Thomas MacMillan Photo
As he dropped out of the mayor’s race and endorsed Toni Harp, Newhallville plumber Sundiata Keitazulu said he might run again in the future, for alderman — or governor.
Keitazulu (pictured with Harp) made those statements on Friday afternoon on Brisol Street in Dixwell, where he joined state Sen. Harp for a campaign event at Edith Johnson senior housing.
Keitazulu announced he’s abandoning his candidacy for the Democratic mayoral nomination in order to support Harp. He called her “the voice of the people,” an honor he’d previously claimed for himself.
Keitazulu’s campaign for mayor was always a quixotic quest. A plumber with a criminal record and no political experience, no campaign cash, and no network of support, Keitazulu was nevertheless the very first candidate to file papers to run, way back in November 2012. He earned applause at debates for his unpolished opinions on poverty and for his single-minded promotion of vocational education in public schools.
Eventually, however, he decided he didn’t have a chance, Keitazulu said Friday.
“I had to look at it realistically,” he said, wearing wrap-around shades and new pinstriped suit.
“We as a community must unite,” he said. “Toni Harp is the best candidate. She’s for the working class.”
Campaigning door to door, Keitazulu said he heard Harp’s name more than any other candidates. She has popular support, he said.
Keitazulu said he had gathered enough signatures to run as an independent in the general election. “I made a decision. We do not want to divide the vote.”
Asked about his own political future, Keitazulu said, “I might try to run for alderman” in two years.
“I might get in the governor’s race,” he said later. “All these political arenas are for everybody, not just for the privileged.”
As she officially accepted his endorsement, Harp called Keitazulu “one of the most interesting persons” to join the mayor’s race. “His ideas are really important.”
Asked about Keitazulu’s signature issue, Harp said vocational education has to be “an opportunity in each of our high schools.”
Harp said she’s looking into the possibility of New Haven public schools students using the facilities at Hamden’s Eli Whitney vocational school in the afternoons, after the end of Hamden’s school day.
Keitazulu said he plans another endorsement announcement Saturday at 1 p.m. in his home neighborhood at Lincoln Bassett school.