At Debate, Fernandez Presses Harp On Keno

Keno came to the police union hall Monday night — not the electronic betting game itself, but the controversy over whether it should come to New Haven.

That happened during the first-ever mayoral campaign debate organized by Police Union Local 530. Four of the five Democratic mayoral candidates participated in the debate, which took place at the Marchegian Club on Cedar Street. A fifth candidate, Kermit Carolina, boycotted the event. (Click here for a full story on that, including a response by police union President Lou Cavaliere Jr.)

During the standing-room-only debate, candidate Henry Fernandez several times raised an issue on which he has gained some traction in recent weeks: criticizing his perceived chief rival, Toni Harp, for helping strike a state budget deal that included expansion of Keno to restaurants and bars in cities like New Haven.

Fernandez emphasized the introduction of Keno as a public-safety issue: ” It’s going to increase crime. It’s going to increase poverty,” he said.

Harp responded by calling Fernandez’s attacks ​“specious.” She said she helped save youth programs through the budget deal; she called those programs ​“more important than a choice an adult will make about whether to waste their money on Keno.” Fernandez responded that a state budget surplus could have covered those programs without the introduction of Keno.

Harp received an assist from another candidate, Sundiata Keitazulu, who attacked Fernandez for, in his view, manufacturing an irrelevant issue. He never hears about Keno on the campaign trail, Keitazulu said.

The Keno debate continued after the formal debate.

Harp had said during the debate that Fernandez misunderstood the budget process that led to Keno’s approval. She said that restaurants will not be instituting Keno; and she said that Fernandez didn’t realize that the budget decisions were made based on revenue projections that showed a shortfall, not a surplus.

Asked after the debate to elaborate, Harp said that at first Keno will be coming mainly to off-track betting parlors (like New Haven’s Sports Haven) as well as to outlets that already have Lotto. At those latter venues, Keno will not be offered at the customary public monitor that has led people to get ​“addicted” to the game, she said; it will work more like lottery, where people submit numbers to wager on, the only difference being that the results come much faster than in the lottery. She said eventually restaurants will have the right to put in Keno machines, but that first regulators must approve them. People will probably have the ability to contest such applications before they’re approved, she said.

Told of Harp’s remarks, Fernandez stuck to his position. He noted that Keno is projected to bring in $3 million in revenue its first year, $27 million the second; that’s such a miniscule portion of a $37 billion two-year budget (“a rounding error”) that even with the projected deficit, lawmakers could and should have found other ways to close that portion of the gap, he argued. As for Harp’s point about the process by which restaurants must obtain licenses, he said, ​“If the senator wants to rely on regulators to take steps that are not in the law, that is not leadership. She was in the room when the deal was cut.”

Monday night’s debate had two stages with two audiences: the police union members in the hall who were dangling an endorsement (although they seemed outnumbered by civilian supporters of the candidates); and the public at large.

Harp and Fernandez were clearly fighting for the union’s endorsement; and they tangled in the manner of two presumed front-runners who see each other as their main opponents.

Mayoral candidate Justin Elicker, on the other hand, is not expected to win the union endorsement. And as someone participating in the city’s public-financing system, he can’t even accept the union’s political action committee dollars promised to the eventual endorsee. He did say he’d love the union’s endorsement even though he can’t take the money. But he also spoke more to the citywide audience. He told the union what it didn’t want to hear: He declined to commit to maintaining a defined-benefit pension plan for cops. The pension plan is in deep financial trouble, he said; New Haven can’t afford to maintain it safely without changes. Elicker repeatedly presented himself as the candidate who can break free from old-style New Haven ​“politics” — the kind of politics you hear police complain about often in New Haven, though it’s unclear whether those complaints will factor into how the union executive board decides on an endorsement, which is by nature a political process in itself.

Elicker also played up his command of up-to-date details about police decisions — the kind of new training cops receive (most recently on patrolling by bike), the recent sting of illegal dirt-bikers. He has gotten up to speed on those details by attending weekly Compstat data-sharing meetings at police headquarters as well as by working with officers on issues like the dirt bikes.

Following is a play-by-play account and analysis live blog of the debate.

The event began shortly after 6 p.m. at the Marchegian Club at 226 Cedar. Police union Local 530 is hosting.

6:05 p.m. Opening prayer.

6:06 ​“This is our first debate. We’re excited about it,” Cavaliere says. He gives ​“props” to union treasurer Shafiq Abdussabur for doing the organizing work. Next comes the Pledge of Allegiance.

6:07 Looks like about 60 people here. Standing room only.

6:09 ​“Anyone’s always welcome here in our house,” Abdussabur says after recognizing Kermit Carolina’s decision not to participate in the debate. Former city cop James Howell, a regional AFSCME director, is serving as debate moderator.

6:12 First question: What’s your top priority, and how will you pay for it? Harp: Improving the schools. ​“We’ve made some changes, but we still have a long way to go.” No microphones; and fans are on. So candidates need to speak loudly. Harp doesn’t address the ​“how to pay for it” portion of the question.

6:13 Fernandez interjects: You promised us opening statements. Howell agrees to a ​“do-over.” Now come two-minute opening statements.

6:15 Fernandez calls crime-reduction a top priority for him. ​“It’s also important that we understand the role the police are playing. … I want to commit to Local 530 and the officers at all ranks in this department that another top priority for me is making sure you have the resources, you have the training, you have the backing of a mayor such that you can be sure we are getting you home safely to your families every night.

6:16 Hard to hear Keitazulu. Only one mic; moderator has it. Keitazulu ​“back[s] Mr. Esserman 100 percent” in ​“giving the police department the resources it needs.” ​“Police are doing a great job.” He speaks of how in Newhallville he sees ​“for the first time” the police building relationships with people and getting help from citizens. That’s a cornerstone of community policing.

6:18 Elicker: ​“Today is my 10th debate. It’s a marathon running for mayor.” He says that’s good for the city, having public debate. He talks about how his mom was a Republican and his dad a Democrat. He learned as a result how to work ​“honestly” with people who have different views. ​“If we don’t respect one another, we will not be able to get things done in the city.” Fernandez spoke seated; Keitazulu stood up. Elicker, by contrast, stands up and walks to the front of the table to address the crowd up close, a tactic he has used at other debates.

6:20 Harp now is standing, in place. ​“I’m running for mayor so little children in our community don’t have to worry about bullets flying through their bedroom when they go to sleep at night. I’m running for mayor so when children graduate from high schools” they then don’t have to do two years of remedial education at junior colleges before ascending to college. ​“I’m running for mayor so the people in this community have hope in their future, so that their children have hope. I’m running for mayor so the police don’t have to work so hard, so that communities are engaged in their own safety.” She gets the biggest applause for talking about how police can’t do it alone.

6:22 Back to the question. Elicker speaks of building on community policing, creating more jobs, holding the Board of Education accountable, boosting early childhood education. Those are his priorities, he says. Says he would push economic growth to pay for it, saying he can’t raise taxes or cut as a solution.

6:24 Keitazulu: Jobs are number-one priority. He says he’ll ask ​“for the whole school board to put in their resignation.” Brings up his proposals for new vo-tech schools. He praises Project Longevity, the new federally funded gang-targeting anti-violence initiative. ​“Let the thugs know, if you commit a crime … we’re going to enforce the law on you. We’re not going to take any more nonsense.”

6:26 Turns out candidates do have mics. They’re using them now.

Fernandez’s priorities: Cut crime. Improve schools. Economic development, to pay for it. He talks about growth coming from changes in the medical industry. What doesn’t get discussed at these debates: It takes an estimated $6 million a year in new tax revenue to drop taxes a single mil. That’s huge, far, far more development than we’ve seen in any one year.

Now Fernandez turns to his perceived top rival for the job: Toni Harp. He asks her a question: ​“Given the amount of crime, the problems we have in this city with regard to broken families, with regard to children and poverty, how it is you could support bringing Keno gambling into our neighborhoods? It’s going to increase crime. It’s going to increase poverty. Why did you think that’s appropriate?”

This is the main event. Fernandez has gotten traction, in New Haven and statewide, attacking Harp for joining legislators in approving an expansion of Keno games in cities like New Haven to balance the state budget.

These ​“attacks” by Fernandez ​“underscore the difference between the experience of someone who has worked for the state and someone who hasn’t,” Harp responds. She gets applause. She speaks about how funding for young people and after-school programs had been eliminated in the original version of the state budget. ​“You have to make tough choices as a leader. I thought those programs were more important than a choice a adult will make about whether to waste their money on Keno.”

It’s interesting that Fernandez is pitching this issue in a public safety context here. Both he and Harp drew positive reactions in private appearances before the police union; I wonder how officers will view the Keno issue, if it will be a factor.

6:33 Fernandez responds to a question asking about the ​“biggest challenge” of the campaign. He returns to Keno: ​“The biggest challenge in this campaign has been the size of the field. As it’s shrinking, it’s easier to have a debate where we have time to talk through the issues. I’m going to come back to this issue of Keno…”

“Oh no,” Harp supporters groan.

Fernandez proceeds. ​“It’s going to expose children in New Haven restaurants to adults gambling. I’m sorry; that’s wrong. There’s a budget surplus. All the things the senator talked about cutting … we didn’t actually need Keno. We have hundreds of millions of dollars [in a] budget surplus. … Adding gambling to my neighborhood will increase crime. It will put children at risk.” His supporters clap.

6:35 Harp describes her ​“biggest challenge” as a candidate: ​“You’re perceived to be the frontrunner. You become a target. Specious issues like Keno and ​‘ruining people’s lives’ are brought out … [Keno] isn’t even being brought to restaurants.” Also: ​“People no longer believe government can work for them. We’ve got to turn that around.”

6:38 ​“I never knew Keno was an issue until Mr. Fernandez brought it up,” says Keitazulu. ​“I never heard this as an issue” at any door visits on the campaign trail. ​“I have three daughters. I would be proud if they turn out like Toni Harp. Stay with the issues, Mr. Fernandez,” he concludes. As usual in these debates, Keitazulu rouses the crowd.

6:41 Candidates have two audiences to address at these debates: the people in the room (as in cases like this one, a group dangling an endorsement) and the city at large. So in a question about community policing, Fernandez makes sure to repeat a commitment to giving cops the ​“resources” they need to do the job.

6:42 This question about community policing is a softball for Harp — because in 1989 she co-authored the original plan to bring community policing to New Haven. She’s talking about that now, about how at the time in Dwight-Kensington (a neighborhood she represented on the Board of Aldermen) kids were sleeping in bathtubs to avoid bullets flying through the window, how UI couldn’t keep streetlights working because drug dealers kept shooting them out. She notes that at the time murders reached 34 a year before community policing led to a dramatic cut in violence; and how they reached that level again in recent years until the reintroduction of community policing again showed results. She also mentions the need to enlist the fire department, the Livable City Initiative (LCI), and block watches more in making community policing work.

6:45 Elicker says as mayor he’d walk beats with cops and attend block-watch meetings rather than sit in ​“an ivory tower.”

6:46 Question: What kind of training would you support? Fernandez says he’d require additional training hours for cops in mediation, in dealing with gangs, in ​“community organizing,” and in working New Haven’s neighborhoods. Harp: Ensure the city pays the bill for officers’ additional training for career advancement. Elicker notes that cops do get paid for extra training, such as a recent round of bicycle training; he learned that by, as he points out, regularly attending weekly ​“Compstat” data-sharing meetings at police headquarters. He’s indeed a fixture there. Elicker also calls for ​“sensitivity training” on citizen rights to avoid incidents like cops confiscating cameras. He also talks about how Lt. Holly Wasilewski does such a remarkable job dealing with the public. Elicker closes by proposing moving the police firing range. Keitzaulu: ​“I’m not a police officer,” so he’d ask cops what they need.

6:54 A test question: Do you support changes to police pension plans? Cops pay more toward their pensions than they used to, thanks to a new contract. The city sought (and won) new terms in that contract and in others in order to keep rising pension and health costs under control — and to keep pension funds from becoming insolvent. Whoever wins this race will face some of those same tough contract negotiations and the need to keep long-term costs under control.

Harp calls it ​“grossly unfair” to force changes in the pension system, although it’s ​“fair” to have changes bargained. ​“I don’t think any union should move away from defined-benefit plans.”

Elicker: ​“Defined-benefit plans are wonderful. I would love one. The reality is we have a $220 million underfunded liability in our police and fire pension plans. We’re funding what we’re required to fund; we’re assuming we will get an 8.25 percent return on our investment. Who’s getting an 8.25 percent return these days? If you want a pension in the future, we need to make a choice as a city. Because we won’t have enough money in our system. We have to make a choice between changing [from] defined benefit to defined contribution, which is not ideal; or changing the benefit structure. Someone who has 15 years worth of work left in them is not someone a pension is designed for.” Without fixing this, the city won’t have money for any cop’s pensions — let alone libraries. In other words, he’s not telling the police what they want to hear. He gets a single lone clap.

A change to a defined contribution (rather than defined benefit) plans means that the city would have a set amount that it pays into the pension fund, rather than a set amount that it promises to pay out during retirement. A defined contribution plan works like a 401(k).

Fernandez: ​“I support defined benefit pensions.” He says he also recognizes that ​“historic underfunding of pensions” means ​“we’re going to have to sit down and negotiate a system for paying” for those pensions. ​“The nature of policing is such that we are going to have people who are going to retire because of the stress of the job, the physical demands of the job, before they’re 65 years old. … That needs to be part of the way we figure out the solution to maintaining defined benefit plans.” The city now has a tiered-benefit program under the new contract; that encourages retirements, ​“leaving us with significant vacancies.” That has meant the need for more overtime for now because of shortages. The lower tier does not get defined benefits; so they’ll leave after a few years here. ​“That is a significant risk fo rus, because we’re paying to train them. We need tos it down with the union, sit down with thepolice chief. We need to restructure this to save money and maintain dignity in retirement.”

7:15 p.m. Harp defends her record as a leading state senator. She says she was able to allocate money for New Haven as a state senator, but wants to be mayor so she can make sure it’s spent well.

Fernandez asks to rebut. He offers an interesting two-part argument.

First he praises Harp — for bringing money to New Haven. Having her become mayor, he said, would make New Haven lose important clout in Hartford. (Harp co-chairs the legislature’s Appropriations Committee.)

Then he takes on her argument that she needs to become mayor to make sure money’s spent right. Fernandez argues that a state senator chairing a major committee has lots of opportunity to ensure state money gets spent well. ​“Becoming mayor won’t make that money well-spent. It’s important to be accountable in all the jobs we hold, not just the jobs we want to hold.”

7:18 Well more than 70 people are here now.

7:19 Closing question: Why should we endorse you?

Fernandez touts his experience as a city administrator, including working with the police department. ​“I will be a champion for community policing. I will be a champion for police officers. I will be a champion for folks in all of our neighborhoods who need this city to be safer.”

Harp: ​“I pledge to work with you. I pledge to listen to you. I look forward to our success.”

Elicker: ​“Since I’m participating in public financing, I can’t accept PAC [political action committee] money.” So he’d love their endorsement; he can’t take their money. ​“I show up. I care. I work as a partner. I have worked as a partner” with cops. He mentions working with Sgt. Vincent Anastasio to address the dirt-bike menace; read about that here.

Keitazulu: ​“I am the voice of the people. … It’s not about me. It’s about you the people. What do the people need and want? What do the police need and want to get their job done? … I will not let the people’s voice be not heard no more.”