Brian Merlen

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brian Merlen

Independent Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

Southern Connecticut State University, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Torrance, Calif.

Religion

Christian/Jewish

Profession

Broadcast video editor

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Brian Merlen (Independent Party) ran in a special election to the Connecticut State Senate to represent District 27. He lost in the special general election on March 2, 2021.

Merlen was a 2016 Green candidate for District 148 of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Biography

Merlen was born on May 9, 1986, in Torrance, California. He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in 2010. His professional experience includes working as a broadcast video editor. Merlen has been affiliated with the Roadway of Hope, Pacific House, CCAR, Mobilize Recovery, the Church of Safe Injection, Truth Pharm, Fed up, and The Pharmacist. He also volunteers professionally in harm reduction outreach work for those with substance use disorders.

Elections

2021

See also: Connecticut state legislative special elections, 2021

General election

Special general election for Connecticut State Senate District 27

Patricia Miller defeated Joshua Esses and Brian Merlen in the special general election for Connecticut State Senate District 27 on March 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Miller (D)	59.5	4,692
		Joshua Esses (R)	39.4	3,109
		Brian Merlen (Independent Party)	1.1	87

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,888
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Connecticut's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Connecticut's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

Connecticut's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Connecticut District 4

Incumbent Jim Himes defeated Jonathan Riddle, Brian Merlen, and Yusheng Peng in the general election for U.S. House Connecticut District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Himes (D)	62.2	224,432
		Jonathan Riddle (R)	36.2	130,627
		Brian Merlen (Independent Party)	1.6	5,647
	Submit photo	Yusheng Peng (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	10

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 360,716
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jim Himes advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Merlen (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Jonathan Riddle advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Goldstein (R)
• TJ Elgin (R)

2016

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Connecticut House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.

Incumbent Dan Fox defeated Phil Balestriere and Brian Merlen in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 148 general election.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 148 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dan Fox Incumbent	71.44%	5,727
	Republican	Phil Balestriere	26.62%	2,134
	Green	Brian Merlen	1.93%	155
Total Votes				8,016
Source: Connecticut Secretary of the State

Incumbent Dan Fox ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 148 Democratic primary.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 148 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Dan Fox Incumbent (unopposed)

Phil Balestriere ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 148 Republican primary.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 148 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Phil Balestriere  (unopposed)

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brian Merlen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Brian Merlen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Merlen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have worked on multiple municipal projects in terms of planning, garnering funding and support, implementation, and in the cases of existing projects took on roles involving funding and implementation of much needed repairs, or recycling of existing materials. I have advocated for multitudes of issues, but the one I am primarily known for involved getting every state to join in our civil litigation against Purdue Pharma. I am an aggressive fighter from beating cancer, to staging protests at police stations, to taking over a public park while advocating on mental health, and I have been fortunate to fight besides some of the hardest activists in our state and others. I care deeply about our residents and I fight hard on the issues.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Institutional Accountability: Sackler prosecution, police brutality, and ending CT corruption.
• Medicare for all: everyone deserves healthcare.
• Substance use disorder advocacy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about Medicare for all, and I understand the difficulties first hand. I was diagnosed with cancer when I graduated with a bachelors degree, and ACA has been doubling in monthly prices and deductibles almost every year for about a decade now. The costs are too expensive but at the same time many people like myself need insurance. We need a system that works, because even now while the economy is in shambles my monthly health costs are excessive without even going in or hitting my deductible yet. It forces many patients like myself to try and limit visits when we have these excessive costs.

I am not a millionaire like my opponents and that gives me a unique understanding of the difficulties normal people face every single day in our district. When you are fed from a silver spoon, you do not have the same appreciation for those struggling in our district. Jim Himes does not represent the people of our district, and we need leadership that cares about everyone and not just Greenwich wealthy families.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as far as successful progressives that advocate the policies I genuinely believe in. I would like to advocate similar policies as they have and to hopefully continue to aid the progressive fight in terms of advocacy. This district has Jim Himes voting essentially with the right wingers as far as progressive issues. He takes all the kinds of campaign funding that us progressives find questionable, and because of this: he votes with the same donors the Republicans rely on. I much prefer the progressives, their values, and the legitimate grass roots fundraising techniques to dark money and super pacs. Progressives want to represent the voters, not these special interest billionaires.

If I wanted to be a corrupt person I would of taken the Coronavirus bill funds and the prosecutor meeting Himes offered me to drop out of the election. I would of had a great run for a lower seat with his support alongside Dita Bhargava, and Fernando Alvarez, both of who were completely involved in Jims plot, set up the meetings, and relayed me the hard conditions on rigging our election. I want to be a legitimate person who relies on above board funding and advocacy, instead of backroom transactional nonsense. The victims I advocate for deserve justice, funding, and policies that work. We lose over 200 Americans a day to the opioid crisis. The last thing we need is rigged delegates in CT undermining our progress on the Purdue Pharma case. We deserve integrity and when I act with integrity, it is because I have heroes that I believe would put the country before their own personal success as well. We should all put the country first over party. State Attorney Colangelo should prosecute the Sacklers because of pill diversion, and AG Tong should not have had delegate issues along with many other candidates. Corruption has ruined everything we fought for on Purdue Pharma and history will remember those who plotted on it!

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe integrity and hard work are the most important characteristics for an elected official. Far too often corruption is an impediment to good governance.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I care deeply about those who are marginalized in our community. I believe that those struggling will know that I am in their corner. I will protect our public from corporate interests. Unlike many incumbents, I intend to work for our American public and not Super Pacs or corporations.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe caring about the people of your district, particularly those who are marginalized and struggling, is the single most important core responsibility. Until you help those who need it most, you will not have a society that works.

What legacy would you like to leave?

It is a difficult day to talk about legacies as Purdue Pharma is charged with three felonies. It is hard to put into words the amount of work I and many others poured into this project. We moved mountains, we worked the problem on all levels of government, we were aggressive and targeted educational facilities and museums who were taking Sackler financing along with politicians. I believe this is my life's work. I have been in tears all day after everything I have poured into this fight.

We are going to fight for prosecutions, we are going to fight to make sure the funds are not misspent, we are going

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I distinctly remember 9/11, I was fifteen years old at time. It was a tough day, and we were all very terrified in the classroom that day. Our teacher left the room and was glued to the tv, and we would hear details as she came back to the room periodically. When the second plane hit the feeling was unforgettable, we were under attack in the continental United States and this was something the American public essentially thought was impossible. Not everyone grasped the significance immediately, but it was obvious in my young mind that we were under attack and that our American culture had fundamentally changed. I would say all these years later much of our fears of Orwellian overreach have came to pass under people like my opponent, people who fund, and vote to enable endless wars. Even with the opposition party in power, Himes and many others continue to vote to fund the perpetual wars. It is unfortunate that America is consistently at war, our resources could solve the worlds problems if we could simply disengage from this essentially endless conflict.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a paper route that I started at the very young age of 13. Back then the Stamford Advocate allowed children to work as newspaper carriers and it was an opportunity to work as a child, something that at this point was a difficult to obtain under the age of 16 or so. I once was newspaper carrier of the month for finding and returning a coworkers paycheck I had found on the street, so I like to think I was a decent paper employee. I kept the job until the newspaper decided to only employ adults and fired all the child employees eventually, perhaps labor laws were at issue, but I never looked into it. We were paid nineteen cents a paper six days a week, and on Sundays the paper was larger so they paid us twenty five cents a paper. I had the job for two or three years I believe. The income was helpful and taught me to appreciate hard work. My family had limited resources because of my parents significant disabilities, so earning my own income was significant for me.

One negative part was when I tried to save the money I was making, I soon learned that a lousy thousand dollars in my bank account would turn off my Husky insurance as a child. A thousand dollars was not enough to get a car, or to save for college, and probably not even enough for health insurance as a child, but the limitations of the Husky program didn't seem to care. A major factor in my views is the stops and gaps that exist in our existing public and private sector solutions for our society. Oftentimes these stops and gaps are significant and that along with trying to conduct myself with integrity were memories I garnered from this position.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Substance use disorder has been a significant struggle in my life. My parents had significant mental illnesses, schizophrenia and cooccurring substance use disorder. Their difficulties in life gave me significant hurdles as well. They couldn't hold jobs, sign contracts, or be reliable figures in my life. My mother left when I was very young and I have only seen her once since she left. She was off her meds and ended up needing a 72 hour eval that time I saw her.

Witnessing the significant struggles of my parents with mental health impacted my own mental health. I ended up also becoming highly dependent on substances to numb out from the difficult parts of my life. It is because of these struggles that I care about the marginalized, my own mother is no different then any other schizophrenic patient stuck out on the streets. She goes through periods of stability, as do many patients but unfortunately both of my parents were not very functional because of their mental illnesses.

I am fortunate that schizophrenia did not impact my life. It is a hereditary disease and my siblings and I all faced significantly bad odds for serious mental illness. You cannot see the experiences I have seen on these issues and not understand the importance of the social safety net. It has taught me life lessons on stigma, and on these issues I totally get it.

We need mental health talked about, we need SUD reforms so that all patients are protected. Prison is not a solution for SUD, mental healthcare, treatment, and harm reduction outreach is. We have major issues to confront in the drug war but I am confident that we will solve these problems. Once we solve them other problems like racial disparities in convictions and treatment and recovery will be ended as well. We have big goals for this country but our generation is going to fix these issues and help everyone who is struggling. Anyone who is struggling is always my top priority and I intend to help you!

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I am not in favor of redistricting since it is so often used to gerrymander. I believe we need to look long and hard at the process to come up with adequate solutions to prevent this kind of gerrymandering from occurring.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Having the ability to allocate funding, declare war, and having frequent elections makes the U.S. House of Representatives unique as an institution. The latter makes the institution frequently accountable to the public, and in theory when elections are operated correctly this should allowed the potential for voters to have real oversight over the House.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics. Every time I run I learn more about the process, strategy, rules, networking, and how to build effective teams that can work together. I have had a particularly unique view by running both third party and as a Democratic Party member so I have a true appreciation for the rules and the difficulties in financing, achieving ballot access, and the myriads of other obstacles. Honestly I have to say after running on every level of government, municipal, state, and federal I feel like I have had a great learning experience. Along with this I have great friends in office who help me as mentors, and I truly appreciate them.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The most significant challenges facing our country are institutional accountability, healthcare, and ending the drug war. We have public/private institutions that far too often prey on the public in terms of racial disparities in prosecutions and convictions and to add injury to insult qualified immunity protects those carrying out the injustices even when missteps are made. Oftentimes factors like money and influence can take advantage of our legal system on top of these systemic racial issues. I believe Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family have done terrible deeds in our community and institutions like the DEA, the Justice Department, ConnDCJ, and even the Stamford Police have failed us to get a piece of that OxyContin kick back. When it comes to healthcare I believe in Medicare for all, and many patients like myself are barely able to pay their bills as is. I am a cancer survivor, I believe in covering everyone, and getting everyone free and timely treatment. Lastly when it comes to the drug war we are failing 200 plus American lives daily. We need to save these lives and get everyone treatment that will work. Our communities children are dying, and we must stop these drug deaths!

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would be very interested in being a part of the ethics committee, ways and means, judiciary, oversight and reform, rules, or any committee in which I can serve my country.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I believe two years is the right term for representatives because it means we are accountable to the public. Frequent elections mean we must work hard for our constituents. This level of competition means we must work hard to serve our public.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am open to the idea of term limits but truly some people who have been around for quite some time are heroes of mine. Bernie Sanders in particular has inspired as generation. It is hard to support term limits if it means we lose a great and inspirational leader like him. Granted many centrists I disagree with have had long terms too, but the thought of a country without Bernie Sanders in office to lead the progressives forward is a bit daunting for me to really want. He has lit a fire for my generation and many of my friends ran for office because of him.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

I do not believe I am ready to join leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives. I would want to gain experience before such an honor.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I would love to champion the issues Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders champion. I believe their values are the values us progressives must champion together. We need to push for every district that we can.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Connecticut State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Bob Duff

Minority Leader:Stephen Harding

Senators

District 1

John Fonfara (D)

District 2

Douglas McCrory (D)

District 3

Saud Anwar (D)

District 4

MD Rahman (D)

District 5

Derek Slap (D)

District 6

Rick Lopes (D)

District 7

John Kissel (R)

District 8

Paul Honig (D)

District 9

Matthew Lesser (D)

District 10

Gary Winfield (D)

District 11

Martin Looney (D)

District 12

Christine Cohen (D)

District 13

Jan Hochadel (D)

District 14

James Maroney (D)

District 15

Joan Hartley (D)

District 16

Robert Sampson (R)

District 17

Jorge Cabrera (D)

District 18

Heather Somers (R)

District 19

Catherine Osten (D)

District 20

Martha Marx (D)

District 21

Jason Perillo (R)

District 22

Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D)

District 23

Herron Gaston (D)

District 24

Julie Kushner (D)

District 25

Bob Duff (D)

District 26

Ceci Maher (D)

District 27

Patricia Miller (D)

District 28

Tony Hwang (R)

District 29

Mae Flexer (D)

District 30

Stephen Harding (R)

District 31

Henri Martin (R)

District 32

Eric Berthel (R)

District 33

Norm Needleman (D)

District 34

Paul Cicarella (R)

District 35

Jeff Gordon (R)

District 36

Ryan Fazio (R)

Democratic Party (25)

Republican Party (11)