West Hills Dems Back Honda Smith’s Alder Challenge

The West Hills and West Rock neighborhood’s Democratic Party ward committee unanimously voted to endorse retired public space inspector Honda Smith for alder in a race against the committee’s own co-chair, and the ward’s incumbent alder, Michelle Edmonds-Sepulveda.

Edmonds-Sepulveda never arrived at the meeting. She was boycotting it.

The meeting took place Monday night on the back porch of Ward 30 committee Co-Chair Iva Johnson’s home on Rock Creek Road. Smith pitched her candidacy to the group alongside mayoral candidate Justin Elicker and New Haven Board of Education candidates Darnell Goldson and Amber Moye.

Edmonds-Sepulveda claimed that Johnson had convened the meeting without notifying her or inviting all committee members.

“I don’t feel like it’s a legal meeting,” Edmonds-Sepulveda said. ​“We did not work together.”

After the meeting, Johnson denied these assertions. ​“Everyone who was supposed to be included in this was included,” she said.

In 2017, Edmonds-Sepulveda was elected to her third term as the ward’s alder, after serving two terms from 2006 to 2009. She works as a school truancy worker and a cheerleading coach at Hillhouse High School.

Smith recently retired after working for the city for 30 years, most recently as a public space inspector in the city’s Department of Public Works. She previously served as the ward’s co-chair for ten years. Now she’s taking on Edmonds-Sepulveda for the Democratic nomination for the ward’s seat on the Board of Alders.

“I know the system – not just the Department of Public Works,” she said. Smith is a graduate of Democracy School, an annual city initiative to educate a small group of residents about the city’s various departments, as well as the Women’s Campaign School at Yale.

“So often, we out here in the West Hills neighborhood have been forgotten,” Smith said in her remarks to the committee. She emphasized that she would advocate for more after-school and summer programs for kids, as well as more initiatives for senior citizens.

“What about the streets of New Haven?” asked Mabel Carroll. ​“They are terrible.”

“You’re right in my field right now,” Smith said. She delved into a process involving freezing and thawing water that contributed to a particular pothole on Springside Avenue, and spoke about the swampy nature of parts of the neighborhood. She recalled once working in the swamp. ​“I had to go out in water that was knee deep,” she said.

The conversation soon turned to animals that have popped up in the neighborhood, which abuts West Rock state park: bobcats, foxes, and coyotes.

When it came time for the committee to deliberate, members expressed disapproval of Edmonds-Sepulveda’s decision not to attend the meeting.

“Being late is one thing,” said Cassandra Lang. ​“Not showing is another.”

“She has a history of falling short,” another committee member added, referring to Edmonds-Sepulveda.

The committee voted 18 – 0 to endorse Smith.

The vote is nonbinding. Iva Johnson and co-chair Edmonds-Sepulveda are to cast votes at a citywide Democratic Party convention n ext week on a formal endorsement in all races. Then challengers will collect signatures to force primaries on Sept. 10 —which is the likely scenario for this Ward 30 alder race.

Harp Backs Smith

If there’s a primary, Smith has the backing of Mayor Harp for her challenge.

Harp did not attend Monday night’s ward committee meeting. (Several took place around town; she pitched voters at a Ward 29 meeting held at Edge of the Woods natural foods store/restaurant.)

But Harp confirmed in a conversation with the Independent that she has endorsed Smith.

“I admire Michelle Sepulveda and the work she does with her young people,” Harp said.

“However, Honda has actively supported all of my campaigns for State Senate and mayor. She has walked the city with me over the years. She is committed to serving her community. And I believe she will make a fine representative for Ward 30.”

Harp won the support of the Ward 30 committee Monday night. It voted 18 – 1 to back her mayoral reelection campaign. However, since the vote is nonbinding, Harp might not get both co-chairs’ votes at next week’s party convention: Asked by the Independent whom she will vote to endorse next week, Co-Chair Edmonds-Sepulveda replied, ​“I don’t know.”

Goldson, Challenger Pitch Committee

In a closer vote, incumbent Darnell Goldson (who lives in the ward) and educator Amber Moye competed for the Ward 30 committee’s endorsement for one of two elected positions on the city’s Board of Education.

Moye touted her experience as a former teacher at Lincoln-Bassett School and Celentano School. She’s now pursuing a degree in public policy. These experiences, she said, qualify her to run for the Board of Ed position.

In her remarks, Moye advocated for improving mental health resources in schools and implementing a social-emotional learning curriculum. She also criticized New Haven Public Schools’ current method of teaching math, saying that it originated in Singapore and doesn’t work well with New Haven’s educational culture. That point was met with murmurs of assent from the group.

Moye works at Horizons at the Foote School, a summer program designed to keep students academically engaged over the summer.

“I noticed that the students who were taking advantage of the free program were the kids who don’t need it,” she said. She stressed that she would fight for a more equitable school system.

Goldson, a former alder of the ward, addressed the notion of teaching experience as a qualification that Moye had raised.

“I’m not an educator,” he said. ​“But I am a systems guy. I know how to make systems work for the public.”

He spoke about his record on the Board of Education, saying he had worked to make the board more transparent. ​“We’re completely reformed,” he said. Goldson currently serves as the board’s president.

He conceded that hiring Carol Birks as New Haven’s school’s superintendent was a ​“mistake.” Now,the Board of Education is trying to reach a severance agreement with Birks. But the insufficient funding for school programs, Goldson said, stems from state laws, particularly ones that prohibit the city from taxing some of Yale’s properties.

Soon, Goldson and Moye left, and the committee discussed the various candidates.

“That girl is on fire,” one member said of Moye.

“Amber should be running for superintendent, not the board,” said Cassandra Lang. ​“The board is about money, not necessarily about the teaching.”

“Maybe that’s her stepping stone,” someone offered.

Goldson’s wife, Tosha Goldson, is one of the members of the committee. She stepped in to praise her husband’s record on the Board of Education.

Goldson ultimately won the endorsement. Thirteen committee members voted for him, while five voted for Moye.

The committee additionally endorsed Toni Harp for reelection as mayor, with seventeen members voting for Harp and one member voting for Justin Elicker.

Paul Bass contributed reporting.