Melissa Bailey Photo
As citywide Democrats gather to give their blessing to municipal candidates in the busiest campaign season in at least a decade, one mayoral contender is boycotting what he calls “incumbent-biased insanity.”
Attorney Clifton Graves, Jr. (pictured), one of five men running for mayor this year, announced Monday he will not be there Tuesday evening when New Haven’s Democratic Town Committee gathers for its nominating convention.
The convention begins at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the King/Robinson School at 150 Fournier St. in Newhallville. The purpose is to nominate candidates for mayor, city/town clerk and alderman ahead of a Sept. 13 Democratic primary.
At a press conference Monday in his Whalley Avenue headquarters Monday, Graves said he’ll boycott the event because the endorsement process is “skewed” toward the incumbent candidate, nine-term Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.
That little-known endorsement process, often seen as an insiders’ game, took place over the last two weeks in backyards, schools and church basements, where Democratic ward committees held nominating conventions in the city’s 30 wards.
Graves and other candidates for mayor, alderman and city clerk attended some of these mini-conventions, courting neighborhood votes. At the end of it, on Monday, Graves and two other candidates cited several complaints about the “fairness” and “transparency” of the process.
Their complaints come in a particularly lively election year, where four men are hoping to take on the mayor, a new crop of union-backed aldermanic challengers has emerged all over town, and nearly one-third of the Board of Aldermen is stepping down. That leaves the door open for many new faces, and a possible shift in power.
Who decides which candidates get endorsed?
Democratic Town Committee Chair Susie Voigt explained the process in a recent interview.
Candidates started by courting the vote of the city’s 30 ward committees, which are made up of up to 50 Democrats in each ward. Those 50 people are selected by two ward committee co-chairs, who each get to pick 25 people. The co-chairs are supposed to be chosen in biennial elections open to all registered Democrats. However, many candidates go unopposed, so they don’t face election. And there are often vacancies, in which case Voigt picks who fills the seat.
The ward committees across the city held different styles of meetings. Some were well-attended, drawing over 50 people to a balmy school library; another drew nine voting members to a backyard barbecue. Traditionally, Voigt said, ward committees vote only on candidates for alderman. This year, others have opted to cast votes for mayoral candidates, too.
Four men are running to block Mayor DeStefano’s quest for a historic 10th term. They are: attorney and civil rights activist Graves; budget watchdog Jeffrey Kerekes; and former Aldermen Tony Dawson; and Robert Lee.
Narrow Window of Time
Over the past week, Graves and fellow candidates showed up in Beaver Hills, East Rock, and Newhallville to introduce themselves and take questions from ward committees.
While DeStefano is expected to snag support in most wards, the challengers did manage to walk away with an endorsement in some cases. DeStefano, who hasn’t faced a competitive primary since state Sen. Martin Looney ran in 2001, was rejected in four wards: East Rock’s Ward 10 and Wooster Square’s Ward 8 picked Kerekes; Beaver Hills’ Ward 28 picked Graves; and Dawson won in the neighborhood he once represented, the Hill’s Ward 3.
In some neighborhoods, such as Edgewood’s Ward 24 and East Rock’s Ward 10, the ward committees opted not to endorse anyone for mayor.
For a new candidate facing a longtime incumbent, the process proved to be “frustrating” and “dissatisfying,” Graves said Monday. He voiced his complaints in a letter sent to Town Chairwoman Voigt on Friday.
In the letter, Graves said he’s “distressed” that ward committees have to hold their meetings in a “narrowly prescribed time period,” within two weeks of the convention. That means that many of the meetings are held on the same night. For example, last Thursday, four wards held simultaneous meetings at 6 p.m., and the candidates couldn’t be everywhere at once.
“This is not ‘participatory democracy,’” Graves wrote. “This is incumbent-biased insanity.”
Voigt.
Voigt said the opposite is true: the nominating procedure was created to add more democracy to the endorsement process. In other towns, she said, the Democratic Town Committee meets to endorse candidates without letting more people into the process.
In New Haven, she noted, “hundreds of people have met” to discuss citywide and neighborhood issues in small settings. “It’s a really important part of the process,” she said. “It really sets the stage for lively primaries.”
Graves asked Voigt to give ward committees more time to hold their conventions, and to create a new rule that prohibits more than two ward committees from holding meetings on the same night.
“I do appreciate that the mayoral candidates can’t get to all 30 ward committees in two weeks,” Voigt responded, but she said ward committees historically haven’t voted on mayoral endorsements. The main purpose is to endorse aldermanic candidates, she said.
Voigt said the local party bylaws don’t specify when the ward committee endorsements should take place. Without any rules to work from, Voigt instead gave suggested guidelines in a June 13 letter to ward committee co-chairs. She suggested they hold their nominating conventions between July 19 and July 26, which is the state-mandated window of time in which major parties have to hold their town committee conventions.
Voigt said she suggested that period “because many people don’t decide they want to run until then.” She said the current setup allows “for the largest possible number of [candidates] to participate in the process.”
Non-Binding Votes
Graves was also disturbed to find out that the ward committee endorsements aren’t set in stone: At the end of the day, the ward co-chairs have no obligation to follow the will of their ward committees, according to Voigt. The ward committee endorsements are “advisory” and “non-binding,” she said. The party’s endorsement is determined by the 60 ward co-chairs, who comprise the Democratic Town Committee and serve as the 60 delegates to the convention.
Voigt said she is open to revising the bylaws: She tried to do so in 2007 to update outdated language, but her effort was voted down. She said revisiting the endorsement process is “a worthwhile discussion that we should have in New Haven.”
“I think the process leaves a lot to be desired,” she said.
At the convention, Voigt will go around the room and ask the delegates from each ward (the two co-chairs) whom they endorse for alderman. The party endorsement for alderman is decided by the two co-chairs in that ward, unless they disagree. (In some cases, as in Dwight’s Ward 2 and Dixwell’s Ward 22, co-chairs opted to hold two separate nominating conventions.) If there’s a split vote, Voigt will cast the tiebreaker.
The entire 60-member delegation will vote on whom to endorse for mayor and city clerk. The two winners will be given the opportunity to address the crowd; other candidates will not.
Melissa Bailey File Photo
DeStefano at the last convention.
Two years ago, DeStefano used the opportunity to rally Democrats around a school reform campaign.
Voigt said while other events like that may take place, the main purpose of the convention is to endorse candidates.
Tony Dawson said he, like Graves, plans to skip the event. He said he shares Graves’ concerns about too many ward committee meetings taking place simultaneously. “I was a little bit taken aback that Susie Voigt didn’t see that every [mayoral] candidate got to go to all the wards,” Dawson said. “The way that they did this — there’s some work that needs to be done in terms of making it a fair and a transparent process.”
Candidates Jeffrey Kerekes cited a number of concerns with the process: Meetings taking place at the same time; the committee lists were unavailable, and the whole process is not well understood by the public, he said.
“First of all, people don’t know that there are ward committees.” And people don’t know that they’re allowed to run for office to become a ward co-chair. The end result is that few wards have primaries for the co-chair positions, he said, so most people get there through political appointments.
It’s a “flawed process,” Kerekes said. “I think that all works to protect the incumbent, not democracy.”
“If people don’t know about it, you can just stack it for whoever you want,” he said. DeStefano “has been successful in coopting the process so that no one runs against him.”
Despite his concerns, Kerekes said he does plan to attend Tuesday’s shindig. He said while he’s also gathering signatures for the general election, he made the decision to run in the Democratic primary: “If I’m going to participate in that process, I’m going to go through with each step.”
Melissa Bailey Photo
Kerekes pitches his candidacy to Ward 28 Democrats.
Kerekes said he doesn’t have high hopes: “I fully expect that DeStefano’s machine will dominate the Town Committee,” he said, “since he’s picked most of the people there.”
On Tuesday, Kerekes will have two co-chairs on his side. Ward 10 co-chair David Streever, who took pride in running a “transparent,” non-coercive process, said he will respect the vote of the Democrats on his ward committee and support Kerekes at the convention.
DeStefano, who has strong support on the Democratic Town Committee, is almost guaranteed Tuesday’s endorsement. Meanwhile, he already has outraised his rivals by a margin of 13 to 1.
What will the endorsed candidates get from their party?
“Nothing,” replied Voigt. “We know we’re a one-party town,” she explained, so the town committee stays out of aldermanic races. “If I give money” to a candidate, she said, “it will be for candidates that I support” — not on behalf of the town committee.
Aldermen who snag the party’s endorsement will land on the top line of the primary ballot along with the mayoral nominee.
Only one man will emerge Tuesday with the party’s endorsement for mayor. The rest will then head into a test of their survival: They’ll have two weeks to gather at least 2,092 signatures, or 5 percent of the registered Democratic voters in New Haven, in order to make it onto the ballot for the primary. Those petitions are due Aug. 10 at 4 p.m.
The same rules apply for aldermanic candidates who don’t make Tuesday’s endorsement. They need signatures from 5 percent of the registered Democrats in their ward. That’s a much lower threshold — between 45 and 94 signatures in each ward.
Here’s who’s running in the city’s 30 wards, so far:
Ward 1, Yale/Downtown/Dixwell:
Alderman Mike Jones isn’t seeking reelection in this ward, which is usually represented by a Yale undergraduate. No one has filed papers to run.
Ward 2, Dwight:
Union-backed Frank Douglass and street outreach worker Douglas Bethea are vying for a seat left open by Gina Calder, who stepped down on July 1. Mayor DeStefano appointed Ward 2 co-chair Greg Smith to fill in as alderman for the rest of the year; Smith has not filed papers to run for the position in the primary or general election.
In a last-minute fissure, ward co-chairs Douglass and Smith opted to have two separate nominating conventions, according to Douglass. That means they’ll likely come up with a split vote for alderman. If so, Voigt would cast the tiebreaker.
Wards 3, 4 & 5, The Hill:
Aldermen Jackie James, Andrea Jackson-Brooks and Jorge Perez are expected to seek reelection, though none had filed papers as of Monday.
Ward 6, The Hill:
With backing from union activists, Alderwoman Dolores Colon is running for a sixth term. La Voz Hispana Publisher Norma Rodriguez-Reyes filed papers on July 15 to challenge her. (Rodriguez-Reyes also volunteers as chair of the board of the not-for-profit Online Journalism Project, which publishes the Independent.)
Ward 7, Downtown:
Neighborhood activist Douglas Hausladen is stepping up to replace retiring Alderwoman Frances “Bitsie” Clark.
Ward 8, Wooster Square:
No opponents have come forward to challenge Alderman Mike Smart.
Ward 9, East Rock:
Things are already heating up for a lively rematch at the polls. The ward committee resoundingly backed Alderman Matt Smith, who’s seeking his first full term in office after winning a special election last year. Former union organizer Jessica Holmes vowed to run in the Democratic primary.
Ward 10, East Rock:
Justin Elicker faces no opposition as he seeks a second term.
Ward 11, Fair Haven Heights:
Independent Alderwoman Maureen O’Sullivan-Best faces a Democratic challenger, Barbara Constantinople.
Ward 12, Bishop Woods:
Alderman Gerald Antunes issued a Cape Verdean farewell on July 5, announcing he won’t run again. Mark Stopa of Cranston Street just filed papers on July 20 in pursuit of the empty seat.
Ward 13, Fair Haven Heights:
Three candidates—Brenda D. Jones, Josue Vega Jr. and David Baker — are vying to replace Alex Rhodeen, who’s not seeking reelection.
Ward 14, Fair Haven:
Alderwoman Stephanie Bauer seeks a second term; Tatiana Davila will challenge her.
Ward 15, Fair Haven:
Ernie Santiago is aiming for the seat that will be left vacant by outgoing Alderman Joey Rodriguez.
Ward 16, Fair Haven:
Alderwoman Migdalia Castro is running unopposed.
Ward 17, East Shore:
Alderman Al Paoillo has no opponents.
Ward 18, East Shore:
Two Democrats, Salvatore Decola and Sarah Saiano, are running in their party primary. The winner will face the board’s only Republican alderman, Arlene DePino, who’s seeking a sixth term.
Ward 19, Newhallville:
Alderwoman Alfreda Edwards hasn’t filed papers to run. She said she has been searching for interested parties to take the job.
Ward 20, Newhallville:
Delphine Clyburn, a state employee who works with people with intellectual disabilities, is challenging Charles Blango, who’s seeking a sixth term.
Ward 21, Newhallville:
“I’m not seeking reelection,” announced Alderwoman Katrina Jones in an interview Friday. A recently ordained minister at the Bethel A.M.E. church, Jones said she’s stepping down at the end of her term to “focus more on my church and my service to the community that way.”
The Ward 21 committee met last week and voted to endorse Moses Nelson, who’s making a second run for alderman. Nelson faces a second candidate, Brenda Foskey-Cyrus.
Ward 22, Dixwell (and part of Yale):
A four-way race is under way in this ever-lively ward. The candidates are: Lisa Hopkins, Jeanette Morrison, Alderman Gregory Morehead and perennial candidate Cordelia Thorpe, who’s also one of the ward’s co-chairs.
Ward 23, West River:
Yale union steward Tyisha Walker won her ward committee’s endorsement, beating out five-term incumbent Alderman Yusuf Shah.
Ward 24, Edgewood:
Alderman Marcus Paca is running unopposed.
Ward 25, Westville:
Two candidates are running to replace one-term Alderman Greg Dildine, who is not seeking reelection, the Democratic Party committee met Wednesday to make an endorsement. The ward committee backed Michael Slattery over his opponent, Adam Marchand.
Ward 26, Westville:
Sergio Rodriguez pointed to a park on Birch Drive as one reason he deserves a fifth term as alderman. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Darryl Brackeen, Jr. is ramping up his Youtube channel for what he calls a 21st century campaign.
Ward 27, West Side (parts of Beaver Hills, Westville, West Hills, Amity, and Beverly Hills):
Three candidates, Stan Kontogiannis, Angela Russell and Mary Wadley, hope to replace retiring Alderman Tom Lehtonen.
Ward 28, Beaver Hills:
The ward committee unanimously endorsed Robinson-Thorpe at its convention. A second candidate, Wayne McCloud, was present in the room but did not speak up or seek the nomination.
Ward 29, Beaver Hills:
Brian Wingate, part of a coalition of union-backed candidates, is gunning to unseat the president of the board, Carl Goldfield, who’s been in office since 1992.
Ward 30, West Rock:
A rematch is shaping up between Carlton Staggers and Alderman Darnell Goldson, who earned his ward committee’s endorsement as he seeks a second term.
Mayor DeStefano wandered into historically hostile territory and emerged with that committee’s endorsement.
City/Town Clerk
Claudia Herrera, a Fair Haven schools and neighborhood activist, is running against longtime City/Town Clerk Ron Smith. Herrera is Dawson’s runningmate; Smith is DeStefano’s.