Paul Bass Photo
Maurice Smith, who marched “Freddy Fixer” down Dixwell Avenue is considering another march — this one to City Hall.
Smith (pictured), who revived the annual Freddie Fixer Parade (read about the most recent one here), confirmed Wednesday that he’s considering challenging New Haven Mayor Toni Harp in this year’s election.
Smith, who’s 47, has requested paperwork from the City Clerk’s office as well as petitions from the state.
“It looks like I’m going to have to run as an independent” in the general election, rather than as a Democrat in a primary, because an independent run requires far fewer signatures to earn a place on the ballot, Smith said.
Harp, a Democrat, has launched her campaign for a second two-year term. Sundiata Keitezulu, who ran for mayor in 2013 (before dropping out of the race prior to the primary), has filed paperwork to seek to run as an independent. Former City Clerk Ron Smith said he too is exploring a candidacy.
The Bio, & The Why
Maurice Smith Wednesday released the following written statement about his campaign exploration:
Why Smith May Decide To Run For Mayor
Before the rumors start to surface and get out of control, it has been confirmed that the President of the Freddie Fixer Parade has considered running for the city’s top spot. The reasons may surprise some because of his strong support for the incumbent Mayor Toni Harp, but in politics even close allies have bumped heads. There are several reasons for that. Hillary Clinton and then senator Barack Obama sparred unconditionally during the primary back in 2007 leading up to the election in 2008.
For those who may question Smith’s motive, consider his community service background:
He was a founding member of the anti-gang violence organization Elm City Nation, under Scot X. Esdaile who took the city by storm and almost literally eradicated the number of homicides in the City of New Haven to a non-existent level throughout the 1990’s. Something no politician from a State or local level could ever imagine at that time. He became the Secretary of that organization where he earned the nickname of “Brother Secretary,” a term that was praised by his colleagues at that time because being a secretary was a position that was stereotyped to be held only by women.
From there, Smith went on to serve as Secretary for several more years and the Elm City saw the revival of the Black Expo which was so successful that it emerged from the Armory on Goffe Street in New Haven, Connecticut, to the former New Haven Coliseum. The networking and associates that were built at that time still remain in the reach of Smith as well as all of the other entities that were involved. They never left his reach and many have stayed in contact with him throughout the years. This is “Big.”
Elm City Nation then took over the operations of the Freddie Fixer Parade in 1999 after then President Helen Powell relinquished her title to that organization in her effort to garner more support for the annual parade. From there, Smith continued to be a volunteer serving under Presidents, Scot X. Esdaile and then Larry. T. Young before becoming President of the Annual Freddie Fixer Parade in 2009. Faced with the task of doing the impossible against all odds and without the support of all the black leadership that Smith assumed would have been behind him, the Freddie Fixer Parade has showed signs of a comeback that hasn’t been seen in years. “I was called crazy for even thinking about trying to revive the Freddie Fixer Parade because the stigma of violence was still fresh in the minds of the New Haven residents and there were people who vowed never to go to another Freddie Fixer Parade again.” But Smith, who from his years of experience of working with organizations and his knowledge of what the parade needed to be resurrected, put his faith in his mission and stayed focused on all of the principals that he believed would restore the parade to its core principles and values; and it worked.
“There was so much missing yet there was so much that was right in front of our eyes in the City of New Haven that years of dealing with the same status quo from the same politicians, began to weigh heavily on the residents to the point that people didn’t realize that in order to make a statement to the powers that be, all they had to do was to simply register to vote.” Smith recalls the debate held at James Hillhouse High School with then former New Haven Mayoral candidate Jeffrey Kerekes in 2011, and was blown away with how much Jeffrey knew about city government, its policies, and his strong support for the families in staying together. “I couldn’t stop taking notes. Where did this guy come from?”
If you’re still not convinced that Smith may not have a chance, there are several other things that need to be taken into consideration, and serious consideration when it comes down to candidates who want to have a positive impact in the City of New Haven with a grass roots approach. First, Smith was one of the first African-American homeowners under the age of 30 in one of the areas of the city known primarily to have a Jewish stronghold. Prior to moving to Blake Street, Smith lived near the Morse Cove section of the city and chose to move to Blake Street because he believed as he did with the Freddie Fixer Parade, that he could make a difference in that neighborhood. “When I first moved to Blake Street there was an obvious problem of unsupervised children running rampant in and out of the streets and I immediately noticed that the parents were nowhere around. Cars were speeding through like it was the Audubon in Germany and the children playing in and out of the streets were fair game.”
Smith then attempted to reach out to the parents by passing out fliers and even doing several block parties and cleanups to encourage the residents in the area to be more responsible. It was not until Smith attended one of the Neighborhood Management Team Meetings in the Westville section of The City that he was able to get a jump start on his plans to “Clean up the Neighborhood.” New Haven Police Officer Joseph Avery from the Neighborhood Services Division “walked me through the entire process of initiating a Block Watch,” where I was given a Number (323) and the change on Blake Street would begin.
This information is extremely important as one would think that the residents would be more open to the idea of a Block Watch in a neighborhood with teenagers fighting the clothes off of themselves and the gang members flourishing, smoking, selling and distributing drugs in plain view as if the police didn’t exist. Nothing could have been “Further From the Truth.” “I really could not believe what I was seeing. I became the enemy and the majority of the people on Blake Street wanted me gone.” Smith says that he’s been threatened, harassed, and publicly ridiculed for trying to rid the Blake Street area of the graft that he knows is an indication and a reflection of the leadership of the City of New Haven. “Most of the residents believe that after the Aldermen and other elected and appointed officials get into office, that they become a part of the political subculture that has fueled the frustration of the taxpayers in this city. We have to send a strong message and reminder that the politicians are elected to serve us and our concerns and that it’s not the other way around.”
Fast forward, it’s no secret that with the success of any organization that the leadership will maintain mutual ties to those who have contributed to that success. So when the former President of the local NAACP of New Haven requested that Smith consider serving as his Secretary, Smith was reluctant; very reluctant because he was not sure if he could do the job. “I’ll never forget what I’ve learned about the NAACP ever since my fifth grade teacher Ms. Cooke constantly reminded her students about the importance that this civil rights organization has played in the lives of not only blacks but every citizen.” However, in 2000, Smith was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Greater New Haven Branch of The NAACP, serving under Shirley Ellis West, Secretary, and again made New Haven History. Smith stepped down in 2004 to pursue his Degree in Criminal Justice. “It was a great experience. Very overwhelming at times but I believe I did the best job that I could with absolutely no regrets. I traveled the country, shook hands and met people that I never thought I would meet. I attended meetings that were so intense that if you opened the door of those meeting rooms you would catch a backdraft!”
As for his decision to consider running for the city’s top seat, Smith concedes it’s his inside knowledge of the percentage disparities in the gap between the amount of people who work for the City of New Haven and who actually live in the City of New Haven. I was mostly disturbed by the actual threat of legal action against the city for considering reinstating the residency requirement and to what logic would that be justified. “The bottom line is that over 400 New Haven Residents lost their homes since 2006 to foreclosure because they could not afford to pay the taxes on those properties, yet the City of New Haven continues to pay the salaries of city employees who are not giving back to the tax base and who do not live in the city. Who ignores these statistics?” “It has nothing to do with city residents not being qualified for the jobs here in the city but the cycle of dominance of those outside of the city who want to secure those job opportunities for their relatives and constituents because they feel they can. The mentality of securing a pension from a city that you refuse to live in makes no sense. Everybody is retiring and leaving the city and taking taxpayer monies with them and the taxpayers are literally stuck.”
A U.S. Army Veteran, who graduated from the Air Defense Artillery School in Fort Bliss Texas, in September of 1985, then went on to Fort Lee, Virginia, Smith also concedes to the challenges with his time in the military. “Make no mistake about it, I would have loved to have served twenty years or more in the United States Army but for a young man like me at that time it was highly unlikely that that would happen. There were some personal challenges and contractual obligations that could not be met and I was given the option to stay or leave. I chose the latter. However, since then as it was with his time with the local NAACP, Smith has absolutely no regrets. “I believe my military training has been an asset to all that I have tried to do in my personal and professional life for over 30 years. It is what has allowed me to think outside the box when it comes down to what I believe a true candidate for the City of New Haven can be at this time. It has absolutely nothing to do with the current Mayor or her administration. I just have much more knowledge about what the residents want as it relates to the City of New Haven since I have lived in every single neighborhood in this dynamic city and for someone without any personal ties to any other members of the State or City Government.”
Smith has confirmed that the papers were mailed out from the City Clerk’s office and that he has already requested well over 1000 Voter Registration Cards in English and Spanish from the Secretary of the State’s Office. Although Smith knows that some of the problems the city is facing is directly connected to substance abuse and poverty, he also acknowledges that the majority of people who are the players in perpetrating this problem are people who know better. Those include absentee landlords who rent to tenants with a history of evictions, the drug dealers who have been arrested multiple times in areas where there’s a high population of children and that they feel “above the system” because of their street clientele. “I’m speaking for what I have been observing for well over 18 years as a person who has placed my life at risk multiple times, so to constantly see this cycle repeating itself tells me it’s time to put my knowledge and experience as to what I know could make New Haven “The Envy Of The World” and take it to the next level.” “I’m hoping to get somebody’s attention.”
Respectfully submitted, — Maurice W. Smith, Possible Candidate For The Mayor of the City of New Haven, 37 Blake Street, New Haven, Connecticut 203 – 558-0066 Mparalegal@aol.com.