Community activist Lee “Tre” Brown, III has announced that he has filed an exploratory committee to consider running for City Council.
Brown says he is exploring candidacy on the Democratic Council slate for either Ward 5, which is the district in the north-west area of the city, or for an At-Large seat.
Brown, a lifelong New Britain resident, says that, “I am running because I want to give the residents of New Britain a better quality of life.”
“I want to be their voice and fight for the values that we all hold dear,” said Brown.
Brown is co-founder and director of community engagement for the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition, the leadership of which he take time from to pursue a Council seat. But, Brown says, “the fights for justice and the working class will not stop.”
A praise and worship leader at Grace C.M.E. Church in New Britain, Brown says that, “We need leaders who have desire to serve people, not for their own political agendas or gains, but, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would say, because their hearts are filled with grace and their souls are generated with love, and anyone can serve.”
“I am ready to serve the residents of New Britain, Connecticut,” Brown said.
Brown says that, “We need people who will be willing to fight on the outside and allies who will work on the inside. I want to be that ally. I want to be the voice of the voiceless, of those who are constantly being ignored and silenced. I will work hard at making sure that the demands of the people are met.”
Issues that Brown says, “still weigh heavy on the hearts of the residents of New Britain,” include,
the creation of a civilian review board with subpoena power, increases to education funding, the removal of school resource officers from the high school, investing in youth and social services, and, not only combat racism, but defunding the police by fifty percent and reallocating the funds toward education, health care and social justice.
Saying that he, “will not make any promises I cannot keep,” he says that he, “will fight for every person in this great city of New Britain.”
“I will be dedicated to the people, and committed to the change they need,” Brown said. “It is time for us to come together, regardless of party or beliefs, and build a future that is sustainable for all of us going forward.”
“You will be hearing from me soon,” Brown promised.
