​Candidate Spotlight: ​David Rubino

What inspired you to run for local office?
I’m an international human rights lawyer and I’ve dedicated much of my legal career to fighting for the underserved and repressed across the globe. At times my work can be distressing – like when I’m talking to a victim of human trafficking or journalist who has been tortured – but moreso it is motivating. I have watched people I know and care for stand helpless against dictators – loving their country but having no say in its trajectory. When I moved back to the U.S., I vowed never to take American democracy for granted. I see running for office as both a privilege and a duty, and I look forward to serving my community.

What’s your favorite place in Old Lyme?
My favorite place in Old Lyme is White Sands beach on a crisp winter day. Oddly, my family spends very little time at the beach in the summer, but in the winter we love to go down, sit on the jetty and watch the waves pound the shore. There’s usually nobody else there and it’s really beautiful and peaceful.

​What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I like to write. A lot.  I have piles of screen plays and short stories and essays and (like many people) a novel in the works.

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What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?
I lived for more than ten years in the former Soviet Union. Going days without power, heat or internet was common. Fresh vegetables were scarce and medical care was well below Western standards (I once needed a shot of lidocaine and was asked whether I wanted to pay extra for “my own needle.”) Add to this rampant corruption, cultural challenges and language barriers and suffice to say my life was not easy. That said, I learned and grew from all of this. My wife and I had a saying when things got hard: tough times don’t last, tough people do.

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If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I’ve always wanted to learn to play guitar. Middle school clarinet was the closest I got.

​When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?
If I have thirty minutes of free time, I’ll either be on the floor playing “Calico Critters” with my four year old daughter Frida, going head-to-head in Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit against my 8 year old daughter Bea, or (more rarely) watching an episode of Jeopardy with my wife Alecia.

​What is something you learned in the last week?
I learned two things in the last week: 1) that Scottish scientist believe that the Loch Ness Monster may actually be a giant eel; and 2) that I am, perhaps, a bit too susceptible to “click bait.”

​What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
I hate doing the dishes. We cook almost every meal at home and it seems we generate an endless pile of dishes.

​What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?
I love to play basketball. I play at the Valley Shore YMCA three days a week – Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5, and Saturdays at 7.

​If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
My answer to that question changes frequently, but right now I’d probably go with Lincoln.  There are some pretty severe divisions in our country right now so it would be interesting to get the perspective of a guy who knows a thing or two about that.

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​If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
I’m definitely a “flying” kind of guy.

​What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?
Don’t worry – those braces will be worth it some day! (You won’t believe the wife you wind up with!)