Paul Bass Photo
Environmental advocate Laura Cahn recording her testimonial for the “I HARP New Haven” video.
People of all walks of life support Justin Elicker.
New Haven’s great — and so is Mayor Toni Harp’s record.
Those are the two messages imparted by the latest round of New Haven mayoral campaigning.
This round took place in cyberspace Monday, as the Democratic campaigns of Mayor Toni Harp and challenger Justin Elicker released videos.
Elicker’s (above) clocks in at two minutes and 45 seconds and features testimonials by 18 people identified by name. They include three elected officials: Alders Abby Roth and Darrly Brackeen Jr. and Board of Education member Ed Joyner. Activists familiar from the local news like Patricia Kane and Chris Ozyck of Fair Haven Heights, the Hill’s Leslie Radcliffe, Gammy Moses of Solar Youth, Bella VIsta’s Kurtis Kearney, and Westville’s Amy Marx, appear as well.
The cast, recorded in neighborhoods ranging form the Hill to Cedar Hill to Westville to the Heights, breaks down relatively evenly among white, African-American, and Latinx lines. That would seem to be a response to one critique of Elicker’s 2013 campaign, that it received support almost exclusively from white voters. Harp has reprised that critique, most recently with this quotation in a Monday Hartford Courant article: “Justin has very limited support across the city. There are just certain people who support him. He will not have the majority of the city across ethnic groups. It just won’t happen, and everybody should really be represented from the mayor’s office, and that’s what I bring to the table.”
The Elicker testimonials portray the candidate as a good “listener” who would promote ethical, inclusive government.
Harp’s 58-second video (above) appears to be a response to Elicker’s central criticism: That her six-year mayoral tenure has left government a mess and left behind people in poorer neighborhoods.
It features 12 New Haveners, also of diverse backgrounds, touting Harp’s record: her “strong environmental agenda,” rising graduation rates and increased afford about housing, “festivals and great activities” (“She brought the fun back to being downtown”), support for prison reentry efforts. The video does not name the speakers, none of whom is an elected official. Familiar faces from the news include longtime Dwight activist Curlena McDonald and city Environmental Advisory Council chair Laura Cahn. The video was shot at Harp’s 50 Fitch St. campaign headquarters.
The video’s theme is “I HARP New Haven,” a play on the original “I [heart] New York” slogan. It reflects her challenge as a candidate: While Elicker must convince that New Haven’s government is a problem needing fixing, Harp must convince the city that New Haven, including her City Hall, has hit its stride.
Or as one testimonial in her new video puts it: “Everything about New Haven is great.”