New Britain's Democratic Town Committee formally endorsed Michael Trueworthy as the party candidate for Democratic Registrar of Voters.
Trueworthy is looking for a return to public office after an exit in 2015 that includes a filed police report at New Britain City Hall, and the shouting of gay slurs at a local bar in July 2014 according to a police report.
He served on the New Britain City Council from 2003-2015, and for eleven of those years, he served as President of Majority Leader.
Trueworthy says his days of drinking are over.
“I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since that day and I’ve spent a lot of time and effort developing a support network that I can rely on to make sure that I’m healthy" Trueworthy said during a phone interview Monday. "Those days are behind me.”
Republican Mayor Erin Stewart says she's slightly uneasy about the prospect of Trueworthy coming back into City Hall with a full time job.
"It makes me feel uncomfortable about the potential to have him working in the same building as me.”
Democratic Town Committee Chairman Bill Shortell says the only issue people should be talking about when it comes to the Democratic race is who would be a better candidate to register more voters.
“Mike is the most dependable person that we got out there" Shortell said. "Mike, before one crazy day, had ten years of interrupted determined activity and since that day he has also been a pillar of Democracy and community civic pride in New Britain.”
Trueworthy says he's on a good path now, and that one day in his life shouldn't define his future public life.
“I don’t know how long you can hold something over somebody’s else head before it gets unfair. I’m not going to respond to her comments. I’m not running against her. This is a Democratic primary. She’s a Republican. I’m not going to engage.”
Stewart says she has a right to feel the way she does. The door Trueworthy broke is steps from her office.
“With a track record of the past, you never know. I didn’t know to anticipate what actually happened that day so how would I know on a daily basis?"
