Laura Glesby Photo
Civically-engaged students at Harris & Tucker meet Osmanu-supporting Shafiq Abdussabur and Winter-supporting Barbara Vereen.
After finishing up her shift at a Yale dining hall, Pamela Dear headed straight to Lincoln-Bassett School to vote.
As she neared the entrance, she was stopped by two advocates for opposing state representative campaigns.
“Vote for Abdul. He’s on Row C,” said Michael Matovu. “He has the endorsement of current Representative Robyn Porter!”
“This is Steve Winter,” interjected Barbara Vereen. “He’s been endorsed by the unions. You’ve seen him around with his dog!”
Dear accepted flyers from them both, without letting on who she would be voting for, and then headed inside the school cafeteria to cast her ballot.
Dear was part of a gradual trickle of voters entering and exiting Lincoln-Bassett on Tuesday afternoon to vote in the Democratic primary for the 94th Assembly District’s state representative. Incumbent Robyn Porter has represented the district, which encompasses parts of northern New Haven and southern Hamden, for 10 years.
She decided this year not to run again, prompting three candidates to seek out the open seat: Steve Winter, a former alder and current city sustainability director in New Haven; Abdul Osmanu, a Hamden council member and Democratic Socialists of America activist; and Tarolyn Moore, a pastor and school family resource center coordinator.
Matovu, Osmanu’s campaign field director, and Vereen, a Yale union steward and ward co-chair representing Newhallville on New Haven’s Democratic Town Committee, frequently pitched voters side-by-side on Tuesday.
As Vereen framed Winter as a familiar face who received the Democratic Party’s endorsement, Matovu pitched Osmanu as the candidate trying to bring new insurgent energy to the political establishment.
Winter “has all these endorsements from Democrats who don’t live in this district,” Matovu told one voter. Osmanu, meanwhile, has the support of State Rep. Porter — the very person he is vying to replace.
(Winter has been endorsed by a number of city and state politicians who reside outside of the district, such as State Sen. Martin Looney and Mayor Justin Elicker, alongside those who do live in the district, such as State Sen. Gary Winfield and Alder Brittiany Mabery-Niblack.)
The Democratic Party, Matovu argued, doesn’t currently maintain strong enough roots in Newhallville.
“I’m part of the Democratic Party, and I live in this district,” Vereen countered.
She argued that Winter’s relationships with politicians outside of the neighborhood are an asset. “You can’t win nothing with just one person,” she said.
Vereen and Matovu were soon joined by two Democrats who don’t live in the district but retain strong family ties to the neighborhood: former mayoral candidate Shafiq Abdussabur, who came to show support for Osmanu, and Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, who came to support Winter.
“I’m inspired by his leadership,” Abdussabur said of Osmanu, calling the candidate a “young and bright leader.”
Walker-Myers expressed support for Winter because of her experience working with him on the Board of Alders. “I’ve seen how hard he works,” she said. “Steve will call you back. If he doesn’t know the answer, he’ll try to get it to you.”
Meanwhile, candidate Tarolyn Moore manned a table of her own alongside supporters, including her mom.
“We’re on opposite teams,” she said of Osmanu and Winter, “but we’re enjoying each other.” She pledged to work with the other candidates no matter who wins the race, noting, “There’s a lot of things that this community needs.”
When Dear emerged from the polling place, she shared that she had cast her ballot for Winter.
She doesn’t personally know him, she said, but she’s seen him around — and trusts that he cares about the community. The Yale unions’ endorsement also helped tipped the scale in his favor, she added.
Dear said she’s never missed an election since she turned 18 years old. “My mother always made us,” she said, quoting: “You’re an adult, you have to stand up for yourself.”
Tarolyn Moore with her mom, Annette Powell.
Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers meets local educator Kim Harris' students, many of whom are familiar faces at the Ward 20 polling place.
Shafiq Abdussabur and Michael Matovu, both Osmanu fans.
Earlier on Tuesday, Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate stood outside of the Wexler Grant School polling place, stumping for his former aldermanic colleague, Winter.
Working with Winter on the Board of Alders, Wingate said, he saw firsthand his commitment to promoting affordable housing and curbing climate change.
“I’ve seen Steve really do his homework,” Wingate said, and build relationships with fellow local legislators and constituents across his district. That’s what New Haven needs in the state House of Representatives, he said, and that’s why he’s supporting Winter.
Thomas Breen Photo
Alder Brian Wingate outside Wexler-Grant School...
... joined by Jaylen Daniels.
A few dozen feet away, Jaylen Daniels stood under a tent supporting his preferred candidate for the 94th General Assembly district, Abdul Osmanu.
Daniels said he’s a member of a group called the Connecticut Young Democrats, which has endorsed Osmanu’s run.
An Ansonia resident himself, Daniels said he’s been inspired by Osmanu’s tenure on the Hamden town council and his support for progressive policies around renters’ rights, including stronger Fair Rent Commissions and tenants’ unions.
Daniels said he also looked to Osmanu’s run for Hamden elected office at the age of 19 as providing a model for other young Democrats interested in serving in elected office. Daniels, who just turned 25, said he ran for alder in Ansonia several years ago and lost by only a few dozen votes.
He credited Osmanu’s political work so far as “galvanizing” him and other young progressives across Connecticut to run for office.