Melissa Bailey Photo
Henry Fernandez files to run in the general election.
Three mayoral candidates converged on the Hall of Records Wednesday to claim their spots on a September primary ballot — and on a second ballot in November, too.
All four candidates running for mayor — Kermit Carolina, Justin Elicker, Henry Fernandez and Toni Harp — declared Wednesday they have collected far more than the requisite 2,406 signatures to get on the ballot for the Sept. 10 Democratic primary. They all submitted stacks of petitions before a 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline; staff have begun looking through the signatures to make sure they qualify.
Three of the candidates — all but Harp — also submitted signatures to get their names on November’s general election ballot. That means if they lose the primary, they can run again as independent candidates.
Their decision continues a new trend in New Haven politics: The Democratic primary is no longer the only event in this one-party town. For more and more candidates, the primary is merely a warmup for November.
“We’re going to probably end up with the same election again,” noted Deputy City/Town Clerk Sally Brown.
One asterisk: Republican Andy Ross is technically on the ballot for the mayor’s race. He signed up before he switched and decided to run for alderman in Wooster Square; his name will be on the ballot for both offices.
Brown received several campaign entourages Wednesday delivering signatures to get on the general election ballot. Mayoral candidates needed 155 signatures from registered voters; city/town clerk candidates needed 108.
Harp and her running mate, city/town clerk candidate and Alderman Mike Smart, received their party’s endorsement at a Democratic Town Committee Convention last month — only to find out that, due to a paperwork error, they had to collect signatures to get on the ballot anyway. They collected 4,800 signatures in just 4 1/2 days and submitted them on Tuesday of last week. Campaign manager Jason Bartlett said the campaign has since submitted an additional 600 names.
Smart and Harp did not seek a spot on the general election ballot.
Fernandez, Carolina and Elicker did.
“It’s really important that the people of New Haven have the opportunity for a runoff” election in November, said Fernandez.
Harp campaign manager Jason Bartlett frowned on his opponents’ decision to potentially challenge Harp twice.
“They seem to have a lack of affinity for the Democratic party and for the process,” Bartlett grumbled. “I don’t think it speaks well to their own calculation about winning on Sept. 10. … I think they expect to lose. Otherwise why would they already file to run as independents?”
Carolina said he expects to win, but wants to have a “plan B” in case he doesn’t.
Fernandez submitted 6,021 signatures for the primary; Elicker 4,763 and Carolina about 4,400. Now the Democratic Registrar of Voters Sharon Ferrucci will go through their lists to make sure all the signatures are from registered Democrats. All three campaigns said they’re confident they cleared 2,406-signature hurdle, which represents 5 percent of registered Democrats.
Ferrucci said she expected to certify Harp and Smart’s top spot on the ballot on Thursday. (They get the top line on the ballot because they’re the only candidates running as a team.) The others will follow as soon as her office goes through the thousands of names.
Ferrucci said she has received some signatures from two other candidates for city/town clerk, incumbent City/Town Clerk Ron Smith and Alderman Sergio Rodriguez. If they collect enough — a tough task for campaigns without a large network of volunteers — they’ll join Smart in a three-way Democratic primary.
If not, they’ll run in the general election, which had a much lower bar to get on the ballot — 108 signatures instead of 2,406. Smith and Rodriguez both submitted signatures to get on the general election ballot as independents, according to Brown.
Brown said she will submit the petitions to the state, which will certify the lists.
Elicker
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Justin Elicker arrived first to 200 Orange St.
Elicker was the first candidate to file his signatures Wednesday morning. Eleven a.m. found him in the city clerk’s office with a dozen supporters sporting campaign T‑shirts and stickers.
Elicker handed in nearly 300 signatures to secure a spot on the general election ballot, almost double the 155 signatures that are required. He picked up a final signature from Sally Brown, deputy city/town clerk.
The Elicker team then headed next door to the registrar’s office, where Elicker handed over 4,763 signatures. That number was again almost double the requirement of 2,406 signatures.
Elicker said he filed to run in both elections “because a third of New Haven is unregistered, independent, Green, and Republican, and those people should have a voice in who our next mayor is.”
He added, “As I go door to door talking to people, I’ve met so many people that are not registered with a party because they’re tired of machine politics and I want to get those people engaged, too.” Running as an independent is the way to do that, he said.
Fernandez
Fernandez filed his petitions with much fanfare. First he gathered a dozen or so supporters at his campaign headquarters on Blatchley Avenue for brunch. Then Jose Gonzalez, who runs an auto sales shop on Farren Avenue, gave Fernandez a ride in his 1954 Chevy 210, color “bone orange,” heading up a “mini-parade” downtown to the Hall of Records.
Gonzalez cranked up the reggaeton for the ride, kicking it off with Prrrum, by Coscuela.
Behind them followed a small fleet of bicycles, led by campaign treasurer Bruce Ditman.
Paul Wessel addresses fellow Fernandez supporters.
Fernandez said 103 volunteers worked to drum up 6,021 signatures.
“We wanted to make sure there was no question about whether we would be on the ballot,” Fernandez said.
His campaign also submitted 353 signatures to get on the general ballot, where 155 are needed.
Carolina
Carolina arrived at the Hall of Records at the same time as Fernandez’s “mini-parade.” He waited quietly outside at the top of the stairs as Fernandez addressed his supporters below.
After Team Fernandez entered the building, Carolina pronounced himself “very excited to finally reach this point.” He said his campaign gathered about 4,400 signatures through an “organized and meticulous process.”
Carolina said the campaign also gathered about 250 signatures for the general election ballot petition. He said he even collected signatures on Wednesday morning at the Amity Stop & Shop.
Asked why he’s running in the general as well as the primary, Carolina said, “That’s an option I’m leaving open. You always want to have a B and C plan.” The “A plan” is to win the primary election, he said.