The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: Former Rep. Pete Stark’s college-age son has launched a campaign for elected office.
Fortney “Fish” Stark announced Tuesday that he’s running for the Ward 1 seat on the Board of Alders in New Haven, Connecticut, to represent a swath of the city that includes most of Yale’s undergraduate campus. Stark, 19, is in his sophomore year studying political science at Yale.
“I love New Haven, and I love Yale, and I know that these two communities are strongest when we engage meaningfully with one another and work together towards progressive change,” he wrote.
“I’m running because I want to work to bridge the divide between Yalies and the city. Yale students should be proud to call themselves New Haveners, and earn that identity through meaningful participation — and New Haveners should feel respected and supported by Yale.”
Stark wrote that he wants to continue the work and experiences he has had in New Haven so far: working over the summer for an after-school and weekend enrichment program for local youths; serving on the city’s Peace Commission; serving on the Yale College Democrats’ board; and more.
“I hope that we can use this election as a platform to start community-wide conversations about what meaningful, respectful engagement in New Haven looks like, and how we can create a campus climate that supports this positive citizenship,” he wrote.
The elder Fortney “Pete” Stark, now 83, represented part of the East Bay in Congress for 40 years, earning a reputation as a liberal lion who crusaded for health care and against various wars; as Congress’ only avowed atheist; and as a curmudgeon with a penchant for direct, if not salty, language. He lost his seat to fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, in 2012. He raised his son — and with his wife, Deborah Roderick Stark, is still raising 13-year-old twins — in Maryland.
It’s been no secret that Fish Stark would be angling for a political career. He helped out on his father’s 2012 campaign, and also that year won election as president of the Princeton Model Congress in Washington, D.C.
Josh Richman covers politics. Follow him at Twitter.com/Josh_Richman. Read the Political Blotter at IBAbuzz.com/politics.
