by | May 12, 2023 9:05 am | Comments (7)
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Attorney Mednick and Commissioner Furlow charting charter's path ahead.
How much power should politicians have to restructure local government? And which city department heads should have to live in New Haven?
The Charter Revision Commission didn’t land on any answers to those questions at its final scheduled meeting. It voted to let the Board of Alders issue a recommendation instead.
by | May 5, 2023 6:53 pm | Comments (31)
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Smith signs up with City Clerk staffer Michelle Lee Rodriguez.
As East Rocker Caroline Tanbee Smith filed papers to make official her first aldermanic run, Fair Havener Claudia Hererra readied to hand over the local legislative baton — to a candidate she says will build bridges between those neighborhoods and across the broader city if she’s elected to be Ward 9’s next representative.
by | May 4, 2023 5:59 pm | Comments (29)
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Charter Revision Vice-Chair and Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow (right) at a recent aldermanic committee meeting.
Charter revisers took a step towards endorsing four-year terms for mayors and alders — and a step away from allowing city department heads to live outside of New Haven.
Continue reading ‘4-Year Terms, Residency Requirements Embraced’
by | May 3, 2023 11:49 am | Comments (25)
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Liam Brennan, at right, on the mayoral campaign trail.
If not for a questioned $383.08 claim, Liam Brennan would have up to another $11,575.56 right now for his mayoral campaign.
by | May 1, 2023 12:01 pm | Comments (14)
Paul Bass Photo
Sen. Murphy: "The way that we're feeling on both the right and the left is strikingly similar."
Can we talk? About how lonely and disconnected so many of us feel?
Chris Murphy hopes so. Otherwise, he worries, we won’t be able to come together as a nation to tackle challenges ranging from mass shootings to opioid addiction to teen suicide and social-media bullying to political polarization.
by | Apr 28, 2023 3:13 pm | Comments (26)
Ward 26 alder hopefuls Joshua Van Hoesen and Amy Marx.
Upper Westville voters will have the chance to pick between two different candidates running on — checks notes — two different party lines, as Democrat Amy Marx and Republican Joshua Van Hoesen vie to become the next alder for Ward 26 following the resignation of incumbent Darryl Brackeen, Jr.
by | Apr 28, 2023 12:20 pm | Comments (20)
Last summer, one of the other dads at daycare asked if I was on the Westville Dad email listserv.
Continue reading ‘Opinion: On Westville Dads & The Race For Mayor’
by | Apr 26, 2023 5:48 pm | Comments (31)
Where'd you get those addresses?: Ex-teammates, current campaign combatants Elicker, Frank.
Mayor Justin Elicker accused his former campaign manager of stealing an email list, then received a demand for an apology for defamation.
Continue reading ‘"Larceny"? "Defamation"? Email Accusations Fly’
by | Apr 24, 2023 5:00 pm | Comments (26)
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Who's playing identity politics? Squaring off in Wooster Square Park over the Columbus statue removal, in 2020.
Mayoral candidate Shafiq Abdussabur made a play for East Shore voters by calling for tax cuts for airport neighbors and questioning the removal of Wooster Square Park’s Christopher Columbus statue.
In the process, he and incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker ended up accusing each other of playing “identity politics.” Neither meant it as a compliment. Or as having the same meaning.
Continue reading ‘Candidates Clash On Columbus Statue Removal’
by | Apr 18, 2023 3:42 pm | Comments (26)
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Brennan (right) with Fabian Menges, Max Choulideer, and Dave Cruz-Bustamante.
Don’t rely just on bashing Yale and begging the state when it comes to raising enough money to fill city budget gaps.
Liam Brennan offered those words of caution as he pitched his mayoral campaign’s vision for how best to craft a “fair share,” pro-housing budget that rethinks the bounds of permissible local government action.
Continue reading ‘Brennan Looks Beyond Yale, State For Budget Boosts’
by | Apr 18, 2023 11:54 am | Comments (21)
Shafiq Abdussabur (left), then an alder, in Goffe Street Park last year pushing neighborhood concerns with city economic development chief Mike Piscitelli and mayoral Chief of Staff Sean Matteson.
Reorganize how the parks department works. Get high schoolers into a “pipeline” to fill green jobs. Bring back the rangers. And enlist neighbors to pick up all that litter!
Those are among the ideas offered by mayoral candidate Shafiq Adbussabur for taking the city’s parks to the next level.
by | Apr 17, 2023 4:17 pm | Comments (5)
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Abdussabur (right) talking with Sandra Beamon on the campaign trail.
With his mom, sister, and wife by his side, Shafiq Abdussabur knocked on Newhallville doors to bring his mayoral-challenger message directly to the neighborhood where he used to work as police district manager — even as he continued to fast for the holy month of Ramadan.
Continue reading ‘Candidate Doesn't Break Amid Ramadan Fast’
by | Apr 12, 2023 1:59 pm | Comments (14)
Nora Grace-Flood photo
Mayoral candidates take on West River encampment's demise.
a) The city responded well in its controversial dismantling of the West River homeless encampment.
b) The city needs to amp up the pressure for greater state and federal funding for rental subsidies.
c) The city needs to convert more publicly-owned property into affordable housing, and promote the same on private land.
d) The city needs to collect better data on how many people are actually experiencing homelessness in New Haven.
e) The city never should have shut down the encampment at all.
That multiple choice set’s worth of perspectives came through as five mayoral candidates hashed through housing policy, and sought to differentiate themselves from the pack, during the first citywide candidate forum this mayoral election season.
Continue reading ‘Debate Q: The Lesson Of Tent City Was ...’
by | Apr 11, 2023 3:50 pm | Comments (10)
Members of Goldenberg's $1,000 Club: McKinsey's Vishnu Kamalnath, Kevin Straight, Kevin Buehler; former Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, who met the candidate at Columbia Biz school.
Staff Photos
Maxed-out developers: Elicker donors Yves Joseph, Carter Winstanley, Randy Salvatore, Lynn Fusco.
Mayoral candidate Tom Goldenberg grabbed $1,000 donations from 17 different people — and ended up with less cash than all his Democratic primary competitors who swore off taking four-figure checks.
by | Apr 11, 2023 8:28 am | Comments (9)
Thomas Breen photo
A chemical engineer at vax-building work in a Science Park lab.
We should all be proud of efforts like New Haven Rising’s demand for Yale to hire more New Haven residents. We should also be proud of NAACP’s #WeGotThatWork campaign to ensure that returning citizens have access to jobs. The aspiration of these initiatives – of achieving economic justice and access to opportunities – is on target.
by | Apr 10, 2023 3:45 pm | Comments (18)
Thomas Breen File Photo
Gage Frank, Shafiq Abdussabur's new campaign manager, filing papers in 2019 for then-boss Justin Elicker.
Gage Frank, Justin Elicker’s former campaign manager and mayoral spokesperson, has returned to the trail — to try to defeat his former boss.
Continue reading ‘Abdussabur Campaign Hires Ex-Elicker Aide’
by | Apr 10, 2023 2:43 pm | Comments (11)
Thomas Breen file photo
Darryl Brackeen, Jr. is stepping down this month from his role as Upper Westville’s alder, becoming the fourth local legislator this term to resign his seat.
by | Apr 1, 2023 5:49 pm | Comments (40)
Thomas Breen photo
After Saturday morning's double homicide on Winthrop.
The following opinion essay was submitted by Democratic mayoral candidate Tom Goldenberg.
With today’s double homicide on Winthrop Avenue, New Haven again has families and friends that have lost loved ones and are in pain. This is deeply concerning, especially after the recent string of violent events the city has seen, including numerous drive-by shootings, some involving minors.
Continue reading ‘Opinion: Gun Violence Reveals Leadership Failure’
by | Mar 31, 2023 6:28 pm | Comments (8)
Nora Grace-Flood photo
Tom Goldenberg and Alex Taubes at a comedy campaign fundraiser to remember.
What does a mayor even do?
That question was posed during a two-hour comedy-fueled fundraiser for mayoral candidate Tom Goldenberg — with no punchline, or answer, delivered.
by | Mar 28, 2023 12:22 pm | Comments (11)
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4-year terms, on the table at latest charter-review panel.
Hartford and Middletown recently moved from two-year to four-year terms for their mayors and local legislators. Should New Haven do the same?
The Charter Revision Commission considered that question while hearing from representatives of four other Connecticut towns, all of whom spoke in support of longer mayoral stints in office.
Continue reading ‘If It's Good Enough For Hartford, Middletown ...’
by | Mar 24, 2023 10:42 am | Comments (17)
We can do better: Brennan unveils "white paper" at Temple Plaza presser.
A scared teenager was relieved to see the cops arrive. Then he saw fear in the face of the man the cops stopped for allegedly trying to break into his home.
Continue reading ‘Brennan Details Public Safety "Rethinking"’
by | Mar 17, 2023 4:27 pm | Comments (24)
The day after the Elicker administration sent bulldozers and a swarm of cops to clear out a West River homeless encampment, a mayoral candidate criticized the operation as an example of “cruel” “mismanagement and failure of leadership.”
Continue reading ‘Brennan Slams Elicker For "Cruel" Tent City Sweep’
by | Mar 17, 2023 12:06 pm | Comments (35)
Paul Bass Photo
Elicker fielding questions at reelection campaign kick-off.
Justin Elicker said he can understand where his numerous mayoral campaign opponents are coming from when they say they can do a better job tackling the city’s challenges.
by | Mar 14, 2023 11:26 am | Comments (3)
Paul Bass Photo
Mayor Elicker filing for reelection in December.
Mayor Justin Elicker received his first $20,000 in matching public funds for his clean-money-bolstered reelection campaign, with two of his Democratic challengers reportedly soon to follow suit.
by | Mar 7, 2023 3:41 pm | Comments (19)
Thomas Breen photos
Democratic mayoral challenger Tom Goldenberg: "This is an inappropriate place" for a methadone clinic.
APT patient Jeffrey Culp: "What happens to the people where this place saved their lives?"
A Democratic mayoral candidate traveled to Congress Avenue to call for the immediate closure and relocation of a controversial methadone clinic.
One of the clinic’s patients posed the candidate a question: What about the many lives that have been saved from the depths of heroin addiction by the APT Foundation’s treatments? One saved life, he continued, is his own.
Continue reading ‘Patient Presses Politician On APT Critique’