people to opportunities for more civic participation. Last year, CCM and Yale conducted similar training to assist more people of color in running for local public office across Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities.
While Blacks, Latinos, Indigenous Americans and Asian-Americans comprise 30 percent of Connecticut’s population, they represent a smaller fraction of state elected public officials and state board and commission members.
Representation Matters: Are You Ready to Run for State Office? is a free two-day training effort to teach people of color across Connecticut the fundamentals to run for state office or serve on a state board or commission. The program will take place via zoom on Saturday, March 12 and Saturday, March 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The two-day program is also sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, the Parent Leadership Training Institute, and the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency. CCM and Hartford Votes-Vota Coalition are cooperating to promote Representation Matters in the Hartford area.
“One of the founding principles of this nation is the ideal of a representative government, and it is a goal America is still striving for,” said Joe DeLong, CCM Executive Director and CEO. “Increasing racial diversity and input [on] in the State House of Representatives and State Senate, as well as on a wide range of appointed state boards and commissions will broaden perspectives and ensure greater engagement in the state’s civic life. This effort will help foster a more equitable future.”
“As President Lincoln declared in the Gettysburg Address, the ideal nation is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” noted DeLong. “In the 21st century, we only need the willpower to make that a reality. Over this two-day training, many of the tools and know-how to get into state politics will be given to all who attend.”
