Dems Endorse Harp, Smart, Joyner

The Democratic Party nominated three candidates for top offices Tuesday night at a convention that, on the surface, demonstrated no internal divisions — for now.

At a convention held at Career High School, the party voted by acclamation to endorse Toni Harp for a third two-year term as mayor, Michael Smart (pictured above) to a third two-year term as city clerk, and Edward Joyner to a second term holding one of two elected Board of Education seats. In the night’s dramatic moment, the convention, on a close second-ballot vote, endorsed Clifton Graves Jr. for probate judge. (Read about that here.)In accepting the party’s endorsement, Smart spoke of how he fulfilled a campaign promise by hiring three Spanish-speaking staffers in the clerk’s office.

Joyner (pictured) faced a Democrat challenge from Jamell Cotto, but Cotto dropped out of the race right before the vote Tuesday night. (Joyner faces Republican Kate Adams in the general election.)

Harp faces a challenge from Marcus Paca, who has filed papers to run as both a Democrat in the Sept. 12 primary and an unaffiliated candidate in the Nov. 7 general election.

But when it came time to enter Paca’s name into nomination Tuesday night, the Paca supporter called upon to do the deed, Ward 24 Co-Chair Gary Stewart (pictured) walked up to the mic, placed his hand over his mouth, then returned to his seat without saying a word. The party proceeded to vote by acclimation to endorse Harp.

“I was symbolically representing the people who have been silenced through intimidation and the machine,” Stewart said later.

Paca watched some of the action from the back of the hall. He said he had spent part of the evening knocking on voters’ doors and is now prepared to gather and submit by Aug. 9 the 1,872 signatures from registered Democratic voters needed to secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot. He also needs to collect 220 votes of registered New Haven voters of any party to qualify for the November ballot.

Paca called Harp’s nomination ​“no surprise.”

“Harp has been a politician for 40 years and has a stranglehold on the local political establishment,” Paca stated. ​“She was endorsed by the chairman of the DTC on the day she announced her bid for reelection.

“But this isn’t over. We will continue to speak directly to New Haveners, providing facts about the challenges and opportunities facing our city and offering vision, energy, and courage. I am very optimistic that New Havenvers will vote their conscience.”

In her acceptance speech to the convention, Harp offered her own optimism — about the state of the city.

She spoke of how under her mayoralty, New Haven has gained free wifi and lighting on the Green, reduced its carbon footprints, boosted food vending on Long Wharf, created new annual events like the food truck festival and ​“Operapoolza” and the dragon boat and Grand Prix bike races, placed bioswales throughout city neighborhoods, cut crime, balanced the budget and kept taxes constant the past three years, grown the grand list by 8 percent in the past year, green-lighted 2,000 new market-rate apartments and, in the public schools, boosted enrollment and attendance and test scores while reducing absenteeism and suspensions.

“There are undeniable positive results,” she said.

She also spoke of the two recent shootings of teenagers in Newhavllille, including the murder of 14-year-old Tyriek Keyes, who was buried Tuesday.

“Each time a mother hears heartbreaking news about her child,” Harp said, ​“it reminds us of how much there is left to do.”

And she celebrated New Haven’s embrace of immigrants, including undocumented immigrants like Nury Chavarria, who instead of flying back to Guatemala as ordered by the federal government is taking refuge in Fair Haven’s Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal.

“She came here [from Norwalk] for sanctuary. This community opened its hearts and its churches to Nury and her family. New Haven is … a city that rallies around those in need. That’s what unites us.”

The convention also unanimously endorsed a slate of candidates for alder. It left two wards open: Yale’s Ward 1 and West Rock/West Hills’ Ward 30. Sarah Eidelson, the Ward 1 alder, hasn’t announced yet whether she will run for reelection; Hacibey Catalbasoglu is running an independent in the general election.

Ward 30 Alder Carlton Staggers resigned this week.Mayor Toni Harp said she has appointed former alder Michelle Sepulveda to finish out the term this year. Tosha James-Goldson (who is married to Board of Ed member and former Ward 30 Alder Darnell Goldson) said Tuesday night that she’s running for the seat in the primary and the general election.

The convention endorsed the following alder candidates: Frank Douglass (Ward 2), Ron Hurt (3), Evelyn Rodriguez (4), David Reyes (5), Dolores Colon (6), Abby Roth (7), Aaron Greenberg (8), Charles Decker (9), Anna Festa (10), Renee Hayward (11), Gerald Antunes (12), Rosa Santana (13), Kenneth Reveiz (14), Ernie Santiago (15), Jose Crespo (16), Jody Ortiz (17), Sal DeCola (18), Kim Edwards (19), Delphine Clyburn (20), Rodney WIlliams (21), Jeanette Morrison (22), Tyisha Walker (23), Evette Hamilton (24), Adam Marchand (25), Darryl Brackeen (26), Richard Furlow (27), Jill Marks (28), Brian Wingate (29).

In addition to Catalbasoglu and James-Goldson, candidates who have filed papers to seek to run in the Democratic primary and/or in the general election include Macye Torres (Ward 4), Robert Lee (11), Sarah Ofosu (19), and Steven Winter (21). Depending on the size of ward voting lists, the candidates need as few as three voter signatures to make the ballot.