Former MLB manager Valentine runs for mayor in hometown

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Former Major League Baseball manager and player Bobby Valentine scoffs at any suggestion he might be out of his league running for mayor in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut’s second-largest and fastest-growing city.

The 71-year-old rookie mayoral candidate rattled off a list of accomplishments, from his years managing baseball in the MLB and Japan to owning a chain of restaurants and serving as Stamford’s public safety director.

“I have passion for this city. I have a skill set that meets the requirements of leadership, management, of team building,” Valentine said in an interview. “I mean, I would think if there was a job description out there for a mayor, those things would be in it.”

With the Nov. 2 general election looming, the former Republican who submitted 188 signatures to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate finds himself in a closely watched, competitive race against Caroline Simmons, a 35-year-old Harvard-educated state representative who already upset the shoreline city’s two-term mayor in the Democratic primary in September.

The race has attracted national attention, with former Republican President George W. Bush, who was a managing partner of the Texas Rangers when the team fired Valentine as its manager, contributing $500 to the former skipper. Simmons, whose campaign has received contributions from famous performers such as Michael Douglas and Bette Midler, was endorsed by former Democratic President Barack Obama.

Valentine, who managed the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and the Japanese Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines during his career, has outpaced Simmons in campaign fundraising, amassing more than $520,000, compared with nearly $430,000 she raised as of this month. Each has received endorsements from...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Former-MLB-manager-Valentine-runs-for-mayor-in-16565223.php