Calder Ambushed; Will Voters Get To Vote?

The best course of action would be for Gina to resign at the end of June, go two months without a Ward 2 alderperson, have the primary in early September along with the other elections, and then have the Mayor immediately appoint the winner.

Of course that won't happen.

It's not up to Frank or anyone else. Calder said her intentions were to step down on July 1. Thats it, what the heck is wrong with Frank. It gets me that so many people want to be in this position because of other people influencing them. Gina, don't leave until July 1. What would they do if she decided to remain until December 31? Nothing, her term would expire and whoever won in the primary would take over Jan 1. Get a life Frank

Gina Calder has chosen her job over her representation of her ward. That's fine and perfectly understood. But she should immediately resign, especially in light of the budget being approved. If the budget was so damn important, why didn't she offer an amendment or two? Has she even read it or was that a smokescreen for some other reason. In any case, she has made her decision and the budget questions have been settled. Her promotion is in place. There is absolutely no reason for her to subvert democracy and cede control of this important decision to the mayor.

Question:
Do you think democracy is best served by allowing the Mayor to appoint the check and balance?
Should the president be allowed to appoint Senate & Congress?

Frank just wants his chance to run for a democratic office in a democratic state. Is that really bizarre?

In 2001, Alderman Jelani Lawson- also a Yale graduate-stepped down before his term was over- and the mayor appointed Linda Townsend to the Ward 2 seat.

Linda Townsend- was removed from office within a few months by election(i think she had the shortest term ever on the BOA.)

Dwight- will never go with the mayor choice!

From the Charter:

Sec. 53. - Vacancies in offices of aldermen.

If an alderman is elected and for any reason fails to qualify, or whenever an alderman shall vacate the position because of resignation, death, removal from office or failure to reside within the ward said alderman was elected to represent, a vacancy shall exist in that office and the successor shall be chosen in the following manner pursuant to the General Statutes relating to elections:

(a)
If the position shall become vacant during the first eighteen months of the term of office, a special election shall be called forthwith to fill the vacancy and shall be held no later than forty-five days from the effective day of the vacancy. The person so elected shall assume office on the day of election.

(b)
If the position shall become vacant commencing on or after the first day of the nineteenth month of the term of office, the mayor shall appoint a successor to complete the term of office who shall hold office in accordance with the provisions of this charter. Said appointee shall be of the same party affiliation as that of the immediate previous incumbent and the mayor shall appoint from a list of three names submitted by that party's town committee members from that ward.


If there is a question whether an alderman resides within the ward said alderman was elected to represent, it shall be decided jointly by both registrars of voters.


If Calder wants to see fair and open elections, as Joyce Chen did for her, then
Calder should resign effective June 1, 2011.

If Calder was true to her word and was sticking around to vote on the budget, then it really does behoove her to resign now. Otherwise, she just looks like she's doing the Mayor's bidding. From what I can tell up to now, Calder's been a fairly open-minded alderman, so it's surprising that she'd want to make this her legacy. I hope she does the right thing and resigns immediately.

The second ward needs to be re-drawn. it's a yale seat, and we don't need yalies making real decisions.

The question is, is Alderwoman Calder's strategic resignation date for the purpose of saving taxpayers money in a distressed economy (no special election), or is it for giving the mayor a few months of 1/30th of the BOA vote? I'd like it to be the former and have a hard time believing that theres that much power in 1/30th of the BOA, but those that dissent certainly do want the seat for those couple of months... so there must be some strategic value.

If Frank is so concerned about the democratic process why haven't there been any Ward 2 Committee meetings? In the old days in a situation like this the Ward Committee would meet and ask the constituents to nominate or propose three possible names for the Mayor to appoint. Frank's may or may not have been one of them. The Ward 2 co-chairs act entitled and have not enlisted input from the residents. Wonder who signed his petition since it did not come out of a posted Ward 2 meeting. Based on his lack of leadership and invisibility in the Ward - he would not get my vote for the interim, and will not get my vote whenever an election does take place.

This is what happens when you have the crooked Two Party System.This is why we must fight for proportional representation and Term Limits.

As a Ward 2 resident and voter, I feel very strongly that we should be able to vote on and pick our next representative in City Hall! As Mr. Douglass says, it's a matter of democracy. I can't imagine that June 30 vs. July 1 could matter that much to Ms. Calder, but it matters a lot to Ward 2 voters!

@Kate:
I don't know Mr. Douglas, or Ms. Calder, on any personal level. I can tell you that I've seen Mr. Douglas at many meetings at city hall advocating for his neighbors.

The Ward Committee system is really very neutered.

I have no horse in this race, but I think--in general--wards should have elections. I don't want to rush to judge Ms. Calder, because she may be simply trying to save the taxpayers a little money by avoiding a special election.

I really think a more logical system--than letting the Mayor appoint one of his checks/balances--would be for the Ward Committee to select who would serve as INTERIM alder for the remaining few months and then have a full election at election time.

I've known Alder Calder for several years, and she has always been upfront about her intentions. She hasn't been too active this term, and I suspect it's because of her work demands. I understand her resignation and wish her well. As to Mr. Douglass' desire to force a special election, there is little validity in a Ward Special Election (where you can be happy if more than 50 people turn out to vote.) And with Yale now gone, a significant part of the electorate is unavailable. If Mr. Douglas wants to run, the democratic thing to do is to wait 3 months until the primary is on, rather than snatch the seat with a handful of his supporters being the only ones available to vote. Let the Mayor appoint if he wants. The Mayor's pick never wins in Ward 2 anyway. (That's Toni Harp's old ward).

Who cares about any of this? No one's vote actually matters. One party for 60 consecutive years, longer than anyone can remember, and it will be that way forever. Like China: one party, one boss, a few factions, and then a new Boss. Forever.

I lived in Ward 2 when Gina was first elected and Frank was running against her. I was very impressed with the fact that Frank Douglas came to my apartment building and spoke to me about his campaign and his vision for our community. Gina on the other hand sent a couple of Yale students to speak to me on her behalf.
I was rooting for Douglas and, though I wont be voting in Ward 2 this year, I'm rooting for him again.
Good luck Frank!

As a fairly new Ward 2 Homeowner, but very old New Haven resident. I'm wondering if the entire body of the Ward 2 committee met to discuss this issue and if they are supporting Mr. Douglas. It is obviously clear that his greatest supporters (financially) are the Unions at Yale is this because there's a large numbers of Ward 2 residents who are employed at Yale not counting the students who for the most point leave after graduation?
Confused and curious

@Kate

As a member of the Ward 2 Democratic Committee, I can tell you that we have met. We met in the fall leading up to the November elections.

Frank has been very active in the neighborhood and made a serious effort to communicate with Ward 2 voters about the situation with the special election. I've seen him out knocking on doors about it, whereas I've never seen Gina actually out in the neighborhood talking to people. Frank has made himself highly accessible to members of our community who want to talk about it.

As a Ward 2 voter, I hope that Gina will allow us to make our own decision about who we want to represent our neighborhood.

I applaud and thank Frank for fighting for democracy in this city. Our voice is clearly not being heard in the Mayor's office, and Gina seems to be giving the Mayor what he wants.

Whether or not you like Frank or Gina or how you plan to vote, we deserve to have our voice heard. The Mayor should not get to choose who best represents our interests.

We should all get behind Frank's effort and sign the petition. I did.

If Calder really only wanted to stick around for the budget hearing, she should be true to her word and step down now. I'm struck by the fact that she ran away from Mr. Douglass when he tried to inform her about the will of her constituents. It's clear that she's succumbing to pressure from the Mayor. If Mr. Douglass took it upon himself to speak with 100 residents about the issue, our city officials should respect their demand for an election. Why is the Mayor afraid of democracy?

Executive appointment of legislators is actually common even at the Federal level. If a Senator or Congressperson resigns or is dismissed than the governor of that state choses a replacement to fill the vacancy until the next election. I think that is what a lot of people are missing here, the mayor's appointee (if this happens) will only sit on the BOA until the next election, which I believe is not too far away. The cost of an election is avoided and the BOA can resume normal business without interruption.
This seems like a non-issue.

The cost of a special election is likely minimal but, more importantly, just seems irrelevant. Is there really too high a price to pay for democracy?

175 Dwight- Amen! It's obvious that the Mayor has her ear and wants to make the appointment. The fact that the term will end shortly thereafter is a weak argument- his appointee will run as an incumbent w/ ward committee backing. This is how the mayor gets what he wants....

This is Representative Democracy, this is how it works. The statutes and laws are very clear on the issue. The laws were passed democratically, therefore there is nothing un-democratic about the Mayor appointing a temporary Alderman to fill the seat, if it comes to that. Changing the law is another issue, perhaps one that should be explored. But, short of that this is not a critical issue. It is hyperbolic rhetoric, used to increase the profile of a local politician.

I'm encouraged to see this dialogue among concerned citizens. And I remain moved by Mr. Douglass' efforts to get the word out on this issue. In light of these legitimate concerns, Calder's silence speaks volumes. I see this as proof that the Mayor is calling the shots.

Frank said it is not democracy to leave the appointment to the Mayor. Its the charter, Frank. She is not obligated to resign before her July 1st date. Some are saying the Mayor has control of the process, well that is not at all true. The two Co-Chairs are required to give the Mayor a list of 3 names. He the Mayor would then appoint from the list given to him. That is the process. Now if Gina chose to resign before July 1st then an election would take place. Its her call and should not be bashed for making a decision to wait later than sooner.

I like Streevers solution...let the Ward committee of the party in power (usually always dems in NH) pick the temporary successor. Short, temporary, doesn't cost as much as a special election, and is more locally democratic than a mayoral appointment.

Atwater, Common sense says the law was meant for that apptmt when a sudden vacancy occurs- not one that is planned. Has she given a reason for waiting until July? The fact that it's a law passed democratically doesn't mean its intent and purpose can't be skirted. That's what appears to be going on w/o further explanation.

@Robn:
Thanks--I agree with Atwater that we should allow the representative system to function--just, I disagree with the representative being the Mayor (ANY mayor of New Haven, ever--not specific to our current one)

The BoA is supposed to be a check & balance on top of being neighborhood representatives--while many of our rules and systems do not support this, they should, and I think we should move toward that whenever possible.

If the citizens of Ward 2 make it clear that they would rather elect an alderman to fill vacancy than Ms. Calder should do the decent thing and resign before July 1st. I agree that representative democracy is flawed, the appointment system is one reason why it is flawed. It would be nice to see a grassroots push to alter the current law so that the Mayor is not allowed to appoint Alderman, under any circumstances. A Direct Democracy would benefit all of us. Maybe this is a step in that direction.

Kudos, Atwater. You're right on. When the grassroots speaks, elected officials owe it to them to listen. And a better system would build in more accountability. Calder is not even dignifying her constituents' perfectly reasonable request with a response. She should step down as soon as possible.

Can someone please tell me how it has come to be that students are given the right to vote in local elections? Very few of them are from New Haven. They are transients at best and tax dodgers as well. I remember Alder Jelani Lawson had to be shamed into registering his car in CT. Most of the Yalies that own cars here keep their registration from their home states. Is this not representation without taxation?

I know I'm late in getting to the party, but just wanted to add my two cents.

@steever:
Do you think democracy is best served by allowing the Mayor to appoint the check and balance?

I think democracy is best served by following the laws that were passed by representatives elected by the people. The law does not say "special election every time" - no, the law is very clear on what happens in which circumstances. Furthermore, alderwoman Calder was elected so it is her choice if, how, and when she resigns. She was elected as a representative of her ward, so the majority (er, plurality) of people voted to trust her judgment. She should exercise it how she sees fit.

Rounding up a bunch of signatures to try to force the alderman's resignation seems like more of a political trick than actually following the letter of the law.

@Mayhew
Many students pay taxes (via rent increases and on cars). Our constitution guarantees us no taxation without representation. I hope I have answered your question.

@Late Comment
The law says what it says--but ultimately, the citizens of Ward 2 elected an alder AND two ward chairs. What should the Ward Chairs do if not pick the Alder, who is supposed to be a check & balance on the Mayor's office?

Calder--after serving as a check & balance against the Mayor--should realize that it is far from ideal for the Mayor to pick his next check/balance. I think she should stick up for her constituents on this and not let the Mayor appoint his own check/balance.

late comment
the letter of the law and spirit of the law are 2 different things. Why can't she give an explanation for the date of her resignation? Why can't we expect our leaders to do the right thing? While it's her prerogative to resign, she owes the voters a plausible reason for her choice of dates.

Streever, many students do NOT pay taxes. Please show me just one out of state undergraduate with a car who registered it in CT. Furthermore, paying rent is clearly not the same as paying taxes. These transients demand representation and pay nothing while they vote in New Haven and in their hometowns as well. They have double representation and no taxation.