Politics: Five Rising Stars Aged 25 and Under

Politics: Five Rising Stars Aged 25 and Under: "John Kleinhans, 20, Vermont Politics

When John Kleinhans fidgets with his BlackBerry in class, it's possible that he's checking Facebook. But it's more likely that he's texting with Vermont state representatives, some of whom he taught how to text in the first place. Kleinhans is barely an upperclassman at Vermont's Lyndon State College -- he'll be a junior this fall -- but he is already a significant presence in the Vermont Republican Party. He's spending the summer working as the campaign coordinator for Mark Snelling, a candidate for lieutenant governor." He's spending the summer working as the campaign coordinator for Mark Snelling, a candidate for lieutenant governor. In that capacity, Kleinhans is with Snelling around the clock, doing a little of everything -- prepping the candidate for interviews, driving, sitting in on editorial meetings, working on strategy, and more. The two met on the campaign trail last fall, during Kleinhans's unsuccessful run for secretary of the Vermont Republican Party Executive Board.

"I saw him on the campaign trail a bunch and we got to talking," Kleinhans said. "It was a perfect fit. I think he respected my work for the College Republicans, which is how I wound up where I am."

In his freshman year of college, Kleinhans became the country's youngest state chairman of the College Republicans. Under his leadership, the Vermont College Republicans went from a membership of five to around 150 active students, Kleinhans said. He's also been named one of the top 12 college Republicans in the country by the College Republican National Committee, an organization for which he serves as Northeastern regional vice chairman. And in his spare time, Kleinhans is student body president of Lyndon College.

"All young people should be involved in politics because it's our future that people are deciding," Kleinhans said. "It's also a lot of fun. You can connect with leaders across the country, you can go and have conversations with the governor, the lieutenant governor, and they actually listen to you."

What's Next?

"In the direct future, I'm contemplating a run for chairman of the CRNC (College Republican National Committee) -- that's still in the very beginning thinking process, but we're working on it," he said. "I also plan to go to law school. At some point I may try to seek public office, but I love what I'm doing right now. I'm having a lot of fun."

McCoy For Mayor: Teachers Facing Weakest Market in Years

McCoy For Mayor: Teachers Facing Weakest Market in Years

this lawsuit

this lawsuit


Tom Foley, the frontrunner in the Republican gubernatorial contest, filed this lawsuit against the State Elections Enforcement Commission Friday to stop it from giving his opponent, Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele $2.18 million in public campaign funds. Click above to read the Lawsuit.

CT News Junkie | Fedele, Boughton Receive $2.18M

CT News Junkie Fedele, Boughton Receive $2.18M


“I had reservations about the necessity of moving forward given the concerns,” Cashman said at Thursday’s meeting. But after discussions, he said he was “satisfied with the advisory opinion as written which contemplates this procedure.”
He also said he gives credit to the Fedele-Boughton campaign for relying on the advisory opinion in order to file their application.

According to Beth Rotman, executive director of the Citizens’ Election Program, the Fedele campaign brought in an estimated $220,000 and the Boughton campaign brought in about $40,000, which combined put it over the $250,000 benchmark for the qualifying grant. A supplemental grant of $937,500 also was given to the campaign because Foley’s April filing showed he had already raised $2.4 million.

“Qualifying for the clean elections program means our campaign will now have the resources to compete with our wealthy self-funding opponents in the primary and against whoever emerges as the Democrat standard-bearer in August,” Fedele said.
“With our fundraising effort completed, we are excited to dedicate all our time and energy to listening to and learning from Connecticut voters who are eager for reform,” Boughton said.

Journal Inquirer Letters To The Editor July 6

Journal Inquirer Letters To The Editor July 6