Connecticut politicians, up close and personal

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On Mon., Jan. 4, 1999, John G. Rowland was sworn in for his second term as Governor of Connecticut. At 41, he is the youngest governor in the U.S. and the first to be re-elected in Connecticut in half a century. His victory over Democrat Barbara Kennelley tightened Republican control of the Governor's mansion, occupied by Democrats for most of the previous four decades.

A former member of the Connecticut State Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives, Rowland rose to victory with his promise to gradually repeal the state income tax. Last year, he attempted to bring the New England Patriots to Connecticut, proposing to build them a stadium as part of a revitalization plan for downtown Hartford. Though he signed a tentative $380 million contract with Patriots owner Bob Kraft, the deal fell through in May of 1999 when the Massachusetts legislature drew up a plan that persuaded Kraft to keep the football team in Foxboro, Mass.

Recently, Rowland has enacted new welfare reform measures that require recipients to work and places a 21-month time limit on receiving benefits. He has taken some heat from environmentalists, who deride Connecticut's relatively lenient pollution standards, and from local businessmen, who are angry that the proposal to build the Long Wharf Galleria Mall at Long Wharf fell through last year.

U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

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Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for her sixth term in Conn-ecticut's 3rd district last November. DeLauro has deep roots in New Haven. Born and raised in the city's Wooster Square, her father was a longtime alderman, and her mother was the longest-serving member on the Board of Aldermen before retiring in 1999.

DeLauro has fought against cuts in the national defense budget that would have hurt Connecticut's industry, including proposed cuts that targeted the Sikorsky plant, which produces Comanche 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 Congress, 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-Conn.).

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

Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.

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A life-long resident of New Haven and currently serving his fourth term as mayor, John DeStefano, Jr. has developed a visionary plan to improve the city with which he is so familiar. He believes cutting property taxes is the key to improving the city's economy, as, according to the Democratic mayor, property taxes deter middle-class families from buying property in urban areas. He also has worked to improve the quality of city buildings by fining delinquent landlords for each day a city-mandated repair remains uncompleted. In addition, the mayor has fought to create new jobs—the recent opening of Shaw's Supermarket on Whalley Avenue, for example, provided the city with more than 200 of them.

Though some criticize his unforgiving attitude towards city workers, DeStefano has seen New Haven garner several awards during his tenure. In June of 1998, the city was among 10 cities to be named an "All-American City" by the National Civic League. The Police Department recently won two awards, while the city's school construction program won the U.S. Conference of Mayors' City Livability Award last August.

New Haven was also recently named an Empowerment Zone by the federal de-partment of Housing and Urban Deve-lopment (HUD). The designation gives the City access to $100 million in social services block grants and $130 million in tax credits in order to encourage economic development in distressed urban neighborhoods.

The Mayor has since outlined a new $1.5 billion agenda to revitalize the city by building on its existing downtown strengths and rebuilding its transportation infrastructure. After successfully bringing Amtrak's high-speed Acela through New Haven, he is currently working to build a new downtown train station, improve the bus mass transit system, and connect the downtown to the harbor.

The mayor is currently gearing up for this fall's reelection campaign. His toughest competition is a fellow Democrat, State Senator Martin Looney, who criticizes the mayor for, among other things, the failed plan to build the Long Wharf Mall.

Ward One Alder Julio Gonzalez, CC '99

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In November of 1997, Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, was elected to serve on the New Haven Board of Aldermen. Gonzalez defeated Republican challenger and fellow Yalie Bob Kokta, BK '00, to continue the Democratic Party's dominance of Ward One. While an undergraduate at Yale, Gonzalez majored in political science and women's studies and spent much of his time involved in social service projects through Dwight Hall.

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH City Hall is located on Church Street off the Green.

Gonzalez claims that his overall goal during his term has been to create a "pragmatic policy for the downtown region." He has worked to help break up the taxi system monopoly in New Haven, focusing on rate and service regulation and improved conditions for drivers.

The New Haven Board of Aldermen consists of 30 representatives, one from each of the 30 wards of New Haven. Since Ward One contains the majority of the Yale campus, the post has traditionally been held by Yalies.

Ward One encompasses Old Campus and all the residential colleges except Davenport, Pierson, Ezra Stiles, and Morse. Those four colleges, contained in Ward Three, are represented by Alderman Esther Armmand.

This past winter, Gonzalez announced that he will not seek another term as Alderman. After an often turbulent nomination process, the Ward One Democratic Committee eventually nominated Ben Healey, BR '04, for the Democratic primary this fall. Other Democrats can still put their names on the ballot by gathering a requisite number of signatures.

—Albert Chen, Jason Heller, Liz Oliner, and Matt Ferraro

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