New Haven Independent

How do you run for governor the same time that you run a city? Isn’t that two full-time jobs?

One is the extension of the other. I find it largely a seamless effort. When I go around as a candidate for governor I talk about growing the economy, investing in transportation, better schools, tax reform and land use. And anyone that’s watched me over the last 12 years knows that those are exactly the same things.

The issues are the same. But what if you are physically in Simsbury or Avon. How can you be as available to the community [back home in New Haven]?

In the same way as when I was president of the National League of Cities and the two years I was vice-president of the League of Cities. I was often absent from the city. The experience and the relationships I built I think were beneficial to the city. I think it also made me a better mayor. I think there are complementary issues in the Simsburys… It’s not far either geographically or in terms of the values of the people.

So how does it make you a better mayor to be running for governor?

I think it makes me more sensitive to the issues of communities that on first blush look really different than us. Presidency of the League of Cities was a seminal event for me both politically and personally. It really gave me a sense of how alike people are… Going to the South, going to the Southwest, dealing with people of other political parties. The things they care about really are very similar. The words do matter. How you use words do matter. Your presumptions. One should never hesitate to examine one’s presumptions about people, situations….

I was in Marlborough last night…

Where is Marlborough?

It’s east of Hartford. You go up 91, turn east on 2, go through Glastonbury. Marlborough. Actually the first selectman of Marlborough was the vice-chair of the blue ribbon commission on tax reform [which DeStefano chaired]. The town has got 5,900 people in it. It is roughly 1.2 wards [in New Haven]. They have one elementary school in the whole town. It was like being in New Haven. People care about the same things…

Let’s say you had had someone running against you for mayor [in a Democratic primary this year], and he said, “He [DeSetefano] wants to be mayor for one year. He wants to be governor. I want to be your mayor for the whole term” …

A whole term is two years. I mean, the term length here is so short, I didn’t think that would particularly resonate. The issue that resonates in New Haven is going to be: Is the city headed in the right direction? I think that if citizens, before getting to the point of considering one candidate versus another, can’t say, “Yes, it’s headed in the right direction,” the incumbent’s in trouble. Most citizens — and why should they? — don’t begin to have to spend time worrying about what the organizational relationships within the government are, what the quality of the people within the government are. They just look at it in terms of: What’s the output on the street?

This summer we had this rash of violence by kids on bikes. Do you see any relationship between that and the trouble we’ve had keeping programs open—the Dixwell Q House being closed, LEAP facing major cutbacks, the Boys and Girls Club struggling with their budget. Do you think there’s any connection there?

I think giving kids positive choices is an important thing to do, something that all of us living in New Haven ought to work hard on…

I think most people would say in a lot of areas—like development, Yale’s relationship [with the city, the level of] political infighting—we’re headed in a positive direction. I think on youth policy and options for kids, a lot of people feel the city is in a tough place right now, that we saw that this summer.

That’s completely inaccurate. I think the most fundamental point of engagement to look at is how many kids are dropping out from school today compared to 12 years ago. We have more kids engaged in high school than in years and years. We have more kids in preschool than before. We had 7,000 kids in summer school this year… There may not be as many in summer youth jobs, but there’s far more in summer school programs. There’s far more community camp programs existing right now than we used to have. Do we have something for everybody to do at all times? No. Do I see community groups involved where others weren’t? Yeah. Is the Q House closed? Yeah. But I think in terms of fundamental engagement of youth, there is far more than ever before. The numbers bear that out. They’re engaged, largely through our investment in public schools…

Going back to youth. I mean, What happened this summer is, first of all, I think it would be an exaggeration to associate kids on bikes with a wave of violence, the way the question was initially framed, which I don’t think was the intent. I just think having a lot of kids in white T-shirts on bikes is different this year than what we’ve seen.

What was that about?

We’ve spent some staff time talking about this… Youth crave structure. They crave affiliation with family. I think to some extent this is a substitute for the traditional framework of family…

There’s generally four groups of kids that you can describe as a gang [operating in violence-plagued neighborhoods]… I think there does emerge this team or gang mentality, whatever you want to call it… They identify with one another. And they have a larger sense of themselves in belonging to this group. And it changes the behavior, and what’s acceptable as an individual. Like for me to call you a Jew: “Paul you’re nothing but a Jew.” You know, I would have a hard time saying that in a pejorative way. Because I know you. You may be a Jew. But you’re Paul. And I know you as Paul. Someone who’s a person who cares about things and has a family, and cares about New Haven. And I have a relationship with you, a positive relationship. When you get into a group you lose that sense of identification with a person. And I think it’s hard for the average American when they’re dealing with someone as a person to feel pejorative or negative about them. It’s our nature to feel incredibly generous and supportive, which is generally the characteristic of people who live in this city, in this state and in this country. Identification and labels seems to unleash a different kind…

So what are you gonna do about it?

If you’ve got 30 kids going down the street with bikes and cars and pedestrians going in all different directions, that’s a problem. So engage it positively, as I know the police department has begun to do, contrary to some… anecdotal reports. What the cops have been handing out largely have been informational flyers on behavior, which are orange but are not tickets. I think as much as anything that is about connecting with the kids: Slow down. It’s the basis on which to have a discussion and say, “Paul, look, ride on the right side of the street. Watch out for yourself. Wear a helmet, even though it’s not too cool. And if you don’t wear a helmet, let’s be cool.” I think the police have been engaging the behavior directly.

I think what it does then beg is the issue of how to positively engage these kids, even though, yes, I think there’s more programming available. Within an age group—14, 15, 16—kids are saying to us, “Engage us. We want to belong to something.”

Listen to Audio Clips from the Interview

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3