Former Mets Manager Bobby Valentine is facing backlash for the way he described his opponent. John Chandler reports.
With just five days to go until Election Day, there's new drama in the race for mayor of a Connecticut city — involving a beloved New York City sports figure.
Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine is running for mayor of Stamford. But the words he used to describe his opponent have gotten him caught in a rundown.
Valentine, who guided the Mets to the 2000 National League pennant and is widely considered one of the people who helped lift NYC's collective spirit in the aftermath of 9/11, still gets a lot of respect around his hometown of Stamford. But this latest controversy has some reconsidering who they are voting for on Nov. 2.
"Bobby Valentine is a wonderful man, but I don't think he has the same experience and getup-and-go as she has," said one resident.
The "she" is referring to Caroline Simmons, a Connecticut state representative who is running as a Democrat against Valentine. She and her family moved to Stamford seven years ago.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
"I think it's come down to a generational battle about the future of our city, who is best positioned to lead," Simmons said. "I have been putting in the work for the past seven years, visiting all out public schools, fighting for more funding up in Hartford, passing legislation to support our students and teachers, and having real results."
Many think of Valentine as Stamford's unofficial mayor. He won 536 games as manager of the Mets, and now he's trying to win City Hall as an unaffiliated candidate.
"I have nobody else's roadmap, nobody else's problems to solve from their party affiliation," Valentine said. "(Voters) just have to make a decision on somebody whose had experience managing, leading teams, and somebody who is just going to be experimenting while they learn what they need to do."
Valentine believes that his decades in dugouts will prove helpful in office.
"It's about diversity at different ends of the bench and different people from all around the world," he said. "That's what this is all about — understanding diverse people who have to together."
But Valentine committed a bit of an error on Tuesday, when he referred to Summons as a "35-year-old girl" in an interview with the Associated Press. The comment was soon trending on social media, with Simmons calling it "misogynistic" and offensive.
Valentine's campaign brushed it off as no big deal, and he said that he was referencing her time in school, growing up in Greenwich. He apologized for offending anyone — a move that some voters see as good enough.
"In every position he's had, he's shown that leadership quality. no political agenda, I think he just wants what's best for Stamford," said Stamford resident Jim Okun, who said the comments did not bother him enough to change his vote.
Still, others were bothered by it.
"I thought his comments about calling her a little girl from Greenwich was embarrassing, frankly," said Jason Williams.
"That was wrong, what he said, and he knew it was wrong. So I might change my mind," said Elizabeth Bryant.
