Harp Launches Quest For Third Term

Mayor Toni Harp kicked off her campaign on the Democratic ticket for a third two-year term with celebration, pride and quite a bit of dancing.

Flanked by a drill team and their drums, Harp gathered with more than 200 people — a who’s‑who of state and local politics — outside the Sound School Friday to let it be known that she would like another two years at the helm of the city.

“As mayor of New Haven, as your mayor, I stand before you tonight a candidate for another term,” she said to enthusiastic cheers. ​“I do so proudly because I’m eager to extend the progress we’ve made these past three and a half years. I do so enthusiastically based on the record that we have to boast about.”

And that record, for Harp, includes:

• Three consecutive balanced budgets, a modest rainy day fund and an improved credit rating for the city.
• No tax increase for the past two fiscal years and the elimination of $14 million in debt.
• An 85 percent reduction in fire department overtime.
• Six consecutive years of lower crime rates.
• Higher enrollment and attendance in public schools.
• Higher graduation rates and test scores.
• Expulsions reduced from an average high of 85 to just 10 this year so far.
• More than 2,000 market rate housing units in development and an 8 percent increase in the grand list.
• Free public wifi on the Green and energy-saving LED lights in city buildings and on city streets.
• A greener city because of the commitment to alternative transportation.

“All of this signals bright reliable prospects for a safe well-educated population going forward with a vibrant local economy to sustain families businesses and greater prosperity for the years ahead,” Harp said. ​“In the best interest of these families and businesses, in the best interest of all who depend on a vibrant city and it’s bright future, and in the best interest of all of those who will inherit the New Haven that we leave behind, I believe another term for all of us is in order.”

State Sen. Marty Looney noted that this year marks 30 years ago that Harp started her career in public service, first as a member of what was then the Board of Aldermen. That first foray into politics would eventually take her to the state capitol, where she chaired the public health committee and eventually the most powerful committee in the state legislature, appropriations.

“She was in the very beginning a thoughtful advocate,” Looney said. ​“Someone looking for creative solutions, looking for policy changes that could be made, and nontraditional ways to get to critical results for people who look to government for assistance.”

Looney said that when Harp was in the Senate, ​“she distinguished herself as someone who was in many ways the great moral conscience of the Senate, and she still continues to do that as a mayor who believes that government can do good.” He said that’s something needed in a time when there are elected officials, particularly Republicans, ​“who in effect hate government” … ​“and they are in effect looking to undermine the institutions they serve.”

“Toni Harp has been a voice against all that as someone who believes that government has a role in our society and it is one that can do some great good when it is well motivated and also well managed,” Looney said.

Democratic Town Chair Vinnie Mauro said the mayor ​“has done an amazing job.”

“She’s getting another two years after this,” he said. ​“It’s going to be a long campaign cycle — a lot of door knocking, a lot of voter contact. That is what this city has done for years, and it does it better than anybody else, and this year we’re going to do it for the board and for this mayor.”

Eleventh graders Arianna Rivera of Co-Op High and Rigby Conyers of Hillhouse High praised the mayor’s commitment to the city’s youth. Both had opportunities to participate in the Urban Debate League, train with Yale University’s debate team coach and participate in other programs that helped them pursue a passion.

“Thanks to Mayor Harp we finally found a space in our life where we could be inspired and feel safe and secure,” Conyers said. ​“Mayor Harp has done everything she could to ensure that the youth of New Haven were taken care of. Without her support, many of us would have been lost youth with nowhere to go.”

Rivera called her a feminist exemplar.

“I believe Mayor Harp should be re-elected because she is an inspiration,” she said. ​“I was never politically active until she ran and actually won. Not only is she the first female mayor, which alone is inspiring, but she is African-American, a race looked down upon for so long. Women are constantly being told that they can do nothing that men can do. But the mayor has given us reason to believe otherwise.”