Former Newhallville Alderman Gattison tells Kerekes: I’m with you.
Uma Ramiah photo
(Updated) Mayor John DeStefano stood in the parking lot of Wilbur Cross High looking for votes — and looking beyond Election Day. Challenger Jeffrey Kerekes found voters who swore they chose him, including in the black community, even if they couldn’t pronounce his name.
The Independent spent the day traveling with the two mayoral candidates. (Read about Kerekes later in the article)
In grey slacks and a black, Yale embroidered fleece sweatshirt, DeStefano approached East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker. They discussed various neighborhood park associations and then, this from the mayor: “You know, 2013 is the 375th anniversary of the Green. And it looks awful. I’d like to put a friends group together for the Green too.”
The implication? John DeStefano is mayor today. John DeStefano will be mayor tomorrow. And he’s thinking about what to do over the next two years.
Regardless, the mayor’s reelection machine was busily humming away Tuesday morning. After winning a Democratic primary with less than 50 percent of the vote in September, the mayor beefed up his operations in neighborhoods like East Rock for Tuesday’s general election, in which he faces independent challenger Jeffrey Kerekes. DeStefano lost the vote in East Rock’s Ward 9 in the primary; he had no headquarters of active ward vote-pulling organization that day. On Tuesday, he did.
The Independent spent a few hours traveling with DeStefano on the trail Tuesday morning. This afternoon will feature a similar visit with Kerekes.
After stopping by Wilbur Cross, DeStefano dropped into the ward headquarters, in a private home on Orange Street. There Alderman Matt Smith was organizing voter lists — and volunteers.
“This is a different election than the primary,” DeStefano nodded. That was a more of a disparate field, he said, with four candidates appealing to certain neighborhoods and demographics. So the strategy was to use television and mailers. “This time, we’re running more of a field operation.”
The mayor had already stopped at polling places in the Dixwell, East Shore and Morris Cove neighborhoods by 9 a.m. Tuesday. Westville, the Hill and Fair Haven were still on the list
In the background, he said, his team has been working since the primary to identify the voters most likely to support him in the general election. For today’s election he’s got an operation of between 200 and 250 vote pullers, he guessed — volunteers walking the neighborhoods and knocking on the doors of registered voters who by 11 a.m. had yet to fill out their ballots. They’re targeting the voters most likely to cast that ballot for DeStefano.
They’re also tracking voter turnout. As of 9 a.m, said the report from his headquarters at 129 Church St., 26,00 votes had been cast. That’s not including 750 absentee ballots as of Monday night.
At that parking lot outside of Wilbur Cross, DeStefano was joined by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
“I’ve known the mayor for years,” she said. “We come from the same working-class family background. And I support him fully — he’s done remarkable things for New Haven.”
“This was a city that fell on difficult times for a while,” she continued. ” But the mayor, be brought about a rebirth.”
DeStefano’s parking-lot campaign tent was smack up against his challenger’s post. Budget watchdog Jeffrey Kerekes arrived shortly after the mayor. Both tents served coffee and pastries alongside campaign materials. Both candidates sipped coffee and greeted voters, politicians and supporters. They exchanged not a single word with each other.
A Persistent Downturn
After Wilbur Cross, at the local ward headquarters, four vote pullers arrived the same time as DeStefano did. He looked around, poked at some lists, and then headed for the door.
“You guys have got this,” he said.
Then it was off to Kennedy & Perkins on Whitney Avenue. He needed his glasses fixed, he said: they’d broken at Wilbur Cross.
“I think they broke last time too, on primary day. And masking tape isn’t exactly going to inspire confidence,” he said, smiling.
Waiting for his glasses, the mayor reflected on the political climate: “There’s a general anger and frustration that incumbents are facing this year. You know what I think? This downturn has just been so persistent. It hasn’t let up, and a lot of people are still unemployed. So they’ve have started to lose hope, and incumbents will definitely feel that.”
DeStefano took exception to Kerekes’ tone in his campaign. But New Haven isn’t like other Connecticut towns, he said — it’s diverse; people have different opinions and backgrounds and values.
“So if you don’t work to pull people together and build consensus, it’ll just be a mess.”
He retrieved his glasses, free of charge.
“Thank you, Kennedy Perkins!” he announced, pushing open the doors to the shop and exiting onto Whitney Avenue. “I’ll remember you tonight when I’m on television with no tape on my glasses.”
He waved at a police officer supervising construction and got into his silver Toyota Prius. License plate: 1 NH.
Whose Roots Are Deeper?
Back at Wilbur Cross, four New Haven firemen stood in front of DeStefano’s campaign tent — clad in bright yellow T‑shirts reading “Firefighters for DeStefano.”
“We believe he supports public safety,” explained Lt. James Kottage, chairman of the New Haven Fire Fighters Committee, a union group that has endorsed the mayor. “He’s progressive. And a concern of many firefighters is that Kerekes just wants to make cuts.”
Kottage handed out cards with a photo of a firehouse with a sign reading, “For Sale by Jeffrey Kerekes.” He wants to close at least two firehouses, Kottage claimed.
Kerekes supporter David Streever approached Kottage. “That’s not true,” he said, “Jeffrey doesn’t support that.”
“Are you from New Haven?” Streever asked the firefighters. A tense discussion of who has deeper New Haven roots ensued.
“You’ve only been here for eight years? You don’t really have the blood of New Haven. You’re transient,” said Kottage.
Kottage lives just outside of New Haven. “My family is from here,” he said. “This city is home.”
Anecdotal Optimism
The polls and the pundits may say otherwise — but if you were Jeffrey Kerekes on election day, making your way through New Haven’s African-American communities, you might get the feeling you’re headed straight for City Hall.
“I definitely voted for you!” Verta Hardy announced to Kerekes, just outside Lincoln-Bassett School in the Dixwell neighborhood.
That was the trend Tuesday afternoon for Kerekes, who got up at 4 a.m., voted at 6 a.m and then drove himself from polling place to polling place greeting voters, aldermanic candidates and poll workers. At Troup School, Wexler Grant and Lincoln Bassett, he found vocal support.
And the uniting sentiment? A desire for change.
“I put John DeStefano in, and I can take him out,” said Pastor Betty Marks, sitting outside the Troup School handing out Kerekes palm cards. She was there for DeStefano’s original campaign 18 years ago, she said.
“But he hasn’t been around to see me in well, almost 10 years now.”
Marks said she’s supporting Kerekes this time around. Dwight aldermanic candidate Frank Douglass, running unopposed in Ward 2, echoed that.
“It’s time for a change,” Douglass said. “The mayor has done just about all he can do.”
Kerekes with Marks, Douglass and three volunteers.
He pointed to three teenagers stationed the requisite 75 feet outside Troup, all campaigning for Kerekes. “We need to put these vibrant, intelligent, useful young men to work right here,” he said. “It’s about jobs, and it’s about developing these neighborhoods.”
Breyon Bromell, 18, Devonte Morris, 17, and Alonzo Talley each listened to iPods while eagerly greeting voters, handing out Kerekes fliers to all who would accept them. They said they support the challenger’s message.
“There’s too much violence,” Bromell said. “Instead of walking in parades, [the mayor] should’ve been walking in the neighborhoods. He’s just not in the community.”
The comments were largely focused on DeStefano — his record, his issues. What about Kerekes? Were people voting based on his politics and policies, or simply because they wanted for change?
“You know, I think we have a good chance here,” Kerekes said, just about to leave Lincoln-Bassett School and headed for his next stop. “We’ve been building momentum since we started with our grassroots efforts.”
That said, he admitted, with limited resources, his camp had less opportunity to get out their messages. “But people have still heard from me,” he said. “They’ve heard me speak, they’ve talked to each other about me,” he said.
“I think most people do understand what I’m about,” he said. “And there are some people just voting for change.”
At Wexler/Grant School in Dixwell, Kerekes was approached by a former alderman posted outside the poll: Ronald Gattison (pictured at the top of the story). He served from 1994 to 2000, he said, and often butted heads with the mayor.
“You know you got my vote,” Gattison said, shaking the candidate’s hand.
Kerekes asked Gattison what he thought of the big endorsement — referring to former mayoral candidate Tony Dawson’s recent show of support for the mayor. See more on that story here. Gattison and Dawson were allies and friends as fellow aldermen back in the day.
“It shocked me,” Gattison said. “He’s going to have to explain it to me.”
“Did you see the video?”
Gattison hadn’t. “I really thought he’d at least stay neutral,” he said.
On his way out, Kerekes waved to aldermanic candidate Jeanette Morrison of Ward 22.
“Jeffrey, you look relaxed today!” she said, smiling and waving. “Usually you’ve got the jacket on.”
Kerekes was in his shirtsleeves, with a tie. He’d started the day in a suit jacket.
Looking Forward
At Lincoln-Bassett, Kerekes asked Verta Hardy what issues are closest to her heart.
“My son is 13,” she said. “And he’s already getting in trouble in school. I’m doing my best as a parent, I got him into two programs, some mentoring. But these kids need to be occupied. They need support. They need jobs.”
Kerekes agreed. He asked if she knew about the city’s Youth@Work program, which offers part time, summer work for students who go to school in or live in New Haven.
“You know, they cut the program in half, but some of the kids participating are still from the suburbs. If you’re going to cut a program, why wouldn’t you at least make it all for New Haven kids?” he asked.
Hardy said she planned to ask the next mayor for help getting her son into the program. Then she wished him luck.
On the sidewalk outside of Lincoln-Bassett, Kerekes took a moment to discuss possible outcomes.
What if DeStefano wins?
“Ask me that again tomorrow,” Kerekes said, laughing.
And what if he upsets DeStefano?
“First thing, we’ll gather at my place and celebrate. Then, it’s on to picking a transition team. We’ve got a budget due in March. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
