Paul Bass Photo
Abdussabur (left) in Goffe Street Park pushing neighborhood concerns with city economic development chief Mike Piscitelli and mayoral Chief of Staff Sean Matteson.
First-term Beaver Hills Alder Shafiq Abdussabur resigned from the Board of Alders Thursday, citing a conflict between a custodial cleaning contract his company is bidding for with the public school system and his continued service in local elected office.
Thomas Breen photo
Now former Alder Abdussabur, at a recent Board of Alders meeting.
Abdussabur announced his resignation in a letter addressed to Mayor Justin Elicker.
“Due to the current requirement of the Bid Process for the 2022 Custodial Cleaning Contract for the New Haven Public Schools, I will not be able to continue to serve in my capacity as an Alder for the City of New Haven effective today, June 9, 2022, at 5:00 PM,” he wrote.
The public school contract bid he referred to is for his construction/custodial company, Eco-Urban Pioneers. His company currently has a contract with the city that expires at the end of this month. The new five-year contract his company is now bidding for has language stating that a contractor may not be a city alder.
Abdussabur described his business to the Independent as a New Haven-based, African American-led “fully licensed and insured commercial cleaning and construction firm” that has been around since 2009.
He said this decision not about preserving his own job at the company. ”I have other job offers,” he said.
He said it’s about his commitment to creating jobs for New Haveners. His company employs over 200 people, 65 percent of whom are Black, 33 percent Latino, he said. Many are also ex-offenders. If his contract gets renewed, he said, he’ll be able to “hire 75 more people from New Haven.”
“Since 2009, I have worked to build my company to provide hundreds of job opportunities for New Haven residents, youths, and young adults,” Abdussabur continued in his letter to the mayor. “Though my heart is in serving our New Haven Community and our residents on many levels, I believe that my continued efforts for community job growth has the most immediate and sustainable impact for New Haveners, the youth, and young adults.”
Abdussabur’s resignation means that Ward 28’s seat on the Board of Alders is now vacant.
Per the city charter, there will have to be a special election for a new Ward 28 alder within the next 45 days. (That’s because Abdussabur resigned within the first 18 months of his current two-year term. If he had resigned after serving at least 18 months, the mayor could appoint a successor to finish out his term.)
Abdussabur’s resignation comes less than six months after he first stepped into elected office, following a 21-and-a-half year career in the New Haven Police Department. (He retired at the rank of sergeant.)
Long a leading local voice on criminal justice reform and a neighborhood community organizer, Abdussabur unseated his predecessor, Jill Marks, who decided not to run for reelection as alder after Abdussabur formally announced his candidacy. On the campaign trail, he promoted a 10-point plan to combat rising crime and worked with neighbors to respond to racial and religious divides. During his brief tenure as a local elected official, he called for a national search for a new police chief, pushed for more sidewalks in Beaver Hills, and criticized a now-approved $3.5 million city contract with Yale that he said lacked sufficient details for the board to sign off on.
Abdussabur with Mayor Elicker.