Print

Pastor Stan, Part Deux

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

October 01, 2009

J. Stan McCauley, Pastor Stan, says he's running for mayor again in 2011 to - and we quote his Facebook invite - "Sweep them out! Sweep them out! Sweep them all out!"

Cityline has heard all the talk of possible mayoral candidates, but McCauley is the first candidate to make his bid public. Today at 3 p.m., he's holding a press conference on the steps of city hall. (Photo: mccauleyformayor.com)

"It is time for everyone that cares about restoring the city's good name to rally and call for an end to the madness running city hall!" McCauley says on Facebook. "The Mayor and his rubber stamp council are out of control!"

"It's time to sweep City Hall clean!"

McCauley ran in 2007 as Republican; he's running in 2011 as a Democrat. In the middle, he was a member of the Working Families Party, he said.

Why now as a Democrat?

"Because Hartford is a city whose government is the Democratic Party," McCauley said. "And if you want to have a say, you've got to be a member of the party, even to dissent. It's foolish and it's madness and it's lunacy to think that, as anyone outside that party, you can make a difference."

Sean Arena, head of the city's Democratic Town Committee, says McCauley is the first to formally commit to a run.

"He's a good man and we'll see where it takes him," Arena said.

Last time around, McCauley got just over 700 votes; Perez got over 6,400.

"Apparently Mr. McCauley wasn't overly discouraged by the rules when he ran the last time back in 2007," said Sarah Barr, spokeswoman for Mayor Eddie A. Perez. Asked whether the mayor had intentions of running in 2011, Barr said this:

"The mayor hasn't decided not to run," she said.