Standing in front of the former and future Q House, Jeanette Morrison announced she is running again for a Dixwell alder seat — in part to see the Q House’s revival through.
It took the Ward 22 alder and recently appointed board president pro tempore (aka vice-president) over 30 minutes to reach the podium, as friends and supporters took their turn to greet her. She drew a crowd of some 50 neighborhood supporters and local officials.
City Clerk Mike Smart, who hosted the event, described Morrison as a woman who understands local government, and pairs that with an unparalleled commitment to her ward.
Smart cited as exhibit A the Q House. Smart said Morrison, who grew up in Newhallville and used the popular community center, has consistently kept the conversation of the dilapidated community center on the agenda for the Board of Alders. With the help of state money, the Q House project is expected to see shovels in the ground beginning in the fall of 2016, tearing down the existing building and creating a new space for a number of community agencies. The Q House closed in 2003 and became a symbol for a shortage of community and youth centers in town.
Mayor Toni Harp, who had included renovations of the Q House in her mayoral campaign, stood to say that she was going to ensure her team supports Morrison’s reelection.
“She is a tireless advocate for the Q House, a place and heart for all the people who live in the region,” Harp said.
West River Alder Tyisha Walker, the board’s president, read endorsements from Sen. Gary Holder-Winfield and Rev. Dr. Frederick Jerome Streets from the Dixwell Congregation Church.
“Jeanette doesn’t let up for this Dixwell community,” Walker said.
Beaver Hills/West Hills/Westville/BeverlyHills Alder Richard Furlow and Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate also endorsed Morrison at the event.
Then, when Morrison took the stage herself, thanked her constituents in Dixwell for letting her represent them, and then she thanked her fellow board members.
“This Board of Alders are like my family,” she said.
Speaking about the community and policy, Morrison, a career state social worker first elected to the board in 2011, said her priorities are to improve the job market for people living in New Haven, and to provide better services for the ward’s youth and children. She has played a leading rule in debates on the budget, among other issues. She at this point is running unopposed.
“This is where I grew up,” she said. “The Q House has been the place everyone can always go and that’s what we hope to see.”
