Melissa Bailey Photo
Kerekes pitches Ward 28.
When Democrats gathered in two neighborhoods with high voter turnout, they chose not to stand behind the man who’s been their mayor for 18 years.
Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. lost two endorsements by the two Democratic ward committees this week in East Rock and Beaver Hills.
The committees, tentacles of the local Democratic party, held mini-conventions this week to decide whom to support for alderman and mayor ahead of a Sept. 13 Democratic primary.
In a meeting Thursday night, East Rockers in Ward 10 stood behind budget watchdog Jeffery Kerekes, one of four Democrats seeking to block DeStefano from winning a 10th term in office.
Kerekes beat DeStefano by a vote of 14 to 2. Former Hill Alderman Tony Dawson also picked up 2 votes in the mayoral vote, according to Ward 10 co-chair David Streever.
Kerekes trumpeted the victory in a campaign email Friday, declaring a “landslide of support” in Ward 10.
“It’s evidence that my candidacy is gaining momentum and acceptence in this city,” Kerekes said. “People are interested in making the city work better for the people who live here, rather than just the folks who run it.”
In a meeting Wednesday night, a majority of Democrats in Beaver Hills’ Ward 28 stood behind attorney Clifton Graves.
“This is a competitive election and the mayor takes the election very seriously,” responded DeStefano spokesman Danny Kedem Friday. “While we are confident that he is the best candidate for the job, not every ward is going to resoundingly support him.”
East Rock’s meeting took place at the Little Hooker school on Canner Street Thursday night. The meeting was held al fresco, in part because no one from the Board of Education came to unlock the building, Streever said.
David Streever Photo
Dawson addresses Ward 10.
Sitting in the school’s tiled courtyard, East Rockers heard from four mayoral challengers: former Alderman Robert Lee, Kerekes, Graves, and Tony Dawson. Karen DuBois-Walton, executive director of the Housing Authority of New Haven (and treasurer of DeStefano’s reelection campaign), spoke on DeStefano’s behalf, Streever said. City Clerk Ron Smith and his opponent, Claudia Hererra-Martinez, also gave campaign pitches.
The voting took place by secret ballot. Ward 10 unanimously nominated Alderman Justin Elicker, who’s running unopposed for a second term. They also stood behind Smith for city clerk.
The purpose of the ward conventions is to give co-chairs input before they cast their votes at the New Haven Democratic Town Committee convention on Tuesday. Streever said he and his co-chair, Dick Lyons, will follow their neighbors’ will and vote to endorse Jefferey Kerekes and City Clerk Ron Smith.
Graves Wins Beaver Hills
Graves picked up the majority of votes in Beaver Hills’ Ward 28, according to a vote tally provided by ward committee Co-chair Don Walker. All five mayoral candidates spoke at the meeting Wednesday night in the cafeteria of James Hillhouse High School.
Graves picked up 9 votes; Destefano and Dawson each won 3; and Lee and Kerekes each won 1 vote. One Beaver Hills Democrat voted “other” for mayor.
That ward also unanimously stood behind Alderwoman Claudette Robinson-Thorpe, who’s seeking a second term. The union-backed candidate has been independent of the mayor in her time on the board.
Not all ward committees took mayoral straw polls this week, just aldermanic votes.