Markeshia Ricks Photo
What a difference two years make.
At least it did for Toni Harp when she formally announced her candidacy Saturday for a second, two-year term as New Haven’s mayor.
Though the day was overcast, it did not rain on Harp’s re-election kickoff. Roughly 300 supporters gathered to hear the city’s first woman chief executive ask people to keep her at the helm of a city government that she said was more inclusive and cooperative since she took office, but also continues to bring more people to the table.
Harp, a Democratic former state senator, made the announcement in Edgewood Park — the same spot where, with the help of 250 supporters, she kicked off her 2013 campaign to become the city’s first female mayor.
Back then, the city was in the midst of its most frenetic election in decades. Seven Democrats were running, four of them with the capability of mounting funded citywide campaigns with paid staffers and dozens of volunteers. The city was divided; candidates battled each other for supporters and donors and about issues each day for close to a year. Four candidates made the Democratic primary ballot; and even the general election turned out close (a shocker for one-party New Haven).
This Saturday, Harp stood on the stage not only as an incumbent and presumptive frontrunner — but with no major competitor emerging. (Sundiata Keitazulu, who ran and failed to make the ballot or accrue money or citywide support in 2013, announced that he will try again to make the primary ballot; as might former City Clerk Ron Smith.)
But she let her supporters know that she was taking no vote for granted, and that she wanted them to work equally hard for her re-election because there was still work for everyone to do. Harp said one of the things she’s learned as a parent and a politician over the last 20 years is that “when I insist on my way or the highway, it just doesn’t work. We grow stronger when we support and listen to each other.
“We are all in this together,” she said.
Harp told supporters that if they help elect her for another term she will help them S.E.E. a better future, particularly for the city’s young people. S.E.E. is an acronym for what Harp said are the three priority areas of focus for her administration — safety, education and employment. When it comes to public safety, Harp said she will continue to strengthen community policing, but also work to properly staff firehouses to drive down overtime. In education, she said the city is trending in the right direction as graduation rates go up and suspension and expulsion rates go down.
But her biggest announcement was in the area of jobs. Harp said her administration will be rolling out a citywide jobs project that will further the city’s efforts to employ people through entities like New Haven Works and the recently unveiled Small Business Academy. She said government can do its part to create jobs, particularly for the 500 people in the city who have been identified as ready to work, by focusing on the people it hires and contracts with, and from whom it buys its supplies.
“Good jobs make the difference in a community,” she said. “Good jobs give people hope. Good jobs are the ticket to a better life. They’re what lift people out of poverty, and hold families together. Jobs stop bullets. Jobs keep people out of desperate situations and crime.”
Harp saw no need to rush into a formal announcement this time, although she did quietly begin forming her campaign in March and hired veteran labor-political operative Rick Melita as her campaign manager.
And while more competition might surface later on, the field appeared safe enough that U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (pictured)—who waited until after the Democratic primary to endorse Harp in 2013—accompanied Harp at Saturday’s announcement, as did U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, State Sen. Marty Looney, and State Rep. Juan Candelaria.
Behind the scenes, a few fissures have surfaced among the coalition that supported Harp’s 2013 quest. The police union, which endorsed the 2013 campaign, organized a City Hall rally that featured a chant, “New mayor, new chief!” This past week, Harp had her first public dispute with leaders of the Board of Alders, over challenges to her proposals for a new school and new hires.
Harp’s reelection campaign is highlighting, as she did Saturday, the city’s decline in violent crime, new youth projects, the removal of the fence separating Hamden from the West Rock neighborhood, and the reopening of the Palace theater as the College Street Music Hall. (Click here to read a story detailing highs and lows in her first year in office, and click the video above to watch Harp talk about additional highlights of her first term.)
One youth violence-prevention project has earned Harp praise on the national stage from President Barack Obama: YouthStat, a citywide initiative that connects students who need help with community resources. The initiative was the talk of the day, even getting a ringing endorsement from a student currently being helped by the program. No student affiliated with YouthStat has been lost to violence since its inception.
Osheem McBride (pictured), an18-year-old New Light High School student, told the crowd that he is one of the young people being saved by YouthStat. McBride said he is reaping the benefits of having a dedicated mentor who is exposing him to different opportunities, and he is also receiving care and concern from other adults who are affiliated with the program.
“Mayor Toni Harp has given hope to the youth of the city,” said Osheem, who is planning to attend Southern Connecticut State University. “I’m proud to be a member of YouthStat. I hope to one day work for YouthStat.”
Harp said she envisions an even better future for the city with her at the helm, but she wants to get there together.
“Together, together,” she said with force, “together we are moving New Haven forward, and we’re not about to stop now. I can see a future of safety, education, and employment and I ask you to see it with me.”
Paul Bass contributed to this report.