Thomas MacMillan Photo
As a “gray tsunami” crashes over New Haven in coming years, the city may be able to turn it to good use, by converting a wave of retirees into a silver-hair cadre of volunteers deployed to libraries and schools.
That vision of the future came from mayoral candidate Henry Fernandez (pictured). He presented it at a mayoral debate on senior issues held Wednesday afternoon at the United Church on the Green.
The debate — sponsored by HomeHaven, the Commission on Aging, and the Mary Wade Home — drew several dozen people, mostly senior citizens, to the church. The event was moderated by retired Gaylord Hospital President, Science Park Development Corporation founder and Yale University Secretary Henry “Sam” Chauncey.
As Fernandez and the three other Democratic candidates for mayor — Kermit Carolina, Justin Elicker, and Toni Harp — debated, an ominous phrase came up more than once: the gray tsunami. It refers to a coming wave of retirees, an aging population of baby boomers set to strain the nation’s social services as they age out of the workplace.
Fernandez pitched the idea of harnessing the power of the tsunami by creating a “senior volunteer corps” to “help us on the biggest issues” facing the city. Seniors with small business experience, for example, could help advise entrepreneurs. They could tutor young people, sit on the boards of non-profits and city commissions.
When a member of debate audience later asked about how to provide more free services for seniors, Fernandez returned to his volunteer corps idea. He proposed rewarding senior volunteers who contribute a certain number of hours by making certain organized activities or trips freely available to them, while other seniors would have to pay.
Fernandez’s idea was one of the few specific suggestions to come out of a debate that was long on general ideas, but without a lot of concrete plans.
At one point, when asked by the Mary Wade Home’s David Hunter (pictured) for “one concrete thing” they would do during in their first six months in office to address the “exponential” increase in people over 65, the candidates each said his or her plan was to come up with … a strategic plan.
At other times, the candidates spoke about ideas they’ve discussed previously elsewhere, and connected them to the needs of seniors.
Elicker (pictured) talked about revising the city’s zoning code to encourage more mixed-use development, which would encourage more “empty-nesters” to move to town. He pitched his transportation improvement plans and advocacy for pedestrians and cyclists as efforts that will help seniors get around the city.
Harp (pictured) spoke about the need to provide seniors the option of “aging in place,” staying in their homes as they get older, rather than moving to nursing homes.
Carolina and Fernandez took advantage of a question about senior housing to hammer Harp about conditions at Robeson Elderly Housing, a complex in the Hill owned by her son Matthew Harp. Toni Harp didn’t take the bait.
Asked about how to cut spending in order to have more money available for senior services, Carolina talked about police overtime, Fernandez about cutting Board of Ed administrators, Harp about consolidating the city’s maintenance services; Elicker said he helped cut $69 million out of city budgets during his four years on the Board of Aldermen.
Labor Curveball
The final question from the audience was a non-senior-related curveball asked by Arlene Goldbatt (pictured): What do you think of the role of UNITE HERE in city politics?
UNITE HERE’s Locals 34 and 35 — two Yale unions — have emerged in recent years as a major political force in town. They helped elect a supermajority on the Board of Aldermen.
Harp answered first: “I would say that it plays a positive role,” she said. “Before we had UNITE HERE, were really didn’t have an engaged populace. We weren’t able to have civic discourse.” She noted that the unions have endorsed her.
“I honestly think the opposite,” said Carolina (pictured). “I think UNITE HERE has taken advantage of its dues and fees of its members and taken advantage of minority communities.” He said, the unions have used their power to get people onto the Board of Aldermen to “push their agenda at the expense of people who live in this city.” The unions are led by people in the suburbs who are now making decisions for people who live in the city, he said.
Fernandez said the unions have done well for Yale workers, making sure they earn good wages and benefits. But in Fair Haven’s Ward 14, where Fernandez lives, the unions “spent $14,000 to elect a young man who had never accomplished much,” he said, referring to Gabriel Santiago. “After his second aldermanic meeting he stopped showing up. … My ward was unrepresented for a year,” because the unions pushed a candidate with no experience, Fernandez said.
Elicker said union involvement have gotten more people involved. He said he’s been disappointed by the lack of transparency on the board. He said he’s asked for more public hearings on issues like streetcars and the sale of Wall and High streets, a decision that he said was made behind closed doors. “I also think UNITE HERE needs to make sure they don’t become another machine,” Elicker said.
Moderator Chauncey.
The debate was filmed and will be broadcast on Citizens Television, channel 96, at on Friday Aug. 16 and 23 at 4 p.m., Sunday Aug. 18 and 25 at 5 p.m., and Wednesday Aug. 21 and 28 at 2 p.m.