J.R. Romano, a Derby native, was elected chairman of the state Republican Party last month.
Romano, 36, grew up on Eighth Street in west Derby, and was the quarterback of the Derby High School football team. He’s a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford.
He lives in a condo in Branford, but his parents still live on Hawthorne Avenue.
Romano spent time with the Valley Indy last week to talk about growing up in Derby, what he brings to the table as the new GOP leader — and that time he was on MTV.
Click here for a profile from the CT Mirror, and click here for a story from the Post.
Valley Indy: When did you first get interested in politics?
Romano: “It was right out of college. When I was in college I was on MTV. I was on this show called ‘Vee Jay for a Day.’”
Valley Indy: Is it on YouTube somewhere?
Romano: “No, thank God.”
Valley Indy: Because you know as soon as the Democrats read this they will be researching this.
Editor’s Note: The video below was as close as we could come. We thought maybe the guy 33 seconds in was Romano, but he said it’s not:
Romano: “It was before YouTube and I didn’t do anything crazy on there. But my father was a vendor for the Republican Party and he said ‘Hey, my son is going to be on MTV.’ So the state Republicans saw me on there and they called me up and offered me an internship.”
Valley Indy: You were the quarterback at Derby High School …
Romano: “In my senior year we beat Shelton and Ansonia.”
Valley Indy: Woah, then why aren’t you Derby mayor? What are your fondest memories of growing up in Derby?
Romano: “I truly don’t think there’s a community that can match that type of camaraderie I had growing up in Derby. You grow up with the same kids. You know them from fifth or sixth grade. You’re always going to have each others’ backs.
Then, as you get older, you expand that feeling toward the whole Valley. When you meet someone from Ansonia, you want to take care of them just as much. There is this bravado about being from the Valley — but it is also about being misunderstood.”
I’;ll take that and I’ll wear it as a badge of honor. This is a place where we have each other’s backs. And we love when people from here succeed.”
Valley Indy: When you won the chairmanship of the party, we linked to the CT Mirror story from our Facebook page. I was surprised, because no one took a (political) shot at you in the comments.
Romano: “That’s because the (local) Democrats are happy I’m gone!
Actually, after I won the chairmanship, one of the first people to message me was Vinnie Tonucci, who’s a Democrat and former state rep, and his daughter, congratulating me.
People from the Valley support each other.
I ran against Linda Gentile, but when I see her name somewhere I’m happy she’s getting recognition. I know how hard she works for groups like local volunteer firefighters. There’s a moment of, ‘Yeah, she’s standing up for us.’”
Valley Indy: The state media pegs you as the young guy from working-class Derby.
Romano: “It’s true. At 13 years old I was washing dishes in my family’s restaurant.”
Valley Indy: Where was your family’s restaurant?
Romano: “At that time it was in Southington (Conti’s). I would drive up with my grandmother (Pauline Romano). On many occasions a state trooper said she had a lead foot.
And Frankie’s, in the Eblens Plaza (corner of Pershing and Division), was my uncle’s place. I grew up with my two sisters (Cari and Kate) and my two cousins (Julia and Tori).
There were moments at Frankie’s when my family was the entire staff. My grandmother was hosting, I was behind the bar, my cousins were the waitresses and my Uncle Frank was cooking. It was fun.”
Valley Indy: Just what does a state party chairman do?
Romano: “It encompasses many things, but first and foremost we are here to help RTCs (Republican Town Committees) and local candidates to become more skilled in winning elections.”
Valley Indy: What will this mean for Derby, where there is a first-term Democrat in the mayor’s office? Will the state party have a tighter focus on Derby?
Romano: (Smiles) “Yes.”
Valley Indy: Why didn’t Themis Klarides initially support your bid to become party chairman?
Romano: “Themis and I are going to work great together. Themis sometimes sees things differently than I do, but it was not an adversarial thing. She is a great legislator and she is going a great job as minority leader.”
Valley Indy: Do you think she’ll run for governor? She seems to have that sort of star quality.
Romano: “I think she has star quality and the gravitas to do it. And she’s taking it to Gov. Malloy exactly how she should, to demonstrate what real leadership looks like.”
Valley Indy: So why didn’t she support you?
Romano: “It was more of a situation of role of party, that’s all.”
Valley Indy: What does that mean?
Romano: “It’s an inside baseball thing. Themis and I are great. We talk everyday.”
Valley Indy: Your mother, Linda, was a teacher?
Romano: “She taught history at Derby High School. I actually had her.”
Valley Indy: That had to be interesting.
Romano: “She was one of the hardest teachers. Anyone who reads this story will attest to that.”
Valley Indy: What was it like going to Derby High?
Romano: “I had a wonderful experience. It was intimate. To this day I can rattle off every teacher that was there. I don’t think I would have done as well at a larger school. Derby gave you the opportunity to express yourself. I graduated with 55 kids. It was a tight-knit group.”
Valley Indy: There is a vocal Republican presence here in the lower Valley. But then the Republicans ran candidates for governor and U.S. Senate who floundered …
Romano: “I think Tom Foley had trouble identifying with Republicans from this part of the state. I think there’s a sense in the Valley in general that people are being overlooked. Look, the biggest myth in politics is that the Democrats care about the middle class. Look at their policies. It’s just not true.
I know people are struggling in the state because I see family and friends struggling.
My friends are worried about paying for their kids’ college and whether they are going to lose their jobs at Sikorsky. These are side effects of poor fiscal management by the state’s Democratic Party.”
