John Flerlage
Encyclopedia
John Flerlage is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and the Democratic nominee for U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado's 6th congressional district
. He is currently a Boeing 767
captain flying international routes for Delta Air Lines
. Flerlage is a member of the Air Line Pilots Association, International
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
, and the Chamber of Commerce.
. He later attended Harvard Medical School
and the Episcopal Divinity School. He practiced psychiatry
for over 30 years in Brookline and Waltham, MA, until 1989 when he died. He had six children, five boys consecutively, with John being the third, and a daughter. John’s mother, Dr. Patricia Ewalt, was born in Newton, MA. While raising four boys, she completed her doctorate in social work
and eventually became Dean of the School of Social Work at Kansas University. She later retired from the same position at the University of Hawaii
.
Flerlage lived in Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Arizona and California during his school and Marine Corps years. While a freshman at Colby College
in Waterville, Maine, Flerlage joined the Marine Corps officer training program in 1977. He earned a BA in mathematics from Colby College in 1980, and furthered his education by completing the requirements of the Air Force Air War College
.
and A-4 Skyhawk
in historic squadrons such as the VMA-214
Blacksheep, operating in California, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, and the VMFA-142
Flying Gators (based in Florida and Georgia). He served in various Squadron and Group level leadership and staff positions; and taught classes in world affairs, strategic commitments and the implementation of fighters and other tactical aircraft at the Marine aviation advanced tactics school (Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1). During his reserve years, Flerlage also volunteered and flew missions in support of NATO operations in Bosnia, and in 1996, he was chosen to fly the Hornet aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73)
in the first Marine Reserve carrier qualifications to be held in over fifteen years.
delegate to the Jefferson County, CD 6 and Colorado State Conventions.
for the seat. Also running are Libertarian nominee Rob McNeally and Independent Michael S. Kearns
.
and now attends Columbia University
; Lisa (17), currently a junior at Columbine; and Karl (11). Flerlage played varsity hockey in high school and college and continues to play on a local adult team. He particularly enjoys coaching hockey. He started the Columbine Hockey Club and later became a high school coach at Columbine when that school formed a CHSAA (varsity) hockey team. Flerlage is a Level 5 coach with USA Hockey
and is also a member of the Colorado Governor's Council for Physical Fitness http://www.shapeupchallenge.org/index.htm.
Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the southern part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Littleton, Centennial and portions of Aurora.The district...
. He is currently a Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
captain flying international routes for Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
. Flerlage is a member of the Air Line Pilots Association, International
Air Line Pilots Association, International
The Air Line Pilots Association, International , is the collective bargaining representative for over 59,000 pilots of 39 U.S. and Canadian airlines. ALPA was formed in 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress...
, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Early life, education and career
Flerlage was born in Boston on January 29, 1958. His father, Stuart Q. Flerlage, Jr., was born in Cincinnati, OH. He moved to Cambridge, MA to attend Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He later attended Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and the Episcopal Divinity School. He practiced psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
for over 30 years in Brookline and Waltham, MA, until 1989 when he died. He had six children, five boys consecutively, with John being the third, and a daughter. John’s mother, Dr. Patricia Ewalt, was born in Newton, MA. While raising four boys, she completed her doctorate in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
and eventually became Dean of the School of Social Work at Kansas University. She later retired from the same position at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
.
Flerlage lived in Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Arizona and California during his school and Marine Corps years. While a freshman at Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
in Waterville, Maine, Flerlage joined the Marine Corps officer training program in 1977. He earned a BA in mathematics from Colby College in 1980, and furthered his education by completing the requirements of the Air Force Air War College
Air War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
.
Marine Corps career
Flerlage served 22 years in the Marine Corps before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2000. Over his eleven active-duty years and eleven years in the Reserves, Flerlage flew the F/A-18 HornetF/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets . Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and...
and A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...
in historic squadrons such as the VMA-214
VMA-214
Marine Attack Squadron 214 is a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of AV-8B Harrier jets. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and is under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing .The squadron is best known as the...
Blacksheep, operating in California, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, and the VMFA-142
VMFA-142
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 was an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps Reserve that was active from 1942 to 2008. At the time of its inactivation, the squadron was based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia and fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 42 , 4th Marine...
Flying Gators (based in Florida and Georgia). He served in various Squadron and Group level leadership and staff positions; and taught classes in world affairs, strategic commitments and the implementation of fighters and other tactical aircraft at the Marine aviation advanced tactics school (Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1). During his reserve years, Flerlage also volunteered and flew missions in support of NATO operations in Bosnia, and in 1996, he was chosen to fly the Hornet aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73)
USS George Washington (CVN-73)
USS George Washington is an American nuclear-powered supercarrier, the sixth ship in the Nimitz class and the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after George Washington, the first President of the United States...
in the first Marine Reserve carrier qualifications to be held in over fifteen years.
Political career
Flerlage has been active in local (Jefferson County) politics, serving at the precinct (PCP) and house district level (Treasurer HD 28). He has also volunteered on local, congressional, and presidential campaigns. Flerlage is currently a member of the leadership team of the South JeffCo Democrats. In 2008, he was elected as a Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
delegate to the Jefferson County, CD 6 and Colorado State Conventions.
2010 U.S. House of Representatives campaign
Flerlage is challenging Republican incumbent Mike CoffmanMike Coffman
Michael "Mike" Coffman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009, and a former Secretary of State of Colorado. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:...
for the seat. Also running are Libertarian nominee Rob McNeally and Independent Michael S. Kearns
Michael S. Kearns
Michael S. Kearns was a 2010 candidate for Colorado's 6th congressional district, running on a "Grassroots Leadership" platform, which promotes a Direct Democracy Self-governance Consortium for advancing fully transparent Internet Socio-political consensus decision-making functionality for...
.
Personal life
He and his wife, Helena, a naturalized citizen from Sweden, moved to old Littleton in Arapahoe County in 1995 and then to their home in south Jefferson County in 1997. He has volunteered regularly at the schools of his three children: David (21), who graduated from Columbine High SchoolColumbine High School
Columbine High School or CHS is a high school in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.- History :Columbine High School opened in the fall of 1973. There was no senior class in its first year. The school's first graduating class was the class of 1975...
and now attends Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
; Lisa (17), currently a junior at Columbine; and Karl (11). Flerlage played varsity hockey in high school and college and continues to play on a local adult team. He particularly enjoys coaching hockey. He started the Columbine Hockey Club and later became a high school coach at Columbine when that school formed a CHSAA (varsity) hockey team. Flerlage is a Level 5 coach with USA Hockey
USA Hockey
USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...
and is also a member of the Colorado Governor's Council for Physical Fitness http://www.shapeupchallenge.org/index.htm.
External links
- John Flerlage for Congress official campaign site
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org