Emily Hays Photo
Mayoral hopeful John Carlson: New Haven deserves choices.
For the first time in 14 years, New Haven’s Republican Party is fielding a candidate for mayor.
John Carlson, who assumed the party’s chairmanship last year, accepted a last-minute nomination at a GOP convention Thursday night to run for the city’s highest office in an aim to break almost 60 years of Democratic control. The party also chose three alder candidates and one candidate for Board of Education.
The last Republican mayor, William C. Celentano, left office in 1953.
Carlson portrayed his candidacy part of his recent push to revive the party’s fortunes in New Haven. The GOP last fielded a mayoral candidate in 2007 with H. Richter Elser, who lost in every part of town to incumbent Democrat John DeStefano. Carlson has drawn praise for his grassroots and online campaigning strategies over the last year; he will face the winner of the Sept. 14 Democratic primary as well as any potential petitioning candidates in the November general election.
The 12 convention attendees Thursday evening also voted to approve a slate of alder candidates: Gail Roundtree for Quinnipiac Meadows’ Ward 11, Deborah Reyes for Fair Haven Heights’ Ward 13, and Joshua Van Hoesen for Westville’s Ward 26 (Carlson dropped out of the Ward 6 aldermanic race to run for mayor.)
In addition, Republicans tapped Jim O’Connell to challenge incumbent Democrat Ed Joyner for the Board of Education’s District 1 seat; and Anthony Acri to challenge incumbent Democrat Michael Smart for the position of city/ town clerk. Democrats currently hold all citywide offices (except the position of Republican registrar of voters, which by law is held by a Republican) as well as all 30 Board of Alders seats.
Thursday evening’s convention.
Fiscal responsibility was the top concern for many of the candidates’ on Thursday.
The Independent caught up with candidates after the Thursday convention to hear more about why they are running, and what they hope to accomplish in office.
John Carlson: Get The Word Out
Carlson: “ I won’t handcuff the cops. I’ll let the cops handcuff the criminals.”
A lifelong City Point resident and longtime public school teacher in Bridgeport, Carlson became the GOP chair 16 months ago with a history of community work in the neighborhood. He has focused his term so far on expanding door-knocking efforts and increasing visibility for the city’s Republicans, who he says often register with other parties due to lack of choice. By pushing forward more aldermanic candidates, and vying for mayor himself, Carlson said he hopes to once again offer that choice.
He has also moved to modernize his party over the last year, noting that the party didn’t have a Facebook page when he became active five years ago. Now the party has accounts on both Facebook and the conservative platform Gab.
During his speech to the convention, Carlson raised three main points of concern. Fiscal responsibility, he said, is especially important because federal dollars coming in this year won’t be permanent. He criticized both of incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker’s proposed budgets this year, saying that sustaining current spending will push the city further off a cliff of fiscal crisis.
A rise in violent crime during the pandemic and discussions over police funding are also urgent issues, he said.
“Unlike the Democrats, I won’t handcuff the cops,” Carlson said. “I’ll let the cops handcuff the criminals.”
Lastly, Carlson said that poor test scores in New Haven Public Schools are a sign of Democratic irresponsibility. Even though New Haven spends more per child than the state average, he noted, only one in three children are reading at grade level, and only one in five reach math proficiency. This amounts to a crisis that must be solved with a different set of voices at the table, he argued.
The ultimate issue inspiring his campaign, he said, is choice. In his view, one-party rule breeds cronyism, ineptness, and corruption, and having a legitimate two-party system would bring integrity and honesty back to local politics. Thousands of Republicans across the city see no electoral options, he said, often pushing them to vote in Democratic primaries instead. Consistently running candidates would change that.
“This is a huge moment for the party,’ he said. “When I ran last year to be chair, I promised that we would grow and that we would be in the spotlight.”
When asked about the difficulty of running as a Republican candidate in a city that broke 84 – 15 percent for President Joe Biden last year, Carlson stressed that “all politics are local”.
“The average New Havener can love or hate Donald Trump. But Donald Trump isn’t the problem in this city. Seventy years of Democratic rule are the problem. We can’t blame the federal government for our problems in New Haven.”
Gail Roundtree: No More Sidelines
Quinnipiac East’s Ward 11 is seeing one of the city’s only contested Democratic primaries this year. Republican Gail Roundtree Ipictured) is adding her name to the mix for the general election, hoping to bring responsibility and balance back to the Board of Alders.
Roundtree has spent the last 25 years as a system analyst with the Anthem insurance company. She also serves as a director for the Harbor Crest Condominiums on Quinnipiac Avenue, where she has focused on capital projects to revitalize the housing complex. Naming fiscal responsibility and violence as her top two issues, Roundtree said she believes that the time to act is now.
“I don’t want to set out on the sidelines anymore. Let’s break it up. I’m tired of just seeing one party rule in this city,” she said.
She recalled a next-door neighbor being murdered. She would also try to reign in uncontrolled spending at the city level and work with other alders to find better fiscal solutions.
“People think that money grows on trees,” she said. “We just have to balance the budget.”
Deborah Reyes: Make The City Habitable
Reyes is a more recent addition to the GOP: She switched over from the Democratic Party just over a year ago, primarily in response to fiscal issues.
With over 20 years of Fair Haven Heights experience under her belt, Reyes said, she is “extremely motivated” to work hard for her new party. She will face Democratic incumbent Alder Rosa Santana Ferraro, who has held the seat for four terms.
“”Growing up in New Haven wasn’t easy as a Latina,” Reyes said. “But the one thing my parents instilled in me was to work hard. I applaud what Rosa does, but we need a change.”
She argued that New Haveners should rise above partisanship during elections, and vote for candidates who will “make the city habitable”. Record rates of renting and homelessness, as well as ever-rising taxes, are making it hard for the average New Havener to survive, she said.
“Running for alderwoman isn’t about Democratic or Republican,” Reyes said. “It’s about the people. Whether you’re red or blue, we’re all affected by the mill rates, and the higher taxes. New Haven needs to be united.”
Reyes has worked for the city’s health department and is currently employed by the state’s Department of Social Services. She also previously worked to help unhoused New Haveners with the organization New Reach.
Jim OConnell: No More Chaos
OConnell was a science teacher at Waterbury’s Sacred Heart High School for 41 years. Now, he said, he wants to help make the Board of Education function for New Haven’s children.
Having observed the district’s’ board meetings, O’Connell described an environment of chaos and infighting. Transparency is his main priority, he said.
“Less decisions made behind closed doors, and more decisions made up-front,” the Westville resident said. “Let’s just be honest, and enjoy the openness.”
He echoed Carlson’s statements on spending, saying that new buildings built haven’t translated to educational success. The district also spends too much on a bloated administration, and needs to get “more bang for its dollar.”
O’Connell has previously run and lost against incumbent Ed Joyner, twice. He portrayed his candidacy as part of a longer-term push towards building his party’s viability.
“My goal is to keep the party alive in New Haven, and hopefully before I meet my maker, we’ll have some semblance of a legitimate two-party system, which is so vital,” he said.