Thomas MacMillan Photo
Clifton Graves, Jr. announced his choice for mayor in next week’s mayoral election: Neither Democratic incumbent John DeStefano nor independent challenger Jeffrey Kerekes.
Graves (pictured) made that announcement in a press release issued Thursday afternoon.
Kerekes and DeStefano are the only candidates running in next Tuesday’s election.
Graves was one of four Democrats who ran for mayor in the September primary; DeStefano won. Another Democrat who ran in that primary, Tony Dawson, has endorsed DeStefano in the general election. (Read about that here; click on the video at left for a flavor of the endorsement.)
Graves acknowledged that his endorsement probably wouldn’t have swung many votes in any case; he said he wanted to issue a statement because a number of people have asked him where he stands.
He also urged people to vote, for the candidates (for mayor and alderman) they prefer.
In his statement released Thursday, Graves praised DeStefano for his efforts to tackle city problems. He praised Kerekes for raising important issues.
But he scored Kerekes for not building more bridges to the black and Latino communities, and for lacking the experience to do the job as mayor. And he stood by his criticisms of DeStefano that he advanced in the primary: “that past efforts in the areas of education, youth opportunities and safe neighborhoods were not working; and that fiscal conditions of the city needed a more sustained and inclusive effort to bring about viable solutions.”
Then he criticized both candidates for the “dark overtones” that their negative campaigning against each other have brought to the race. (Read about some of that here.)
“[I]t reduces the weight of a candidate’s arguments when he engages in pointless name-calling and negative campaigning. By giving in to that temptation, Kerekes has squandered the opportunity to obtain greater support for his candidacy among other political officials who were potential allies, or who have in the past expressed sympathetic views to his criticisms of the Mayor,” Graves wrote.
“Similarly, the Mayor’s late turn towards negative campaigning and name-calling is equally discreditable, and should also be condemned.”
The full text of Graves’ statement:
The September Democratic Primary was an unprecedented opportunity for New Haven voters to express their choices on the future of our City. Our incumbent Mayor faced three viable candidates, and hotly contested, well-financed aldermanic races were held in 16 wards. I congratulate all the Aldermanic Primary winners; most notably Brian Wingate, Claudette Robinson Thorpe, Frank Douglass, Dolores Colon and Jeanette Morrison, whose pending election will serve the City well. And I further urge the election of Barbara Constantinople (Ward 11) and Darnell Goldson (Ward 30) in their November 8th contests. From the Primary races, control over the Board of Aldermen changed hands. Also, the Mayor now faces a do-over of his Primary victory — brought about by Jeffery Kerekes now running as an Independent candidate.
After the Primary I met and spoke with the remaining mayoral candidates or their representatives. Although asked by both sides, I have not given endorsement to either. (It is doubtful, at any rate, that my “endorsement” of either candidate would improve their election-day chances.) My criticisms of the Mayor were put forward in the September vote: i.e. that past efforts in the areas of education, youth opportunities and safe neighborhoods were not working; and that fiscal conditions of the city needed a more sustained and inclusive effort to bring about viable solutions. Unfortunately, not enough Primary voters shared my criticisms, and being a true Democrat, I am bound to accept the selections made in the September vote. Given my advocacy for “A New Voice – A New Vision” for this city, I feel compelled to state my rationale for declining endorsement support for the Mayoral contestants. Simply put, my campaign efforts were focused upon “Change” and “Progress”. As of now, I am not convinced that either Mayor John DeStefano, or his challenger Jeffery Kerekes, represents the Change and Progress my supporters were seeking.
To his credit, Mayor DeStefano has the ability to make Progress on addressing our City’s pressing problems; however, after 18 years in office his willingness and commitment to make the needed changes are suspect.
The call for “Change” is a central part of Kerekes’ effort to unseat the Mayor. I commend Kerekes for his stand on fiscal issues. However, his calls for change in other areas of concern are lacking in the substance needed to convince me that he is knowledgeable and capable on those issues. Given Kerekes’ lack of history and involvement in New Haven affairs, I am not persuaded that he possesses the necessary sensitivities, commitment and ability to solve specific Citywide problems we face: Inadequate school funding; the ability to build working partnerships with the teachers’ and other municipal workers’ unions; and a lukewarm commitment to providing the funding and programs needed for community policing, youth opportunities, and other areas demanding serious investment of human resource and capital. New Haven’s problems are complex and multifaceted in nature, and require more than the one-dimensional approach to solving them that Kerekes has displayed. Without the prospect of progress being realized, “Change” is at best an empty vessel. A specific concern to me is Kerekes’ lack of history and commitment in dealing with black and Hispanic issues affecting our neighborhoods and residents.
Further, I am disappointed in the increasingly dark overtones this race has engendered. I for one was the target of sleazy, negative campaigning that only served to discredit the issues and people involved. New Haven deserves better. New Haven deserves to have its future course determined by the merits of the issues and arguments put on the table by the contestants. In my view, it reduces the weight of a candidate’s arguments when he engages in pointless name-calling and negative campaigning. By giving in to that temptation, Kerekes has squandered the opportunity to obtain greater support for his candidacy among other political officials who were potential allies, or who have in the past expressed sympathetic views to his criticisms of the Mayor. It is instructive that few black and Hispanic elected officials, and no elected state legislative officials, have chosen to publicly endorse a Kerekes candidacy. It should hardly bear noting that those who, like myself, have declined to choose the Challenger over the Incumbent, have perhaps done so due to the Kerekes campaign’s shortcomings rather than their own. Similarly, the Mayor’s late turn towards negative campaigning and name-calling is equally discreditable, and should also be condemned.
Regardless of my decision to decline endorsement of either Mayoral candidate, the stakes in this municipal election are indeed high. I urge everyone to come out and vote for the candidates for Mayor and Alderman who most closely reflect your individual needs and interests, and who best reflect the political interests of your neighborhoods and communities.