Paul Bass Photo
Eli Sabin, at center, at 200 Orange to file papers to run for Ward 7 alder, surrounded by former Alder Alberta Witherspoon and current Democratic Ward Co-Chair John Martin, both of whom endorsed his candidacy.
Alder Eli Sabin is running again to represent downtown in the city’s legislature — but this time, he’s eyeing a newly vacated seat right next door to the Yale-dominated ward he currently calls home.
Sabin, a 21-year-old East Rock native, rising senior at Yale College, and director of the state legislature’s Progressive Caucus, filed papers Tuesday to run as a Democrat to represent Ward 7 on the Board of Alders.
That’s the backwards-“L”-shaped ward that stretches from Humphrey Street to the north to North Frontage Road to the south, from State Street to the east to Dwight Street to the west.
The ward has been represented for the past two terms by outgoing Downtown Alder Abby Roth, who last week announced that she won’t be running for a fourth term in office.
City of New Haven
Ward 7.
Paul Bass Photo
Sabin submits paperwork Tuesday afternoon to City Clerk office’s Lashay Lawson.
Ward 7 shares the rest of downtown with Ward 1. which consists primarily of Yale’s undergraduate residential colleges, and which Sabin currently represents after being elected to his first term as alder in 2019.
Sabin told the Independent that he plans to move into the neighboring Ward 7 before the end of the year so that he’ll be living in the district he’s vying to represent. He currently lives off campus at the corner of Crown Street and High Street in Ward 1. Per the city legislature’s residency requirements, he must continue to live in Ward 1 so long as he represents that district on the Board of Alders.
“I grew up in East Rock. I’ve lived downtown for the last few years. I’ve spent my whole life in the neighborhood. I know it very well,” Sabin told the Independent. “I want to stay around in New Haven long term, and this provides me a chance to continue to stay involved in local politics and the public service work” of being a local legislative representative.
Emily Hays photo
Ward 1 Alder Sabin with former Ward 1 Alder Hacibey Catalbasoglu, celebrating Ramadan at Brick Oven Pizza.
Sabin said that his top priorities if elected to represent Ward 7 would be to be as “transparent and responsive as possible” to his constituents, and to advocate for affordable housing, job creation, and public safety citywide. That means pushing forward on long-discussed-and-finally-happening zoning reform designed to make it easier to build more housing on smaller lots, as well as for land-use updates that would require new developments to include a certain percentage of affordable units.
Sabin said he also plans to advocate for city investments in job creation and job training programs. “Unemployment is still high in the city, and has been for generations,” he said. “We need to prioritize getting folks job, good jobs, that pay good wages and have benefits.” That will be key to helping the city recover from the ongoing pandemic.
Sabin (right) with fellow volunteer and Yale student Matt Murillo at the “Vaccinate Fair Haven” campaign kickoff in March.
When asked what he’s most proud of about his term representing Ward 1 on the Board of Alders so far, he said, Sabin pointed to helping expand outdoor dining downtown to allow local restaurants to continue to serve customers even with pandemic-era indoor restrictions in place. He also said he’s proud of his work lobbying for relief for undocumented city residents, pushing for more bike lanes in Ward 1 and across downtown, working with Alder Roth to champion a bill seeking to equip trash hauling vehicles with GPS trackers to monitor pre-dawn noise, and helping residents get vaccinated.
“I really think there’s a lot more work to do,” he said.
Thomas Breen photo
Downtown Alder Sabin, running again to represent (a different part of) downtown.