Thomas MacMillan Photo
In her bid to be the next mayor of New Haven, state Sen. Toni Harp notched another labor endorsement Monday, from the union she used to belong to.
“She’s one of us,” said city staffer Harold Brooks (pictured), one of over a dozen AFSCME Council 4 members who gathered on the steps of the downtown public library Monday afternoon to announce their endorsement of Harp.
Harp spoke of her time as a AFSCME union steward when she worked in the city’s human resources department years ago.
Harp is one of five Democrats running for mayor. She’s been racking up one endorsement after another in recent weeks and has the backing of a number of unions. Monday’s endorsement comes ahead of Tuesday night’s convention of the Democratic Town Committee, where Harp is expected to win the party’s endorsement.
AFSCME President Sal Luciano (pictured) said the union, which represents state and municipal workers, has about 32,000 members in Connecticut. About 1,200 of those live in New Haven, about 1,200 are employed by the city of New Haven, and about 1,000 of those both live in and are employed by New Haven, he said.
Luciano said AFSCME will be providing “shoe-leather” support to the Harp Campaign — knocking on doors in advance of Election Day and helping with get-out-the-vote efforts on Sept. 10.
Luciano said Harp’s endorsement “comes from the ground up.” He said Harp met with rank-and-file members who “enthusiastically” decided to support her.
“At the state Capitol, we never worried where Toni stood,” said Claudine Wilkins-Chambers (pictured), a school paraprofessional and the head of Local 3429. “Toni has been there for working men and women.”
Harp said she’s “proud to see how the union has grown” since she was a member. “The people that AFSCME represents keep our city running every single day,” she said.
Harp said the “mobile city halls” that she plans to open would be staffed by AFSCME members.
In the meantime, her campaign will receive the support of AFSCME members. Harp said she’ll need the help because she faces “well-financed opponents who will not hesitate to run negative attack ads.”
