by | Sep 18, 2019 1:49 pm | Comments (16)
Chirstopher Peak Photo
Mayor Harp administer oath to Joseph Rodriguez in 2018 after appointing him to the Board of Education.
Joseph Rodriguez — a Latino leader and aide to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal whom Mayor Toni Harp appointed to the Board of Education — has switched to back Justin Elicker in the Nov. 5 mayoral election.
by | Sep 18, 2019 12:17 pm | Comments (30)
Paul Bass Photo
Alex Taubes with Mayor Harp at campaign headquarters.
(Opinion) During the primary campaign, I received many mailers from a campaign that trashed our mayor. It said the mayor is poisoning children, causing overdoses, taking money, and that she is essentially a criminal. While some negativity is to be expected in an election, in my opinion, this was character assassination of a black woman leader who has served our city selflessly for decades.
by | Sep 17, 2019 12:01 am | Comments (48)
Paul Bass Photos
Police commissioner Greg Smith arrives at Harp campaign pow-wow.
Harp: Undecided as of Monday night.
Dozens of core supporters at an emotional private pow-wow Monday night urged Mayor Toni Harp to keep her reelection campaign going as a third-party candidate.
Meanwhile, the third party’s statewide director cautioned against expecting much on-the-ground support.
by | Sep 12, 2019 3:39 pm | Comments (31)
Thomas Breen Photo
Elicker cooling off with pineapple juice on the campaign trail outside Fair Haven’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
In radio interview, primary victor speaks of need to give Harp “space” to decide on general-election run.
by | Sep 12, 2019 10:43 am | Comments (32)
Update: 10:42 a.m.: The “unity” event has been postponed until next week. An Elicker campaign press release ascribed the delay to alleged “scheduling conflicts.”
A day after Justin Elicker won a Democratic mayoral primary, his campaign announced that Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz plan to headline a “unity” event to support him.
by | Sep 12, 2019 8:21 am | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen photo
Republican Town Committee Chair Jeffrey Weiss (right) on Wednesday.
Local Republicans found an unlikely source of optimism for their uphill battle to achieve political relevance in this deeply blue city: Justin Elicker’s victory in Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary.
by | Sep 11, 2019 4:32 pm | Comments (23)
(News analysis) Toni Harp tried to save her mayoralty by scaring black voters into thinking her opponent planned to fly police drones into their bedroom windows.
It didn’t work.
by | Sep 11, 2019 2:30 pm | Comments (12)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
Curt Leng gets Town Clerk Vera Morrison’s congratulations over the phone as son Cooper looks on.
When Hamden Mayor Curt Leng walked into his campaign headquarters on Whitney Avenue in northern Hamden Tuesday night, the town’s Democratic establishment stood around the walls cheering, some greeting him with back slaps and hugs. He had just led Hamden’s established Democrats to a resounding victory in two important races against critics.
by | Sep 11, 2019 12:21 pm | Comments (11)
Thomas Breen photo
Andrea Atkinson-Downer proudly cast her vote for mayoral challenger Justin Elicker Tuesday, just as she did 6 years ago.
This time, her vote helped propel the former East Rock/Cedar Hill alder and nonprofit leader to the Democratic nomination for the city’s top seat.
by , and | Sep 10, 2019 11:55 pm | Comments (72)
Thomas Breen Photo
Elicker, with daughter Molly, thanks supporters at Trinity.
New Haven Democrats delivered a resounding change message Tuesday as challenger Justin Elicker soundly defeated incumbent Toni Harp in a Democratic mayoral primary.
by | Sep 10, 2019 9:39 pm | Comments (2)
Three incumbent New Haven alders defeated challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries, while a party convention-endorsed candidate also prevailed against a petitioning challenger.
Continue reading ‘Incumbent Alders Beat Back Primary Challenges’
by | Sep 10, 2019 8:01 pm | Comments (5)
In a race that pitted experience versus a call for change, Hamden Mayor Curt Leng handily beat back a primary challenge by Lauren Garrett Tuesday night, capturing 61 percent of the vote.
by | Sep 10, 2019 6:16 pm | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen photo
Corbett and Marks (center and right) pitch Wendy Clayton.
As canvassers headed toward the home stretch of Tuesday’s Democratic primary, a labor door-knocking duo converted at least one skeptical Beaver Hills resident to vote for Mayor Toni Harp through a pitch that focused on jobs, public safety, and Goffe Street Park.
Continue reading ‘How Union Canvassers Tried To Rally The Base’
by | Sep 10, 2019 3:42 pm | Comments (1)
Paul Bass Photo
Hayfaa Alabdullah and Imad Shaboo piiled into Jane Kinity’s Subaru Tuesday so they could exercise a right they said they couldn’t back in Iraq — voting for their elected officials.
by | Sep 10, 2019 2:05 pm | Comments (7)
Paul Bass Photo
Elicker tries to sway undecided voter heading into the 200 Orange St. polls.
At least one voter came to the polls undecided Tuesday — and Justin Elicker got a chance to try to change her mind.
by | Sep 10, 2019 2:02 pm | Comments (6)
Paul Bass Photo
Toni Harp and Justin Elicker both had volunteers working outside two polling places Tuesday morning where their opponents need to run up the score big to win.
by | Sep 10, 2019 1:15 pm | Comments (20)
Allan Appel Photo
Marty Looney played coy Tuesday morning after casting the 175th vote at Nathan Hale School, the polling place for the 18th Ward, at 10:20 a.m.
Continue reading ‘Schools, Race Motivate Morris Cove Voters’
by | Sep 10, 2019 7:39 am | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen Photo
New Haven’s 39,753 registered Democrats are eligible to vote Tuesday in a mayoral primary — and, in four wards, in a contest for alder.
by | Sep 9, 2019 11:11 am | Comments (3)
Thomas Breen / Aliyya Swaby photos
Candidates Eddie Gist, Steve Winter, Troy Streater, Anais Nunez.
City of New Haven
The three neighborhood-spanning Ward 21.
A four-way alder race in the jigsaw-shaped Ward 21 pits a first-term incumbent focused on challenges ranging from street light improvements to affordable housing to climate change against a slate of challengers calling for more opportunities for neighborhood youth.
by | Sep 9, 2019 7:43 am | Comments (0)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
Curt Leng and Lauren Garrett at the debate.
In their second debate in three days, Hamden Mayor Curt Leng and Challenger Lauren Garrett faced off in front of Hamden’s business leaders, this time illuminating their differences on policing, tax exemptions, and economic development.
by | Sep 7, 2019 8:50 pm | Comments (11)
Thomas Breen photo
Mayor Harp in the middle of the caravan. Below: Saturday’s caravan down Grand Avenue.
Sirens, salsa, and enthusiastic shouts of “Wepa!” filled the streets of Fair Haven during a Puerto Rican-style caravan organized to rally city Latinos to vote for Mayor Toni Harp.
Continue reading ‘Harp Campaign Caravan Rolls Through Fair Haven’
by | Sep 7, 2019 8:47 pm | Comments (17)
Thomas Breen Photo
Elicker and Harp at last week’s debate.
(Opinion) A young person moves to New Haven to attend graduate school at Yale. They fall in love and get married. They buy a house in an affluent neighborhood. They start a family. They discover a passion for policy and politics and run for alder. With a forceful determination tempered by a quiet and reserved style, they win a seat and successfully represent their ward. They have day jobs in management at a major New Haven nonprofit, and successfully lead their organization for several years. In 2013, they run for mayor of New Haven.
by | Sep 6, 2019 1:32 pm | Comments (25)
Thomas Breen Photo
Harp delivers passionate closing remarks at final pre-primary debate.
(News analysis) Voters will see two names on Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary ballot. But many have focused primarily on one name — and weighing whether to vote for or against her.
by | Sep 6, 2019 12:30 pm | Comments (2)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
Lauren Garrett speaks with Jane Bouvier.
Hamden mayoral candidate Lauren Garrett was in a hurry: She had 32 doors to knock before 3 p.m., and more to go in the evening. But when a voter answered, Garrett took her time, to listen and make her pitch.
Continue reading ‘Garrett Brings Finance Pitch To The Doors’
by | Sep 6, 2019 12:26 pm | Comments (2)
Thomas Breen photo / Contributed photo
Hill Alder Ron Hurt and challenger Maria Rodriguez.
Public safety and community cohesion are issues at the heart of an aldermanic race in the Hill between the first-term incumbent and a retired school social worker and local party co-chair who previously served as an alder in the late 1970s.