Markeshia Ricks Photo
Lisa Bassani and Esther Armmand post flyers at Pitkin Plaza.
Their ranks small but diverse, but “Connecticut Moms 4 Hillary” braved the cold Saturday morning to raise a mighty and united voice for the candidate they want to see make history as the first female president of the U.S.
About 20 moms in all, along with a sprinkling of daughters and a handful of men, filled Pitkin Plaza with their voices of support for the Democratic presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton.
Mayor Harp is officially Team Hillary.
New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said that she and her fellow Clinton supporters gathered because they were “speaking on behalf of sanity.”
“So often we look at what is going on in this election process and who really has the experience, the intelligence, and the tough-mindedness to run the most powerful country in the world, and we know that this time it is a woman who is a mom,” Harp said. “It is Hillary Clinton. The one thing that mothers have done since the beginning of time is they have civilized this world. They have made sure that young people grow up to be contributing adults. And that has been the role of women no matter what.”
Career High Senior Michilla Robinson said she will cast her first vote for Clinton.
Harp talked about a candidate who is committed to good jobs, particularly for young people, and a candidate who ignited the national discussion on health care that culminated in the Affordable Care Act.
“I remember when I was in the [state] General Assembly and we started, under the Clinton administration, through her initiatives, to add young people into the Medicaid program and make sure that our youngsters had access to health care,” Harp said.
Harp said Clinton is the only candidate who will take on the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers to hold them accountable when it comes to gun violence.
“One of the most disturbing things I have to do as mayor and have done is to go to the funerals of young people whose lives have been cut short by gun violence,” Harp said. “She [Clinton] understands that the gun violence that plagues our inner cities, as well as our suburbs now, is intolerable. No mother should have to worry that when her child goes out to play, that that child may be hit by an intended bullet or a stray bullet.
Kim Washington of Mothers Demand Action .
“Hillary understands what it means to have a strong community; what it means to have confidence that for our children, for our grandchildren, that the United States of America will still be … the only place, where anyone can come from any other place and make a life for themselves and their children. That’s why I am endorsing Hillary today. That’s why I support her. I know that we will still rise as a nation when she is our president.”
Valencia Goodrich of Westville said it’s time for a woman president, but not because she’s a woman, but because she is more qualified than any other candidate running, including Democratic primary opponent Bernie Sanders.
“She’s ready,” Goodrich said. “She’s more than qualified. If you look at the pool of candidates that are out there, including Bernie and the Republicans, she is the most competent, in my mind, in terms of ready.”
Goodrich said having a woman head of state would be great for women, particularly young women and girls who aspire to occupations where women are few or nonexistent, but that’s not why people should vote for Clinton and that’s not why women are going to vote for her.
“We’re not just giving her that role because of her gender,” Goodrich said. “She, in my mind, is very, very competent, and she is ready on day one to step into the shoes of the outgoing president.”
Armand and Goodrich.
Former Downtown Alder Esther Armmand said she doesn’t discount the historical significance and the future benefits, particularly for girls and women, of having a woman in the oval office.
“When I think about the ability of women to endure in their toughness, in their ability to deal with issues, no matter if it is a family issue, kid issue, husband issue, community issue, political issue, policy issue,” she said, “when you’ve got a mom excited, and a woman excited, there’s nothing they can’t do, they’re unstoppable.”
Armmand, who also is a part of a Connecticut-based political action committee called the Sojourner Network of Democratic Women, spoke of what women leaders like New Haven’s mayor have accomplished not just for women but their entire communities when they get involved in the political process. Now, Armand said, it’s time to elect a woman president.
“Women in this country vote and participate in the political process,” Armmand said “There should not be an office or area off limits for our full involvement and participation. For me, it’s like women claiming their rightful role in society, and by us and young girls and women seeing a woman president in our lifetime, it makes a tremendous difference. It’s inspiring.”
New Havener Lisa Bassani, a mother of two girls ages 2 and 6, said that Clinton has been a leader on issues that matter to women and the welfare of their children. She said she’ll support whichever candidate emerges as the Democratic nominee in November.
“For the primary, it’s Hillary certainly,” she said. “But I’m a Democrat. Obviously, I’ll be disappointed if she loses, but I think Democrats need to stick together, no matter what.”