Jay Dockendorf Photo
Matthew Joseff had little trouble collecting signatures to run for Congress — until he encountered a Yale professor of oratory outside Labyrinth Books.
“Hi, my name is Matthew Joseff. I’m running for Congress,” he told the professor, as he told everyone else he met on New Haven sidewalks. The professor wanted to know more.
Joseff hopes to make the ballot in November as an independent challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Republican challenger Jerry Labriola. First he needs to collect 3,000 signatures from voters in the 25-town Third U.S. Congressional District. In the 15 day since he obtained the necessary paperwork, the Guilford resident has collected 1,000 signatures, he said. Signatures are due Aug. 4.
Friday morning, 15 out of 20 people approached by Joseff signed his petition. Included among them were business owners, Yale employees on break, a woman recently laid off from her job at a newspaper, and a woman recently released from prison. The latter woman (pictured) overheard a discussion Joseff was having with another signer and asked if she could contribute her own John Hancock.
“As long as they’re registered to vote, that’s enough for me,” he said. Joseff, who lives in Giulford and turns 40 next week, recently started his own film production company, for which he shoots and edits digital film.
He previously worked at internet service providers in Washington D.C. and New York. He’s running on helping to create high-tech jobs and easing government regulations on small and medium-sized businesses.
Joseff explained, “Our geographic location is perfect, and we need to market it as such. A lot of companies need an auxiliary data center; they’ll have a primary one close to their company, but they need a backup.” He said that if companies come, New Haven can provide capable and trainable workers that already live here.
“The data center is a rudimentary level of technology, which is how we need to begin to attract the minds involved in more advanced technology as well,” he said.
As for deregulation, he would like to support legislation or introduce legislation to change the tax structure, which he does not believe is completely fair. “If you’re making 75 – 100k, you’re paying 34 percent taxes. I think we should be able to make that less,” he said.
By running on an independent ticket, Joseff seeks to avoid the usual associations that come with party politicians’ approaches to the economy or environment. The cleaning out of old, unused buildings and making them fit for business should be a priority for the district, he said, but politicians associated with one party or another are commonly viewed as being willing to dump chemicals into the river or avoid stimulating business by cowing to environmental interest: “I’m trying to find a more middle of the road approach. I don’t think we need to clean out a mill to the detriment of the neighborhood — economically and financially. We can protect the neighborhood and clean up the plant.”
One specific piece of legislation that Joseff has criticized is H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. His opponent Delauro has said of the bill, “This notion that we’re destroying backyard farms is absurd,” but Joseff sees otherwise:
“The bill right now defines a food production facility as any farm, ranch, orchard, aquaculture facility or confined animal-feeding operation; that language is way to broad for my taste. We need to make our legislations and communities more business friendly. You can’t expect a farm with ten chickens that sells at a farmer’s market to compete on the level of mega-farms like Montesanto. To pull all three categories, small, medium, and large businesses, under one level I believe is irresponsible,” he said.
The bill is still up for discussion.
Bernard Bate, a Yale professor of anthropology and oratory, pressed Joseff for details on that latter point when Joseff approached him for a signature outside Labyrinth on York Street.
The candidate told the professor that he hopes to see the U.S. less regulated and non-dependent on fossils fuels in five to 10 years.
“The deregulatory madness of the past 30 years has triggered the financial meltdown and the oil spill in the Gulf!” Bate said.
Bate looked poised to leave; Joseff asked him to hear the rest of his regulation platform, which focuses not on helping bigger businesses but rather on creating more opportunities for smaller ones, like wind and solar power industries.
“That’s going to require a great deal of political will. You’re going to have to risk your neck,” Bate said, clapping Joseff on the back.
Joseff agreed.
After a few minutes, Bate signed the petition. As he left, he recommended Joseff read a recent article in Discover magazine on environmental policy.
“I love that,” Joseff remarked as he walked down York.
Bates is not the only antagonist-cum-signatory Joseff has encountered on the campaign trail. On a train platform, a Stratford man countered Joseff’s pledge to vote for lower taxes with “our taxes are just fine.” A local lawyer he encountered at a Durham farmer’s market would offer his signature only after 15 minutes of debate.
