Paul Bass Photo
Henry Fernandez assembled a dozen core supporters on his East Pearl Street porch Sunday to make, in turns, the closing argument for his candidacy in Tuesday’s four-way Democratic mayoral primary.
Anne Calabresi (at right in above photo), co-founder of the LEAP youth program and the International Festival of the Arts, spoke of Fernandez’s emphasis on including the disadvantaged in his “One City” campaign platform. “Most people don’t want to recognize how important inequalities in this country are,” she said.
Activist Danny Newell spoke of how Fernandez cleaned up vacant lots, boarded up abandoned homes, and went after slumlords when he ran city government’s anti-blight agency, the Livable City Initiative (LCI).
“He walked in my feet, not my shoes,” said Magaly Cajigas (second from right in photo, next to Anaika Ocasio). Cajigas, who grew up in the Hill and attended Career High, said she got her first job with Fernandez at the LEAP youth agency. She went on to graduate school and a career working in not-for-profits.
East Rocker Paul Wessel, who worked under Fernandez at City Hall, said Fernandez has the “vision, brains and gumption” to lead an “incredibly divided city” and a “very bureaucratic” City Hall.
“Henry lives in the barrio. He’s connected to the people,” remarked immigrants rights activist John Lugo.
Bruce Ditman spoke of how Fernandez promoted downtown arts events as city economic development chief.
The candidate himself (standing besides his son Henry) mentioned the recent New Haven Register endorsement of his candidacy. He also praised his core supporters for sticking by him even though they knew they “were going to get grief from people who needed a paycheck from the politically powerful. You stood up and said, ‘This is our city.’” “For too long this city has been divided, divided by neighborhood, by race, by class, by whether you went to college. That has to change,” Fernandez said. “We’re all in this together. We’re one city.”
Fernandez/Matos household pooch Logan said nothing. He wore his closing argument on his back.