This interview with Democratic mayoral candidate Toni Harp originally appeared in La Voz Hispana. Gilah Benson-Tilsen translated it into English. Click here to read La Voz’s interview with the other remaining mayoral candidate, Justin Elicker.
Senator, what was it that made you decide to seek to be the next Mayor of New Haven?
I decided to run for Mayor of New Haven because there are so many things to be done in this city to help move it forward. We’ve seen a lot of progress in these past 20 years, but there’s still a lot of business to take care of in this city. We have to ensure that we develop our neighborhoods. With the same sort of economic development that has been implemented downtown we need to attend to the other peripheral areas of the city.
Beyond that, we need to support small businesses, because when I speak with their owners, they tell me that they don’t have the kind of support they need from City Hall. We also need to improve the education system, because although we’ve advanced some, we need to progress more in that direction, to ensure that our children can get jobs in the future and that they will be well prepared for adulthood. Additionally, we need to propel them forward so that they can participate in this knowledge-based economy. Those are some of the most important reasons for my decision to run.
Of course, I’m still concerned with the need to generate new jobs; the need to make our streets safer; and that – realistically – we need to unite all together to be able to achieve this.
Very early in this race, you were attacked by some of the other candidates for the problems that your husband – now deceased – had in relation to the payment of back taxes on properties he had with Renaissance Management, which you claim to have nothing to do with, since you file taxes separately. Tell me, how has it been to stand up to those attacks, especially as the only woman in the race?
It’s true. I’m the only woman in this race, and I can honestly tell you that we don’t do the same thing to the other candidates. In other words, we don’t question the other candidates regarding the finances of their wives, and how they make a living. We really don’t know anything about each other’s [finances], but that’s something that I have to confront continually. My late husband was a public figure in this city, and he was a businessman. And at some point in his life, his business was wrapped up in difficult times, on account of which he ended up with tax debts. He evidently didn’t quite agree with those, so he brought his case to the Supreme Court, where he lost. While he was in the process of resolving that issue, he became very ill, and ultimately died of colon cancer. Now my son is trying to get everything in order. He’s now the president of the business and is really trying to resolve all those things, working with the IRS. So those are all business matters, which have nothing to do with personal taxes. It only has to do with property taxes.
If you, Toni Harp, were chosen in the elections this year, as the first woman to govern the destiny of the City of New Haven, that would be historic. What are your thoughts on this possibility?
I think it would be something historic, but also I think that becoming the first woman to hold the keys to the mayor’s office would become a precedent, laying the foundation for other women and girls in our city who aspire to leadership to know and understand that yes, we can, because I would be an example to follow if I can achieve it. When I’m standing in front of small girls, who are very happy to meet me because I’m running for mayor, that makes me feel great, because I’m showing them that this is something, and more things, that they can do in their own lives.
New Haven, like other cities in this state and nationally, confronts problems like prostitution, drug trafficking, and shootings. If you’re elected, what kinds of solutions for those issues do you think you’d bring to the city?
One of the things I’ve brought to New Haven is community-based policing. We have to create a pathway by which we must ensure that the community is working with the police. When this happens, we are immediately able to bring criminals to justice, especially those who are causing the shootings and deaths. I simultaneously back Project Longevity, a project responsible for identifying the people who commit the worst violent crimes in our city. With this program we can reach those people and say to them: “We know who you are, and if you or any of your associates continue shooting and killing in our city, we will come for you, and justice will be swift and sure.” This is a measure that I’ve brought all the way to the state level, and in recent years – in which it’s been in operation – the number of shootings has declined about thirty percent. So it’s working. We won’t tolerate the use of weapons in this community to resolve disputes or commit crimes.
Supposing, Senator Harp, that you were mayor right now – would you like to have the Guardian Angels collaborating against crime on the city streets?
I know that their help has been had here. Nevertheless, I think that one of the things I’d like to focus more on is the restructuring of the Block Watches. They need to be well trained and in ongoing communication with the police, so that they can provide a good service and ensure that our citizens are complying with our laws. We have so many of these in our area that we’re hardly using, and the mechanism of the Block Watches, that’s the way to do it. That’s what I personally feel.
Senator Harp, a few days ago someone made a comment to the local press criticizing you for receiving campaign donations from political action groups and contractors. If you became the first female mayor of this city, what would you do to avoid misunderstandings in City Hall?
We will have a set of regulations for everyone, so that all of our contracts have to go to public auction. In the same way, we’ll be using bidders from among the most competitive contractors with the best prices. And if for some reason or another they gave me those contributions, that has nothing to do with the way that we’re going to operate. I’m the only candidate who’s offering a comprehensive ethics reform package, so it’s very important to take into account that there will be only one set of rules for everyone.
Personally, what factors do you believe are behind the way young African Americans are killing each other, particularly in two or three neighborhoods in the city?
I think that there’s a lot of what I consider to be self-hatred. That has a history in our community, and unfortunately it’s still there, essentially since the time of slavery. Our children are not aware of that, they don’t usually see the historical relationship, and they don’t realize that what they’re doing is a form of self-inflicted genocide. For that reason, we have to start educating our young people to help them understand that. A gun is a very impersonal weapon, and that means that sometimes the one who has it separates from his own entity to inflict harm. We have to work hard to make these young people understand that. Those are the things that can help these kids understand the past in its historical context, and what will help them realize why they are harming themselves. They are causing harm to the very growth of the African American community.
Many residents of towns like North Branford, Orange, Branford, and East Haven, say that they’re scared to visit downtown New Haven. What is your opinion on that?
I personally think that they aren’t afraid of coming to New Haven to eat in a restaurant, to attend the theater, or for another activity. Sure, we need to seek to make the city safer. In particular, I believe residents of other cities and towns love to come here to go to the Shubert Theater, to the Yale Repertory Theatre, to the Festival of Arts and Ideas, etc. There will be some who hesitate to come, but there are also others who do come, thanks to our vibrant city center, which is one of the liveliest in the entire state.
Another thing: are you in favor of three, four, or five terms for the same person as mayor of this city?
If I’m elected, one of the things I want to do is to make sure that the people of this city can express themselves. People must speak – first when seeking to be a leader and second when that same leader has taken office. Every two years, the people have an opportunity to make a decision about who they want as mayor. And for some reason the people of this city wanted to have John DeStefano for twenty years, even though they had an opportunity to get rid of him every two years. And what happened? The people decided not to do it. We are a democracy and we need to pay attention to that.
A report appeared in the press last month, putting New Haven in third place out of ten of the least friendly cities in the country. Do you believe that’s true?
I don’t think so. Also, who did they ask? When I speak with groups, I ask people what they like about New Haven, and what things need fixing. And many of those people have told me that they’ve moved here because New Haven is a friendly place, and it’s livable. I think that sometimes people think that we here talk only when necessary, and that we don’t involve ourselves in pleasant conversations like the ones they might be used to in other regions of the United States, but the reality is that all of those groups I’ve been in have said to me that without a doubt New Haven is a friendly city.
Finally, Senator Harp, are you in favor of giving driver’s licenses to immigrants without a defined immigration status?
Absolutely. I’m very happy to be able to back that initiative. I believe it’s very important, because it’s a matter of public safety, ensuring that everyone handling a vehicle knows how to drive, and therefore we’ll have a good insurance. As I’ve said before, I absolutely welcome that initiative. I’m sorry that until now we haven’t made much progress on this issue. It’s going to take a little time to be able to implement it. Of course, I hope that other states do what we’ve done so far with respect to that issue.