East Rock Dems Favor Elicker, Harp

Democratic mayoral candidates Justin Elicker and Toni Harp far outpolled their competitors and walked away with victories in a triple convention in East Rock Thursday evening.

Three separate Democratic ward committees largely covering the East Rock neighborhood — and constituting some of the highest-turnout voting districts in town — held the joint convention in Elicker’s home base, at Wilbur Cross High School, to register their preferences in advance of this coming Tuesday night’s citywide Democratic Town Committee convention.

Elicker and Harp (pictured above shaking hands) were the only ones of the five Democratic mayoral candidates to receive any votes in each of the three ward committee votes.

After presentations by candidates to the combined groups, members of the Ward 9 Democratic committee voted to endorse Toni Harp for mayor. She beat Elicker 21 – 7.

Elicker took Ward 10, which includes Cedar Hill and a slice of the Fair Haven neighborhood, and which he currently represents on the Board of Aldermen. He outpolled Harp 14 – 1.

Elicker also defeated Harp in Ward 19, which is split between East Rock’s Prospect Hill section and Newhallville. The vote was 7 – 5.

Elicker began his mayoral campaign with East Rock as his main base of support, a point confirmed by a breakdown of recent campaign finance filings.

Roughly 60 people from the three wards showed up to participate in Thrusday evening’s event. Extra rows of foldable chairs were set up to accommodate the crowd.

Each candidate gave brief remarks and answered questions directly from voters. Neighbors then broke into groups by ward to endorse candidates, some sitting in circles, others more formally in rows.

Elicker arrived early and stayed nearly 30 minutes after the convention to talk with voters. Toni Harp rushed in after some candidates had already spoken, then left midway through the questioning for another engagement. Mayoral candidate Henry Fernandez sent a proxy, former city traffic chief Paul Wessel. Mayoral candidates Kermit Carolina and Sundiata Keitazulu did not appear in person or via a representative. 

Since her early days as a state senator, Harp told the audience, she has sought and listened to input from New Haven’s citizens. When the city proposed starting a new homeless shelter, Harp said, she visited all of the city’s neighborhoods to get feedback. One community offered to take the shelter, which still exists today as the Grant Street Partnership. ​“My style is to say, ​‘How do we work together?’” Harp said.

Elicker described instance after instance of helping his constituents, portraying himself as a down-to-earth, shoe leather representative willing to tackle New Haveners’ problems – no matter how big or how small. As an alderman, ​“I have worked my tail off to represent you,” Elicker said. ​“If you needed a pothole filled, I filled it. If you needed a tree trimmed, I trimmed it.”

“Well, not actually,” Elicker conceded the last point, to laughs, but he said he made sure neighbors’ concerns were addressed. He mentioned that he even resolved an issue over dog poop.

At one point, the audience broke out into applause for Elicker. Cheers came from each row, with a ​“woohoo!” emerging from Ward 10 Democratic aldermanic candidate Anna Festa.

After their pitches, candidates fielded questions on a variety of topics, from the composition of the school board to the city’s debt in light of news that Detroit had declared bankruptcy earlier in the day. One questioner asked the candidates for their take on the role of the mayor in general. Harp described the position as one of consensus-building. Elicker outlined the respect the mayor must foster with unions and the Board of Aldermen. To Paul Wessel, the mayor must be a CEO – namely, Fernandez.

After that, some ward committees voted relatively quickly while others engaged in discussion. Ward 9 members had a particularly lively conversation.

Several voters expressed support for Elicker. ​“We need a fresh face, not a career politician,” a man in a gray T‑shirt said. Another man pointed out the difference in candidates’ focus: While Elicker talked about New Haven, the other candidates talked about the state. Though Harp is great, he said, she should stay in Hartford. ​“For my money, Justin’s the right bet.”

Rob Narracci discussed how his views on Elicker had changed. ​“When Justin came to town, I kinda thought he was a carpetbagger,” he said. ​“I found out over time that he’s a lifer. He’s willing to get his hands dirty, to work with kids.”

“When [Elicker] brings up dog doo and sidewalks, it just shows me that we’re not focusing on the tremendous social and structural problems in New Haven,” Lindsay Powell argued. ​“Whether you like it or not,” she continued, this time referring to Harp, ​“things are going to get done by relationships.”

Earlier in the night, Powell had asked the candidates what plans they had to address larger issues like crime and poverty. Elicker had acknowledged the difficulties of remedying such complex problems, emphasizing the need to avoid making unfulfillable promises during the campaign season. Powell said she is considering moving away from New Haven.

The convention also nominated candidates for the position of city/town clerk. Mike Smart won Ward 9; Sergio Rodriguez took Wards 10 and 19. Ward 19 aldermanic candidate Mike Stratton said the ward’s voters were won over by Rodriguez’s presentation, particularly by the revelation that Rodriguez and his wife had taken care of 35 foster children over a period of years.

In a speech that quoted the late Robert Kennedy, Jr., Rodriguez outlined a new vision for the clerk position. Rodriguez said he wants to expand and elevate the role – possibly to a cabinet-level post to enhance communication between small businesses and the mayor. Describing the job as ​“community-connected,” Rodriguez said he would strive to make the role more visible by going out into New Haven and engaging with young and old alike.

Lindsay Branson read a letter from clerk candidate Michael Smart, who was unable to attend the convention due to a meeting of the city’s charter revision commission, which he chairs. The letter noted Smart’s experience representing the diverse 8th Ward on the Board of Aldermen and said he would bring the distinct populations of New Haven together if elected clerk.

Incumbent Clerk Ron Smith did not attend the convention or send a representative.

For the aldermanic races, votes were taken with a show of hands. Incumbent Jessica Holmes (Ward 9), Anna Festa (Ward 10), and Mike Stratton (Ward 19) are all running unopposed and received unanimous support. In Ward 9, former Alderman Matt Smith (now a City Hall staffer) made a gesture of support for the candidate who unseated him in 2011, Holmes. Smith abstained from the votes for mayor and city clerk, but raised his hand for Holmes.