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A Beaver Hills alder facing a primary challenge asserted her pro-labor credentials — and attacked Yale’s unions for allegedly sending suburbanites into her neighborhood to unseat her.
“They’re in my ward right now. They have a hundred people come into my ward from Guildord, Milford, West Haven, everywhere but the people that live in my ward, knocking on doors trying to unseat me,” the alder, Claudette Robinson-Thorpe (pictured), remarked.
“I don’t think that’s fair. This is a race between two individuals that live in the ward. Let us have a fair race.”
Robinson-Thorpe made the remarks on WNHH radio’s “Dateline New Haven.”
She is running for a fourth two-year term representing Ward 28 on the Board of Alders. She faces challenger Jill Marks (read about her campaign here) in a Democratic Party primary this coming, Sept. 16.
Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker, who supports Marks, dismissed Robinson-Thorpe’s allegations as desperate tactics in a tight race.
Robinson-Thorpe first won her seat in 2009 with the backing of Yale’s UNITE HERE Locals 34 and 35, the most influential vote-pullers in New Haven elections. UNITE HERE backed here again in 2011 when Robinson-Thorpe ran as part of a union-backed slate that won control of the board.
Then she had a falling out with the unions and helped form a short-lived dissenting “People’s Caucus.”
Now UNITE HERE has switched its alliance to Marks, who is married to Scott Marks, a longtime organizer affiliated with Yale’s unions.
In the WNHH interview, Robinson-Thorpe bristled at being dubbed anti-union in the campaign. She noted that she has won the endorsement of AFSCME Council 4, which represents municipal government workers.
“Local 34 and Local 35 want me off the board because I’m not a person that they can control,” Robinson-Thorpe charged.
Members of the union-backed majority on the board argue that they have succeeded in advancing an agenda focused on job creation, programs for youth, and community policing. Robinson-Thorpe said she has concluded that UNITE HERE has a negative influence on city government, dictating how alders should vote on issues.
Robinson-Thorpe was asked for an example. She cited the sale of the Broadway parking lot from the city to Yale: “We sold that parking lot. We were told that we all needed to vote that way to sell. I was not in agreement with it, but I ended up doing that. That’s something I regret now. I think we could have got more money than we got.” (Read about that here.)
“My take on unions is I’m not anti-union,” she said. “I think unions are good for workers. I don’t think unions should be in politics. I don’t believe that a union — 34, 35 or any union should be a dictatorship to politics.”
Jill Marks, who declined an invitation to appear on “Dateline New Haven” with Robinson-Thorpe, also declined to respond to Robinson-Thorpe’s remarks when contacted by phone Wednesday afternoon.
“At this time I’m not interested in what Claudette is saying and what she’s doing to people,” Marks remarked. “I’m focusing on the primary voters, trying to move forward, trying to make change here. I’m not interested in interviews a this time. I have to get through the primary.”
Robinson-Thorpe said AFSCME sent a mailer to the entire ward promoting her candidacy. A political action committee called Faith in New Haven has reported raising $2,975 to support her campaign; the contributions came from New Haveners, mostly form the neighborhood. Another PAC called Democracy in Action reported raising $620 for Marks’ campaign, also from neighborhood donors. Click here to read both groups’ latest reports.
Board President Tyisha Walker disagreed with Robinson-Thorpe’s observation. She said no one tells alders how to vote.
“Absolutely false,” Walker said of Robinson-Thorpe’s accusations. “She’s under my leadership tree. I call her personally myself after we meet with the mayor. We discuss what’s on the agenda. I ask her if she has any questions on the agenda. I don’t tell her or anybody else how they should vote.”
She also noted that the Ward 28 Democratic ward committee endorsed Marks, which means she has access to a team of local volunteers. So, Walker asked, “why would they need to run a whole bunch of people from Guilford?”
“She’s in a tough race,” Walker said. “Given her attendance record, she has to grab onto something.” Robinson-Thorpe attended just 5 percent of alder committee meetings this past year. She said she had health problems, and that she had attended most meetings in past years. She said she continued to make a difference, citing long-awaited repairs beginning at Bowen Field and the pending opening of new teen centers.
“We all have difficult things in life — I lost six people in my family — but I make it [to board meetings] because I know my community relies on me,” Walker argued.
To listen to Robinson-Thorpe’s full interview, click on the above audio file or find the program in iTunes or any podcast app under “WNHH Community Radio.” Robinson-Thorpe discussed her background and tenure on the board; the segment about
Previous coverage of the Sept. 16 Democratic alder primaries:
• Primary Issue: Showing Up
• Lee Throws Down An Anti-Union Gauntlet
• Hines To Ward 20: Your Voice Matters
• Marks Promises New Leadership
• Local 34 Endorses 6 For Alder
• Berrios-Bones: Stay The Course
• Burwell Confronts Language Barrier
• Robinson-Thorpe Ready For Primary Fight
• 8 Primaries On Tap
• Newhallville Gets A Primary
• Clyburn: “A Voice At The Table”