Melissa Bailey Photo
Morrison.
Dixwell Alderwoman Jeanette Morrison launched a reelection bid with one top priority for the neighborhood: Find a way to reopen the shuttered Q House.
Morrison, a first-term alderwoman in Dixwell’s Ward 22, put forth that goal as she announced her intention to seek a second term. She is set to face two opponents in a Sept. 10 Democratic primary: perennial candidate Cordelia Thorpe and longtime Dixwell activist Helen Powell.
Morrison announced her reelection plans Friday outside the iconic Dixwell Community “Q” House at 179 Dixwell Ave., which shut its doors in 2003 after serving as a community hub for over 75 years. The city now owns the property; activists have been trying to reopen it for years.
Morrison, a Dixwell homeowner for 20 years, argued that the Q House was a vital part of the Dixwell community. She noted that the city recently allocated $40,000 for a feasibility study about reopening the building. The city also hired a consultant to work on the topic. The effort to revive the Q House comes amid a parallel effort to turn the Dixwell Armory into a community center. Morrison said she does not agree with those who see the two efforts as conflicting.
In addition to the Armory, she said, “every community needs a Q House.”
Morrison said another top priority in her next, two-year term would be “making sure New Haven Works,” a new jobs pipeline, “continues to prosper.”
Morrison, who’s 45, works for the state as supervisor in the Department of Children and Families. She has two kids, including one who just graduated from Hillhouse High. She marked her campaign’s launch with a cake declaring Ward 22 a “priority ward,” meaning one that gets its due attention.
She plans to raise money through a joint political action committee shared by Newhallville Alderwomen Delphine Clyburn and Brenda Foskey-Cyrus (pictured), who are also seeking reelection. All three have the support of the Yale unions; they first won their seats in 2011 in a game-changing campaign that saw a super-majority of labor-backed candidates take control of the Board of Aldermen.
Melissa Bailey Photo
Helen Powell (pictured at a 2008 “Obamagala”), who until recently worked in the registrar of voters office, said this week that she too intends to run for the seat. She has been involved in many civic causes over the years.
“I’ve been in Dixwell 36 years. I know my neighbors,” she said. She said she is prepared to petition her way onto the Democratic primary ballot. “I’m not going to get the [Democratic Town Commitee] endorsement. I’m going to work.”
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Click here (and scroll down) to read about Cordelia Thorpe’s (at left in photo) campaign plans.
The ward is accustomed to three-way races; several took place in recent years among former Alderman Greg Morehead, Thorpe, and Lisa Hopkins.