Elm City public officials up close and personal

TYLER MERTES

City Hall is located on Church Street aoff the Green.

Governor Jown Rowland

John G. Rowland's narrow victory in 1994 made him the youngest governor ever elected in the state of Connecticut and gave Republicans control of the Governor's mansion for only the second time in four decades. His victory over Democrat Bill Curry came just four years after a loss to Independent Lowell Weicker, TD '53.

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A former member of the State Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, Rowland rode to victory with his promise to gradually repeal the state income tax. In February of this year, Rowland unveiled a two-year budget plan that looks to cut income taxes, decrease state spending, and eliminate 10 percent of the state payroll.

Rowland's commitment to a balanced state budget is unwavering. He led the Republican-controlled State Senate in blocking a new contract for state employees until they agreed to a renegotiated benefits plan and has used such strong-arm tactics successfully as Governor. Two years ago, when Fleet Bank announced that it would acquire Shawmut Bank--threatening a loss of 1,100 state jobs--he threatened to challenge the merger unless the cuts bypassed Connecticut, and Fleet agreed to his plan.

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Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Re-elected in the fall of 1996, Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has deep roots in New Haven. Born and raised in New Haven's Wooster Square, her father was a longtime alderman, and her mother is currently the longest-serving member on the Board of Aldermen.

DeLauro has fought against cuts in the defense budget that would have hurt Connecticut's defense industry, including proposed cuts that targeted the Sikorsky plant located in her district which produces Comache helicopters for the Army.

She also helped author a transportation bill that aims to bring 100,000 jobs to Connecticut over a period of six years.

Prior to her election to the U.S. House of Representatives, DeLauro was the Executive Director of EMILY's List, a national organization committed to increasing the representation of women in politics. From 1981-87, she served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT).

DeLauro has also supported an assault weapons ban and laws against domestic violence, and expanded middle-class student loan programs, health care reform, and job-training for the unemployed.

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Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.

Just as Governor Rowland firmly believes that cutting the state income tax will help Connecticut's economy, New Haven's Democratic Mayor, John DeStefano Jr., believes that cutting property taxes is the key to saving Connecticut's cities and raising the overall quality of life.

In 1997, DeStefano was elected to his third term with over 70 percent of the vote--no surprise in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by an overwhelming nine-to-one margin.

In addition to his advocacy of reforming property taxes, which he claims deter middle-class families from buying property in urban areas, DeStefano has combatted deteriorating buildings by fining delinquent landlords for each day that a city-mandated repair remains undone.

DeStefano worked with People's Bank to provide city employees who buy homes in New Haven with discounted mortgage fees and loan rates. He also convinced developer David Cordish to transform the Park Plaza Hotel into a four-star hotel and conference center, the Omni New Haven Hotel.

Among DeStefano's ongoing projects are plans for a retail center on Long Wharf, and the Livable City Initiative, a plan to reduce urban blight in residential areas.

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Alderman Julio Gonzalez, CC '99

Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, was elected last November to succeed Rhodes Scholar Josh Civin CC '96 on the New Haven Board of Aldermen. After being appointed by Mayor DeStefano to serve as interim Alderman when Civin left New Haven to study at Oxford, Gonzalez defeated Republican challenger Bob Kokta, BK '00, to continue the Democratic Party's dominance of the Ward One spot on the Board.

Gonzalez is a political science and women's studies double major and has spent much of his undergraduate career at Yale involved in community service projects through Dwight Hall. Recently, he served as the secretary of Dwight Hall's Executive Committee.

Gonzalez's campaign focused largely on issues concerning homelessness in New Haven and the Living Wage Initiative. He opposes the current movement to ban panhandling and arrest vagrants since he believes such actions would increase problems related to home-lessness and would limit civil liberties. Instead, he supports education and job training programs. He has pushed for an increase of public assistance and the number of shelter beds for women.

Gonzalez has worked to help break up the taxi-system monopoly in New Haven, focusing on rate and service regulation and improved conditions for drivers. He has also worked toward opening the former Farmington Canal as a bike trail and park. He says emphatically that his overall goal is to create a "pragmatic policy for the downtown region."

The New Haven Board of Aldermen consists of 30 representatives from each of the 30 wards in New Haven. The Ward One Alderman post has traditionally been held by Yalies. Ward One encompasses Old Campus and all residential colleges, except Davenport, Pierson, Ezra Stiles, and Morse. The other colleges are in Ward Three.

—Compiled by Michael Burstein, Albert Chen, Kenrick Ou, and Jason Heller

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