Allan Appel File Photo
In the quest for former Henry Fernandez supporters, Democratic mayoral candidate Toni Harp has snagged the voice of the Audubon Arts District: Frances “Bitsie” Clark.
Clark invited about 20 people she knows from her various spheres of influence (political, cultural, senior) to her Audubon Court condo Tuesday evening for an in-person taste of her homemade chicken-liver mousse (from Julia Child’s Mastering The Art Of French Cooking) and of her choice for mayor.
Clark helped oversee the development of the Audubon Arts district as the former head of the Arts Council. She then served on the Board of Aldermen. Now she runs HomeHaven, an innovative group that helps seniors stay in their homes through shared support and activities.
Clark originally supported Matthew Nemerson for mayor this year. When Nemerson dropped out of the race, Clark threw her support to Henry Fernandez. When Fernandez dropped out following the Democratic primary, Clark threw her support to Harp. Harp now faces independent candidate Justin Elicker in the Nov. 5 general election; both camps are wooing Fernandez supporters. (Click here to read about Elicker’s efforts.)
“Whether you voted for her or not, you might want to meet the next mayor of New Haven,” Clark stated in her invitations to Tuesday night’s event.
Clark said some of her guests had never met Harp before. Many brought skeptical questions, especially about Harp’s relationship to Yale’s unions, who back a majority of the Board of Aldermen.
Clark told the crowd how Harp’s answer to that same question—at an Aug. 14 candidates’ debate that Clark organized —helped convince her eventually to back Harp’s candidacy. Harp had told the crowd that day that she welcomes the unions’ successful efforts in engaging more people in politics and civic life. She praised the fact that their efforts prompted a group of people who oppose her and with the unions (“Take Back New Haven”) to field its own candidates. The more democracy, she argued, the better for New Haven.
“I was shocked,” Clark recalled. “I have never met a man in politics that ever says anything good about his opponent. I heard her being encouraging about people who oppose her. That was very very interesting to me.”
Clark said Harp emerged from the session as someone who can bring people in New Haven together in a way that hasn’t happened in a while. She said Harp left the crowd with the sense that she might be the message that she is “her own woman” and welcomes support from a wide range of perspectives.