Sergio Rodriguez knocked on Louis Sheehan’s door to talk about state government. Sheehan’s suggestion: Help get bulk trash cleared from Fountain Street.
“I’ll work at the state level to help,” Rodriguez (at left in photo) responded.
Rodriguez came to Sheehan’s door Sunday morning because he’s running for state representative from the 92nd General Assembly District, which includes New Haven’s Westville, Edgewood, and West River neighborhoods. Rodriguez is challenging 13-term incumbent State Rep. Pat Dillon in an Aug. 10 primary. Both candidates are running with public financing.
As the two candidates separately hit the campaign trail the other day, they heard about issues ranging from schools to bulk trash. (Click here for a story about how job creation fits into the campaign.)
Is local bulk pick-up an issue for a state representative to tackle?
That’s what Sheehan (at right in above photo) wanted to discuss in the bright flower-lined driveway of his house on Fountain near Benton Street.
“I would like people in the city to keep their property better,” Sheehan told Rodriguez. He said he and his family have lived in the city for 45 years. “We’re very proud of New Haven,” he said.
Fountain Street is a corridor people passes through on their way in and out of the western border of the city, Sheehan note. So bulk trash sitting day after day uncollected creates a bad municipal impression. “Even without bulk pick-up appointments,” it should be picked up, Sheehan urged.
Usually aldermen, not state legislators, deal with municipal bulk trash pick-up policy. Rodriguez has been an alderman for six years. informed Sheehan that he used to represent Sheehan on the New Haven Board of Aldermen when Sheehan’s property fell in the 26th Ward; now the property falls in the 27th Ward, represented by Tom Lehtonen. If elected to the state legislature, Rodriguez assured Sheehan, “I’ll work on the state level to help Tom” deal with the bulk trash problem.
“I hope you have my support, ” Rodriguez added.
“You certainly have,” Sheehan replied in his rich Irish brogue.
How does the state representative job fit in with bulk trash? Rodriguez was subsequently asked after he returned to the trail. He responded that he one of his campaign’s main pitches is offering greater accessibility in general to the district’s voters. “As a state rep I want to meet with all five wards in the 92nd to get the pulse and get the issues,” he said. “If it has something to do with bulk trash, I’ll do it.”
Dillon later responded that she wouldn’t have made the same promise.
“When someone tells me about bulk trash pickup I try not to undermine the alderman and tell the constituent the alderman’s name. If it doesn’t get fixed I ask my office to call City Hall. Tom Lehtonen is very responsive so I wouldn’t have to do that,” she said.
“The [state legislature’s] Environment Committee does deal with recycling and regulatory issues, but not with the quality of local services.”
Whiel Rodriguez was on Fountain Sunday morning, Dillon was canvassing nearby on Kohary Drive, near Whittier by the Yale Golf Course. That’s part of the ward Rodriguez represents as an alderman.
Many people were not home on the bucolic, tree-lined streets; Dillon suggested many were in church. But Shelli Adani (pictured) was home. She and Dillon chatted amiably about people they knew in common.
Adani assured her of her support in the race. No local issue such as bulk pick came up, or how a state rep has local impact.
However at another house Dillon talked education with a retired teacher (who preferred not to be photographed or identified) and made the case for how a well-connected state legislator can make a difference in town.
The teacher praised New Haven’s $1.5 billion citywide school construction program. Dillon noted that the state government pays 80 to 95 percent of the cost for rebuilding New Haven schools. She reported that when the state contested some items for the recently rehabbed Troup School, she went into action under the radar and got those reimbursements approved.
“New Haven taxpayers saved $5.8 million,” Dillon said.
“The great thing is that Pat knows the [legislative] process,” added State Sen. Toni Harp, who was walking with Dillon on the canvass.
Will the election turn on local issues and accessibility?
Rodriguez said he hopes so. He said as a state rep he’d commit to meeting twice a year with all five aldermen in the 92nd District. He’d also have two public meetings a year with the community. He said Dillon hasn’t been meeting enough with people back home.
After the canvassing, Dillon responded by email to Rodriguez’s charges:
“Although we work in Hartford, I often attend hearings at City Hall and management meetings in the district, because it helps me learn the issues our neighbors face,” she said. “Some block watch meetings are held in private homes and are not publicly noticed, and I don’t go to those unless I’m invited. One of the wonderful things about this area is that people are so engaged with building their community, so interested in problem solving, and so forthright in sharing their concerns.”
Previous coverage of the 92nd District race:
• Working Families Party Endorses Lemar, Dillon, Holder-Winfield
• Public Financing Comes Out On Top
• How Can State Reps Create Jobs?
• Rodriguez: I’ll Debate
• Rodriguez Challenges Dillon
• Party Behind Her, Dillon Seeks 14th Term