New Haven Independent

This summer, King promised to support current board prez Jorge Perez for reelection.

Then, in early September, King shocked political insiders by showing up at a primary election party at Caffe Bottega and delcaring his support for Perez’s challenger, Carl Goldfield. That gave Goldfield enough publicly identified supporters — 16 — to declare he had the votes to win. (The board’s 30 aldermen vote for a president at their first meeting in January.) What changed King’s mind? “When I thought about the fact of Jorgie, it comes down to the fact he never actually did anything that I’ve seen. I said, ‘Maybe we need a change.’”

Then supporters of Perez held a rally for him. And Perez sat down with King to remind him: Hey, you said you were supporting me. King said he agreed with Perez after that “heart to heart” and pledged to support him after all. Why? “The background of Jorgie, you know what I mean? Jorgie had to struggle to get to where he’s at. I think basically I can identify with him in that area. It wasn’t easy for me. I had to struggle to get where I am.”

That was then. Like, a week ago. Now is now.

“I might still go for Goldfield,” the 54-year-old minister and car-wash proprietor said in a conversation Monday. “I actually made a commitment. That’s the hard part about it.

“I still need to sit down and talk with both of them. I haven’t really made a decision which way to go.”

What It’ll Take

Why has King had so much trouble making up his mind and sticking to a position?

“If you look at both of them,” he said, “they haven’t done nothing for me, like help me in my ward.”

Has King ever asked Perez or Goldfield for help in his ward?

“Basically, no. I haven’t asked them for help,” King acknowledged. “That was my fault.”

Now he’s asking. “I’m lobbying for my sidewalks. I want my streets done. Also, even though we are still working on the Q House, I’d like to see more money flowed toward the Q House to open up something for our youth. We’ve been having a lot of shootings in our ward. It’s just ridiculous.”

Playing Hamlet in the midst of a battle for power can have its rewards. Especially if King maintains the pose until right before the vote. Don’t be surprised to see bundled-up sidewalk crews ripping apart the pedestrian paths northwest of downtown.

King himself has personal ambitions: He’d like to serve as chairman of the board’s Black and Hispanic Caucus in the coming term. One candidate for board prez (Perez) can vote for that post. One (Goldfield) can’t.

But King insisted that won’t factor into his decision. “I think the people are more important. I’m not going to sell out my people.” He said his constituents have been split between Perez and Goldfield supporters.

The last time he checked.