November. Thanksgiving vacation, Monday Night football, falling leaves... and politics. Yes, this is an election year and on Tues., Nov. 7, New Haven residents will have the opportunity to vote in a new mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen. In general, incumbents and Democrats (usually one and the same) have a strong position in these not-so-hotly contested races.
New Haven is divided into 30 wards (or districts), each of which elects an alderman. "This system is comparable to a town council," Democratic City Registrar Sharon Ferrucci said. "Smaller cities have town councils and the larger ones have a board of aldermen. The roles are basically the same - they mainly represent the interests of their respective districts."
Ward One covers most of Yale and is usually represented by a University student. This year, according to a report from the Town Clerks' Office, Republican Patrick Collins, TC '96, plans to challenge Democratic incumbent Joshua Civin, CC '96.
"Part of my reason for being an alderman is to be involved in municipal politics that are not available in other aspects of campus.... People need to understand that their vote does make a difference," Civin said.
Most of the Republican candidates were chosen at the Republican convention in July. "The Republican Party is not strong in New Haven and there is not enough competition to merit a primary," Ferrucci explained.
The Democrats did hold primaries on Tues., Sept. 12, however. They usually consisted of an incumbent facing a challenger, but in a few cases, incumbents did not seek re-election. In those cases, one candidate was endorsed at the summer Democratic Convention, while challengers joined the ballot after collecting petition signatures.
The primaries went true to form for the most part, as incumbents retained their party support. In an unexpected victory, however, Maeola Reddick, a petitioner, defeated the endorsed contender, Rodney Russell by 49 votes in Ward 22's race. Another upset occurred in Ward 15 when Veronica Nieves defeated the incumbent Eduardo Perez.
On Election Day, New Haven voters, including registered Yale students, will have the chance to elect either the winner of the Democratic primary or the endorsed Republican candidate. They will also have the chance to choose a mayor: either incumbent Democrat John DeStefano Jr. or Alderwoman Ann Piscottano (R-18).
Copyright 1995, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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