by | Jun 27, 2013 7:27 am | Comments (13)
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Fernandez: Your mind’s made up. I came anyway.
After hearing pitches from four mayoral hopefuls, Democratic Town Committee member Seth Poole said he’s still undecided, despite one candidate’s claim that the fix is in on the committee’s endorsement.
by | Jun 26, 2013 4:25 pm | Comments (23)
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Candidate Chris Campbell makes his pitch.
Maybe Wooster Square needs not just slower traffic on Chapel Street, but a non-union-backed Democrat or— gasp—a Republican on the Board of Aldermen.
For now it appears the neighborhood has four flavors to choose from for alderman, as democracy continues to flower in New Haven Spring.
Continue reading ‘Labor? Non-Labor? GOP? Voters Have A Choice’
by | Jun 26, 2013 3:03 pm | Comments (12)
First-term Fair Haven Heights Alderwoman Brenda Jones Barnes has decided not to run for reelection.
by | Jun 26, 2013 2:57 pm | Comments (6)
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UE Local 243 Prez Pompano puts a lock on it.
In 2000 local manufacturer Sargent/Assa Abloy could not compete for contracts to supply locks and doors for the growing number of new schools being built in town because of the way the specs were written.
The city’s economic development director at the time told contractors: Change the specs so others can compete fairly.
Continue reading ‘Electrical Workers Remember, Endorse Fernandez’
by | Jun 26, 2013 2:33 pm | Comments (59)
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Declaring “I can do math,” Gary Holder-Winfield has pulled out of the mayor’s race.
by | Jun 26, 2013 7:58 am | Comments (36)
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Sundiata Keitazulu arrived early and took his seat at the table.
Haven’t you already served in public office long enough? What makes you think you can run a city if you can’t run a school? What did you ever do in City Hall for African-Americans and Latinos? Are you just going leave a city you’ve barely lived in if you don’t become mayor?
New Haven’s five remaining mayoral candidates fielded those shots Tuesday night — not from each other, but from questions posed by a moderator at their latest debate.
Continue reading ‘“Mike Tyson” Questions Hit Mayoral Candidates’
by | Jun 25, 2013 4:00 pm | Comments (44)
Mayoral hopeful Justin Elicker dropped by the Broadway soup kitchen to discover that the line is nearly twice as long at the end of the month as at the beginning. That gave him an idea.
by | Jun 24, 2013 8:30 pm | Comments (30)
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Mayoral candidate Toni Harp embraced the idea that New Haven should grow by 10,000 people over the next 10 years, with many of them inhabiting new waterfront apartments. And she accepted the endorsement of the guy who came up with that idea.
Continue reading ‘Harp Takes Nemerson’s Endorsement—& Ideas’
by | Jun 24, 2013 4:45 pm | Comments (34)
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Cut! Nemerson filming a campaign spot.
Matthew Nemerson is expected to drop out of New Haven’s mayoral race Monday and endorse Toni Harp.
by | Jun 24, 2013 8:34 am | Comments (1)
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Karina Cardona’s dad is a Fernandez volunteer.
There’s already “Women for Fernandez.” “Latinos for Fernandez” formed on Thursday. Sunday marked the emergence of another group: Would you believe Face Painters — and Paintees — for Fernandez?
by | Jun 24, 2013 7:06 am | Comments (3)
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The candidate and state Sen. Looney.
Brazi’s Restaurant felt like a love fest Sunday night as Wooster Square Alderman Michael Smart kicked off his campaign for city/town clerk.
by | Jun 23, 2013 9:35 pm | Comments (22)
Dozens of former elected officials stepped out of New Haven’s political history Sunday afternoon to say that they want to make history again — by helping elect Toni Harp as the city’s first female mayor and first African-American female mayor.
by | Jun 22, 2013 11:22 am | Comments (32)
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The moderator of the mayoral campaign’s first education debate declared consensus among seven candidates in support of “school choice,” which has included charter schools.
Not so fast, said Kermit Carolina.
Continue reading ‘Carolina Breaks From The Pack On Charters’
by | Jun 21, 2013 2:50 pm | Comments (9)
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With the endorsement of the incumbent and 10 years on his Democratic ward committee, Ronald Rainey pitched himself as the experienced candidate as he launched his quest to be the next upper Westville alderman.
by | Jun 21, 2013 7:34 am | Comments (11)
On the eve of mayoral candidates’ first debate on education, Gary Holder-Winfield slammed Principal Kermit Carolina over survey results revealing discontent at Hillhouse High School.
Continue reading ‘With Early Peek At Data, Holder-Winfield Slams Carolina’
by | Jun 20, 2013 4:44 pm | Comments (18)
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Twenty Latino activists lined up to endorse a mayoral candidacy Thursday inside a Peruvian-owned Fair Haven storefront that wires money to homes throughout Latin America. Not one of the 20 activists holds elected government office.
Therein lies a tale about the first test of how New Haven’s fastest-growing population will become a force in city elections.
by | Jun 19, 2013 3:59 pm | Comments (19)
Mayoral candidate Henry Fernandez promised tax relief for East Rockers — by improving the schools and cutting crime in Fair Haven and Newhallville.
by | Jun 19, 2013 3:20 pm | Comments (16)
Parents should be able to walk into any school to enroll their child for pre‑K, declared mayoral candidate Justin Elicker as he released the first of 75 promised “fresh solutions” for the city.
Continue reading ‘Elicker Calls For “No Wrong Door” Pre-K Policy’
by | Jun 19, 2013 8:20 am | Comments (22)
“I know I might lose whatever support I have here,” mayoral candidate Matthew Nemerson told Morris Cove Democrats, “but I’m a self-proclaimed airport hawk.”
Continue reading ‘At Cove Debate, Nemerson Touches The 3rd Rail’
by | Jun 18, 2013 4:57 pm | Comments (14)
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Two New Haven legislators made a bad bet on New Haven when they voted to bring more gambling here, Henry Fernandez argued Monday afternoon.
by | Jun 18, 2013 3:55 pm | Comments (12)
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Festa files papers Tuesday with Deputy City Clerk Sally Brown.
Plunging into politics for the first time, lifelong East Rocker Anna Festa vowed to represent the voice of regular New Haveners — unlike, she said, aldermen who voted against public opinion to sell two streets to Yale.
by | Jun 18, 2013 12:07 pm | Comments (2)
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Alderman Sergio Rodriguez, candidate for city clerk, sat down for an interview earlier this spring with La Voz Hispana. What follows is a transcript of his responses to questions, translated from Spanish. (Click here and here for stories about other candidates.)
Continue reading ‘Rodriguez Vows To Connect Clerk To Community’
by | Jun 17, 2013 8:18 am | Comments (4)
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Aldermanic musketeers Walker, Douglass, Hamilton.
Their wards overlap. They can practically signal to each other from their houses, which are not more than five blocks apart. Their issues overlap too: public safety, jobs, and youth opportunities.
So the three first-term Democrat aldermen — West River’s Tyisha Walker, Dwight’s Frank Douglass, and Beaver Hills’ Evette Hamilton — decided to join hands Friday afternoon to announce the kick-off of their reelection campaigns. As a team.
Continue reading ‘Walker, Douglass, Hamilton Announce Reelection Campaigns’
by | Jun 16, 2013 11:10 pm | Comments (30)
In her quest to become the next mayor of New Haven, State Sen. Toni Harp picked up the support of the most powerful unions in town Friday afternoon.
by | Jun 14, 2013 3:08 pm | Comments (4)
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Gary Holder-Winfield laid a personal wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Long Wharf Friday afternoon. He also lifted up two small American flags that had been previously placed there but now were touching the ground.
As a vet, he knew to do that. Holder-Winfield, who served five years in the U.S. Navy, is the only vet among the seven Democratic candidates for mayor this year. He said service in the military doesn’t automatically make a person a better candidate. But he argued that it instills useful qualities in a politician like judiciousness and a willingness to avoid going along with the crowd.