Jon Greenberg Photo
Mayor Harp swearing in Sepulveda and Moe.
Michelle Sepulveda, a former alder, once again has a seat on the Board of Alders.
Mayor Toni Harp swore in Sepulveda and Lukas Moe, an English graduate student at Yale and member of the UNITE HERE Local 33 union (one of the recent hunger strikers), were sworn in as alders for West Hills/Westville’s Ward 30 and Audubon/East Rock’s Ward 7 Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony at City Hall.
About 35 current alders, city officials and others, including several proud Sepulveda family members, squeezed into the mayor’s conference room to watch the two new alders take the oath of office.
The mayor appointed the two to fill out the five remaining months of alders who have stepped down: Carlton Staggers in Ward 30, Alberta Witherspoon in Ward 7.
Sepulveda has lived in New Haven nearly all her life. She served two terms as Westville alder, from 2006 – 9. In a brief address to the crowd after the swearing-in, Sepulveda expressed her excitement to work for the betterment of her neighborhood once more.
“I look forward to meeting with and talking to my constituents, and also working with the mayor’s office … and the rest of the Board of Alders,” she said.
Sepulveda, a Democrat, said she plans to run in November for a full term. Tosha James-Goldson, who’s married to another former alder, Darnell Goldson, said she plans to run for the seat as well, in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary and in the Nov. 7 general election.
Michelle Sepulveda.
Sepulveda said she seeks to create and nurture programs for young people and to make sure that the residents of the public-housing developments in the ward receive representation in government.
Since her last stint as alder, Sepulveda has worked as a truancy officer for Hillhouse High School. For that job, Sepulveda meets with students who are missing school, tries to understand why they are doing so and helps them get back to class. She said she is proud that Hillhouse’s graduation rate has risen in recent years. Her department “has done a lot of hard work” to keep kids in school, she said.
Sepulveda said she met Carlton Staggers while growing up in the neighborhood, and they have been friends ever since.
The crowd at Monday’s ceremony.
Staggers stepped down “for personal reasons,” according to Sepulveda. He did not attend Monday’s ceremony.
Witherspoon, who stepped down in Ward 7, was present on Monday, as East Rock’s alder. Moe, her replacement, declined to speak with the Independent. He previously stated that he does not intend to run for the seat this September or November. Another former alder, Abby Roth, is looking to return to the seat in January. She received the Democratic Party’s endorsement for this fall’s election and so far faces no opponent.
Before the crowd, Moe thanked Witherspoon for her service to the city and promised to be a partner for the diverse set of residents who call his ward home.
“I hope to do a great job in Ward 7, a ward that comprises grad students like me, retired folks like Alberta, homeowners in East Rock and our business partners downtown,” he said.