“Homegrown” Politician Enters Mayoral Race

Happy hour at the Greek Olive Thursday included a round of politics, as former City Clerk Ron Smith announced he is officially running for mayor.

A dozen longtime friends and new supporters of Smith gathered in the Sargent Drive restaurant’s back room for the announcement.

With fewer resources than incumbent Democrat Mayor Toni Harp, Smith is choosing to run as an unaffiliated candidate in the general election rather than a Democrat in a primary.

He’ll need to petition his way on the ballot — a far easier job for an independent than for a Democratic primary candidate. An independent this year needs 208 signatures of registered voters to make the general election mayoral ballot; a Democratic mayoral candidate would need the signatures of over 2,300 registered Democrats.

This week another independent candidate, Sundiata Keitazulu (pictured), a plumber who staged a 2013 mayoral campaign, submitted some 300 signatures this week to qualify for a spot on the November general election ballot; the city clerk’s office is waiting on the state to certify the signatures in order to place Keitazulu’s name on the ballot. No candidates have surfaced yet to challenge Harp in a Democratic primary.

“I’ve been broke. I’ve been poor. I know what it feels like,” Smith said. ​“I don’t just want their vote, I want to help them.”

Because Smith grew up in poverty, he said, he understands the plight of people in New Haven . 

“He’s homegrown,” said retired city cop Odell Cohens. ​“He knows what both sides of the track look like.”

Smith pointed to many problems in the city — from homelessness and unemployment to crime and the mentally ill — and offered responses.

“Public safety is one of the biggest issues that we’re confronting in our city,” Smith said. ​“We need more police on the streets.” He added that as mayor he would support gun legislation similar to laws in New York City that penalize illegal gun possession with several years in prison. (In Connecticut, gun laws need to be approved at the state level.)

“We need to pay attention to homeless people who are sleeping on the Green,” he said. The city needs to work with homeless shelters and increase their size, he added. When asked how he would reduce the homeless population, Smith only stated that the city should work with health care professionals to put them ​“on their feet.”

If elected mayor, Smith promised, he would find a way to bring down real estate prices and city taxes on homes and cars. Regarding jobs, Smith noted that large companies are leaving the city and Yale University can only give jobs to a limited number of people. To bring more business to New Haven, Smith again prescribed reducing taxes.

As the incumbent city clerk candidate in 2013, Smith was cut from the Democratic ballot by the labor-backed Democratic Town Committee. Endorsed candidate Michael Smart won the primary, then the general election, in which Smith ran as an Independent. Smith was on the ballot with mayoral candidate Justin Eliker.

“That left a kind of a bitter taste in my mouth,”Smith said of the previous election.

One Smith supporter, Shawn Mathis, criticized the tactics of Mayor Harp in the last election, noting that Harp drew financial support from Democrats outside the city.

“It’s time for New Haven to be New Haven,” Mathis said.

Smith said his decade as city clerk prepared him to serve as mayor. He added that his mother, who passed away over year ago, would have wanted him to run. Even if he loses against Harp in November, Smith said he would run again.

Though the turnout to the announcement was small, those present enthused about a man who served as a Newhallville alder for ten years and the clerk for another ten.

“Ron has given many years of dedicated service to the city,” said friend Richard Bell.

Bell sat amid a group of Smith’s acquaintances in the next room, drinking and eating chicken wings throughout the campaign kickoff. The group declined to join Smith’s event, however, and kept a distance.

Smith has a lot of old friends in the city, but he is appealing to younger voters as well. His campaign manager, Mahogany Mathis, is 20 years old.

Another new addition to the campaign, Shannon Finan, voted for Mayor Harp in the last election. She decided to support Smith after meeting him last month at a health care expo. Smith is personable, honest, and connected to the heart of the city, she said.

“[Smith] has allowed me to voice my opinions and concerns in a casual and nonjudgmental environment,” Finan said. Smith is meeting and speaking with Finan’s neighbors and friends at her Westville home next week.

Finan conceded that Mayor Harp is a more polished speaker than Smith, but said Smith has ​“a lot of room to grow” during the mayoral race. People should not be surprised that he is running for mayor, she said, because it is the next logical step after being alder and city clerk.

“Mayor Harp is a well-funded political machine,” Finan said. ​“She has her soap box.”