Party-endorsed candidates triumph in primary

In the state Democratic primary on Tues., Sept. 15, Frank Kinney defeated Andrew Consiglio for the office of High Sheriff of New Haven County, while Denise Nappier overcame Frank Lecce in the treasurer's race. Though few Yale students knew about the election and only a handful voted, the Wooster Square area of New Haven was buzzing with life on Tuesday evening.

COURTESY NEW HAVEN CITY PLANNING DIVIDED CITY: New Haven's varied ethnic makeup may have been a deciding factor in Tuesday's Democratic primary.

Wooster Square took on the flavor of Washington that night, as two British Broadcasting Corporation radio journalists interviewed Consiglio at the Democratic Headquarters. They were interested in the political climate of the Democratic Party in the wake of Kenneth Starr's damaging report about President Bill Clinton's, LAW '73, alleged wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Consiglio's supporters anticipated victory.

Yet not everyone shared such confidence. Ward One Alderman Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, characterized the Sheriff's race as "a messy fight." In 1996, Governor John Rowland appointed Kinney sheriff after then-sheriff Frank Healey died.Gonzalez observed that locally, Consiglio had the support of the Democratic party. At the state convention in July, however, Kinney became the party-endorsed candidate, winning the coveted Row A slot on the primary ballot.

Before the primary, many area residents, such as Joe Hull, poll moderator for Ward Eight, believed Consiglio had a chance even without the approval of the state convention. "It depends on what your organization can do for you," Hull said, noting the extent to which Consiglio had coordinated his supporters. As a police captain, Consiglio is well-known in the New Haven area, and according to Hull, he has "a lot of friends and neighbors who know him and like him."

But some Democrats sought to distance themselves from Consiglio and the political structure they felt he represented. "Many saw the Consiglio campaign as being connected to the more questionable aspects of the Democratic party," Gonzalez said.

Treasurer nominee Nappier also won the party's support at the state convention and appeared, like Kinney, on Row A of the ballot. At the convention, Lecce initially appeared to be the favorite, earning more votes than Nappier in July's first tally. In a last-minute switch, 18 delegates voted for Nappier instead; she left the convention with the endorsement.

In the Nappier-Lecce election, race became a heated issue. According to the New Haven Register [Sat., Sept. 12], "Party leaders [had] endorsed Nappier, who is black, saying the ticket needed to be racially diverse." But when asked if she was endorsed at the convention because of her race, Nappier replied, "I think I won the endorsement with my credentials." Nappier said that many of the convention delegates admitted they were unaware of her African American background until she appeared at the July convention.

Before Tuesday's results were tallied, Nappier told the Register, "Judging from the poll places I've been to, I think I'm well poised to win." She played down talk of her ethnicity being the key element in the primary, saying instead, "My ethnicity was an enhancer." Nappier did state that she expected to do well in urban areas and in places "where there is a heavy population of African-Americans."

Lecce, her Italian-American opponent, also benefited from his ethnic background at the convention. Towns with high percentages of Italian-Americans supported him strongly, and 26 of West Haven's 27 delegates backed him, according to the state Democratic party.

Despite the tremendous campaign efforts of the candidates, voter turnout was low. At 6 p.m., only 21 percent of the 1,140 registered voters in Ward Eight had made it to the polls. By 4 p.m., only three votes had been cast in Ward One, which covers Yale's central campus. "I'd be surprised if [Ward One] had 10 voters all day," Hull, poll moderator for Wards One and Eight, said.

Part of the problem may be a lack of publicity for primary elections. "Traditionally, primaries haven't been advertised around the city," Gonzalez said. He added that since students just returned from summer vacation, even those registered to vote in the primary knew little about the candidates. Gonzalez expects a far greater turnout in November's general election.

Gonzalez also admitted that many students are not interested at all in local politics. "With student life comes a certain blocking out of the way the rest of the world is going," he said.

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