At Debate, Harp Defends Ed Board Presidency

Invoking a racist put-down by one of her teachers, Mayor Toni Harp said she took on the role of Board of Education president to move the city toward inspiring kids instead of failing them.

Mayoral contenders Ron Smith and Sundiata Keitezulu called the move a conflict of interest.

The face-off took place Monday night during a mayoral debate held at CTV’s studio on State Street. It was the only debate to date among Democratic incumbent Mayor Harp, who is running for a second term, and independent candidates Smith, former city clerk, and Keitezulu, a plumber who ran two years ago.

The panel was hosted by the Independent, La Voz Hispana, Inner-City News and WNHH Community Radio. A panel of journalists from those news outlets as well as the New Haven Register posed the questions.

Panelist Michelle Turner of WNHH and WSHU radio asked Harp why she ​“ended up on the Board of Education” and how long she would remain its president, since board members voted 6 – 1 to have her fill the position.

Harp recalled performing well on a test in junior high school only to see her teacher respond with disbelief. ​“She said, ​‘You couldn’t have possibly gotten that grade because you’re black.’ I wanted to prove that teacher wrong. So many kids are in school facing those things you talked about because people don’t believe in them.”

She said she was ​“feeling pretty good” about New Haven’s school system, since graduation rates and college persistence rates have been steadily growing. But when the city’s test results for the Common Core-aligned exam came back dismally low, she rethought that reality. She decided she had to take charge to produce better results.

The state Department of Education released scores at the end of August showing that 29.1 percent of New Haven students are on track for literacy and 13.5 percent are on track for math, compared to 55.4 percent and 39.1 percent statewide. New Haven’s Board of Ed — which in recent months has seen public disagreement over policy for the first time in memory—struggled to present a response to the news. After the scores’ release, Harp took over as board president. New Haven mayors have traditionally served on the board — and appointed its members — but not served as president.

The mayor is responsible for ​“moving students forward and giving them an opportunity” to succeed, Harp said at Monday’s debate. ​“The reality is that we have failed our children, and it’s time for us to stop.”

Keitezulu and Smith said the mayor overstepped her bounds.

The Board of Ed should be completely democratically elected or the city risks ​“starting a dictatorship,” Keitezulu said. ​“She can’t serve two jobs at the same time. I hope she would resign from one of the jobs. Resign from the mayor job — I got it.” For the first time this November New Haven voters will choose two members of what will now be a ​“hybrid” board of mayoral appointees and electees.

Smith argued that the district needs qualified educators more than it does politicians. He pointed out his choice for that position: Edward Joyner (pictured left with Smith after the debate), a current candidate for a Board of Ed elected position, who was sitting in the audience. Joyner, a child-development pioneer and lifelong educator, co-chaired Harp’s transition team when she first took office.

“Give Ed that opportunity, or whoever is in here — teachers, administrators, people that talk to children. They know what they need. I see what the mayor is saying. But on the other hand, we need to have somebody in here that knows how to direct this ship,” Smith said.

In an interview earlier Monday, a Republican Board of Ed candidate, James O’Connell, said he has ​“no problem” with Harp serving as board president, but said she should commit to attending all the meetings.

The debate aired live on Citizens Television Monday night. CTV plans to rebroadcast it 15 times before the election. It is scheduled to air on Channel 27 the next three Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.; the next three Saturdays at 5 p.m.; the next three Mondays at 3 p.m. It is also scheduled to air on Channel 96 the next two Tuesdays at 8 p.m.; the next three Wednesdays (including tonight) at 6 p.m.; and the next three Fridays at 7 p.m. The station also plans to stream the video of the debate here once it’s ready.

Keitezulu: Raise Taxes

Also at the debate, Keitezulu said the only way to grow jobs and improve education in New Haven is to raise taxes.

“All of this comes to funding. I’m the only person who would tell you the truth. I would raise taxes to get the job done. Without taxes … all we’re doing is blowing smoke,” he said.

Smith disagreed, arguing that people ​“at the bottom of the barrel” already are being priced out of their neighborhoods by overpriced housing developments, such as the new Winchester Lofts in Newhallville, where apartments rent for up to $3,000 a month. ​“Taxes are so high, people can barely survive,” he said.

“I’m going to lower taxes, Shakazulu [Keitezulu’s nickname]. Time for us to say, enough is enough and that ain’t right.”

Mayor Harp said co-chairing the state’s Appropriations Committee as a state senator taught her that New Haven ​“can’t tax our way out of any problem that we have,” because of the large number of tax-exempt institutions in the city.

“We have to rely on the state. I understand how the state works,” she said.

On Violent Crime

Keitezulu linked high crime directly to lack of schools funding and job training: ​“I think crime comes from not having proper education. We could work on violence prevention in schools. We could work on jobs in schools … Crime would definitely go down.”

Smith said he would increase prison sentences for gun violence, including murder and suicide. ​“Make laws stern enough so when you’re caught with a gun, or even shoot yourself, you got to do that time … I will not tolerate the shootings on the street,” he said.

Harp referred to her administration’s development of Youth Stat, which brings community organizations together to support teens at-risk of not graduating or becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. The program has helped city and community leaders remove those kids from danger and help them through trauma. ​“Shooting among that age group has gone down,” she said.

On Latinos & Immigration

La Voz Hispana Publisher Norma Rodriguez-Reyes asked the candidates bout their relationships with the Latino community and their positions on illegal immigration.

Keitezulu said he works with ​“Spanish people just about every day on jobs.” He said they work hard and well. He called on the district to teach Spanish in schools from kindergarten to eighth grade: ​“They’re here. They’re not going nowhere. We have to be able to communicate with them.”

Keitezulu showed off some of his language skills: ​“Hablo poquito espanol. Cuanto cuesta? I say, ​‘How much?’ I say, ​‘Cuanto cuesta?’ and they tell me the price.”

Smith said he would not discriminate against immigrants without documents. ​“They’re here and we might as well get used to it,” he said. ​“They’re working. You can’t send them back home. There has to be a way we work with them. I would never discriminate against someone because they’re from another country.”

Harp said the city should not be ​“an arm of the” Immigration and Naturalization Service, turning over undocumented immigrants for deportation. ​“I don’t believe we should deputize our police. People wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t find work and take care of their family. I don’t believe the city should be used to cause them harm,” she sai.

A Homeless Promise

Harp promised at the debate to find beds this winter for an estimated 200 homeless people who need them. The closing of an overflow shelter used in past winters has created the new problem. Among the options Harp mentioned was trying to convince the Hill Health Center temporarily to reopen the old overflow facility. Keitezulu spoke of enlisting out-of-work New Haveners in rebuilding vacant properties to house the homeless.

Pension Dilemma

Harp also defended a provision in the city’s fire contract under which firefighters can boost their pensions by tens of thousands of dollars by trading in each 30 days of unusued sick time for a year of service. (Read about that here. Police officers have the same provision in their contract.)

She argued that the provision was intended as an incentive for firefighters not to use sick time, thereby limiting overtime costs. She added that that hasn’t always worked out that way, so it needs to be reexamined.

But she said more broadly that the problem facing cities — some of them (unlike New Haven) staring at possible bankruptcy because of pension debts — stemmed from years of underfunding accounts, a trend she has worked to reverse in her first term. She also people deserve solid pensions — defined pension plans, not riskier alternatives — in part because of the precarious position widows can be left in when spouses die.

Both Smith and Keitezulu responded that they would seek to change that sick time trade-in policy. They said the city can’t afford it. The provision was negotiated in a fire contract previous to the Harp administration taking off.

On Gentrification

Keitezulu and Smith said the city should work on economic development through funding job training and education. ​“For decades and decades, we’ve seen no training and ineffective education, which has made the whole population less effective and less productive,” Keitezulu said. He said

Smith suggested the city hire young people in low-income communities to ​“work with their hands” on development or construction projects. ​“How many people do you know that worked on the Q Bridge? If you can name them, you’re doing good.”

Harp said New Haven was unlikely to see the negatives of gentrification because it lacked the ​“exclusionary zoning laws that exist in other cities.” She predicted more people will visit the city’s commercial spaces but without ​“invading neighborhoods in a way that would gentrify them.”

Church Street South

New Haven Register reporter Esteban Hernandez asked how candidates would ensure affordable housing options for the hundreds of families set to be relocated from crumbling housing complex Church Street South. 

“We’re working with HUD [the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development],” Harp said. ​“We’re working with the developer because we have to despite the fact that the developer has been derelict, and with LCI,” to ensure people get to take section 8 certificates with them when they move out to new apartments. ​“We’re going to continue holding the developer’s feet to the fire for the problems they caused and the unhealthy safety conditions there.”

Keitezulu said he would talk to Northland (owner of Church Street South) to see how the management company could work together with the city to get neighbors hired to help redevelop the complex.

Smith said the city had done nothing about the severe mold and ​“ought to be ashamed.” He said that if elected mayor, ​“I’ll walk in there myself and see what’s going on.”