“It’s gratifying to be able to throw our support behind a such a great candidate to lead the town of East Haven,” said Melodie Peters, a former state senator and president of AFT Connecticut. “As a teacher and a father, Jack really gets what matters most to his community. I’m proud that we are standing with him,” she said.
Candidates for municipal office completed questionnaires over the past month on a series of policy issues important to the members of AFT’s local unions and their communities. Members of the federation’s legislative and political action committee reviewed the responses and made recommendations for endorsements in the 2013 Primary Election to its executive committee.
“To boost our local economy, we need to attract more young families to make East Haven their home,” said Jack Stacey when asked to share his vision for the town’s future. “They will be looking at our community’s schools before deciding to move here. I intend to use my experience to work with the Board of Education and the new superintendent to make needed improvements so that we can attract the next generation of East Haveners,” he said.
Stacey is serving his 10th year at New Haven’s High School in the Community (HSC) where he teaches American History and is a member of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 933. Stacey taught at Conte-West Hills School for five years before relocating to HSC, and his daughter currently teaches in East Haven Public Schools.
“A political endorsement is a decision we do not take lightly,” said Peters. “Our members support candidates who have pledged to tackle the issues facing working families. And we make sure any candidate we back understands that they will be held accountable once elected,” she said.
AFT Connecticut is 28,000 hard-working women and men from more than 90 local unions throughout the state serving in PreK-12 education, higher education, healthcare and municipal and state governments. Follow the union on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aftct.
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