New Haven Independent

Morehead Takes Ward 22 Seat

by Melissa Bailey | April 16, 2007 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

With an army of support from the Democratic Party and students at Yale, Gregory Morehead easily secured the Ward 22 aldermanic seat in an election Monday night.

“Let’s bring unity back,” said Morehead after an unusually competitive and at times vicious race to replace Dixwell Alderman Drew King, who stepped down March 1 after personal and legal problems.

Morehead earned 243 votes. Cordelia Thorpe, who plans to protest the election based on procedural complaints, earned 108 votes. Lisa Hopkins garnered 57; Reginald D. Lytle, 31.

A total 360 voters turned up at the polls, plus 79 absentee ballots, out of a total 1,592 voters who are registered in the ward, which spans from Dixwell to Prospect to part of Yale.

The Field Operation

Standing in the drizzle outside the Wexler-Grant School Monday, Morehead and his opponents agreed his advantage lay in his support from political insiders and especially from student voters at Yale.

Endorsed by both the city’s Democratic Party and Yale College Democrats, Morehead had a team of veteran campaigners shuttling voters to the polls to pull his lever.

Veteran vote-pullers Brian McGrath and Carlos Eyzaguirre unleashed their energy on drumming up absentee ballots. Morehead lawn signs outnumbered others across the neighborhood.

“If Greg had an advantage, it’s because of the endorsement of the Yale Dems. He sought them out and they endorsed him,” said Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Susie Voigt. “Every Yale student who came here was transported by car.”

Morehead supporters estimated he garnered about 100 voters from Yale. That support was buoyed by a slew of political insiders who came in from outside the ward to lend support. At least three aldermen from other wards showed up to stand in line with him. At closing time at the polls, a couple dozen City Hall insiders, many returning from vote-pulling, flooded the scene.

That was force to contend with, said Lytle, standing next to his niece as polling went on. Lytle, a correctional officer at the Whitney Avenue jail and long-time youth worker, said he funded the whole campaign himself.

“I’m here, standing on my own two feet,” Lytle said.

Hopkins, a community organizer, ran on a network of support from friends, family and neighbors at Monterey Place. The reason Morehead — who lives across the street from her — won, she reckoned, was from his insider and Yale support. Hopkins declined to ask the mayor for support, preferring to run an independent, grassroots campaign.

“City Hall people always feel they should come to Ward 22 and dictate policy,” grumbled the fourth candidate, Thorpe, standing in a red poncho outside Wexler/Grant Monday. Besides the company of State Sen. Toni Harp on a neighborhood walk-along, Thorpe based her campaign on the door-knocking efforts of friends and family, coupled with a slew of negative attacks on Morehead.

Morehead was able to escape the mud-slinging by working hard to reach out to the entire ward through face-to-face contact, and staying focused on his vision of “cleaning up Dixwell,” supporters said.

Thorpe charged the endorsed Dem was unfairly advantaged by a phony endorsement process and by finding a way onto Yale campus while others felt shut out by “red tape.”

Morehead said he wasn’t given special access to Yale — he just approached a Yale student at an Elks Club forum and introduced himself. He got invited to a forum, and subsequently was endorsed: “I reached out.”

An Energized Ward

Votes tallied, all candidates promised they’d stay involved.

“It’s not over!” said Thorpe, who said she plans to file a complaint with the state Democratic party over the Dems’ endorsement process. All four candidates plan to run again in the fall, when the term expires.

“This is only short-term,” said Hopkins (pictured). “The real deal is November.” Until then, she said she planned to keep fighting to improve the neighborhood.

“When all these people get together, they’ll have a good ward committee,” observed McGrath, referring to the withered tentacle of the Democratic Party.

Morehead said he hoped all four could work together. “Let’s clean up Dixwell!”

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Comments

Posted by: Mr. Woods | April 17, 2007 12:16 AM

The People Have Spoken!
Congratulations to Mr. Morehead!!!!!!!
Mr. Morehead stood for UNITY and the people have spoken, in his favor.

Posted by: K | April 17, 2007 1:51 AM

I love Lisa, but I'll admit it, I voted for Morehead this time because he was lagging second to Cordelia before Monday, and I couldn't stand the thought of an Alderwoman Thorpe.

If she or any of her supporters are reading this, I look forward to when you return in September/November. I think with an earlier announcement and longer planning time, you could clinch this. You have great ideas, and even better, you have great ways to get them implemented.

Also FYI, Greg is totally right about working with Yale. Approach the STUDENTS. The administration is understandably wary of getting involved in city politics (speaking as a Yalie). All you need is one student to take you around the dorms, but you also need to do it before one candidate gets entrenched on campus.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | April 17, 2007 8:08 AM

Another Puppet For Yale And King John Destefano
Collection!!!

Posted by: Willie Williams Jr | April 17, 2007 9:38 AM

I'm Glad Mr. Morehead Won The Election. He Has A Job and NOT! A Puppet For The City of New Haven, Can Read, Write, Type, Operate A Computer, I Hope He Restructures Ward 22 Committee(D)...Do Background Checks, Have Them Bonded If They Handle Money $$$- If They Are NOT! Bondable Remove Them, New Haven Police Background Checks, State Police Background Checks, F.B.I. Back Ground Checks, NCIC Background Checks, Credit Checks, Referrence Checks, Resume Checks, Education Certifications and Drug Testing.
Black Models USA

Posted by: East Rock Resident | April 17, 2007 3:20 PM

Why on earth do people work so hard for these positions? I can't believe people campaign this hard for Alderman. My alderman is great, but I wouldn't ever expect him to hang out in the rain all day, campaign against a crazy woman and take all this abuse just so he can have an unpaid, 20-hour a week thankless job. Seems crazy.

Posted by: In the Hood | April 17, 2007 9:51 PM

East Rock Resident,

I agree with you totally...but I think our city ordinance requires that we have these aldermanic positions w/little or no pay. So, lets congratulate the winners, be grateful that they're willing to do the dirty work and hope that in the midst of the dirty work some good will come to the community.

Posted by: Jake Gittes | April 18, 2007 2:31 AM

East Rock Resident,

winning an aldermanic seat is your ticket to a cushy city job. If not for you, then at least for someone you love. Sadly, Mr. Morehead could be a fine individual. But the system which embraced him still stinks.

And what's up with an election that's won by a 243-108 vote margin? Could it be that New Haven has a few too many aldermen?

Posted by: In the Hood | April 18, 2007 11:48 AM

Jake,
There might be SOME truth to your comments, but you're being way too general. So, which aldermen or their loved ones have the city's cushy jobs?

Posted by: Willie Williams Jr | April 18, 2007 4:58 PM

I Am Nicole Williams The Grand Daughter Of SSG E6 Willie Williams Jr From Harlem New York. You Black People Got It Made In New Haven Connecticut Compared To Us. Yall Got "Empower New Haven", Survivin-N-Da-Hood By Dr. Patricia Boozer, Duke & LaRie and They Give Away FREE! Computers, The Good News Garage and They Give Away FREE! Automobiles Even If You Have A Part-Time Job, The Housing Authority of The City of New Haven Under HUD Gives Away $25,000.00 Grants Fedreal Funds For A Commercial Business If You Are Legal. Yall Won't Even Open Up You're Own Businesses Down Town. Yall Got It Made In New Haven. I Been Here A Week With My Mother Deciding To Go To YALE or A Black College. Yall Be Raising Hell, Killing Each Other, Car Jacking and Creating STRESS! and Hell Over Nothing. Go To School, College, Open Your Own Business or Go To IRAQ and Earn $100,000.00 per. Yr. Driving A Truck. I'm 15 Years old. and I Think I'm Going To Join The U.S. Coast Guard After I Graduate From High School...I Want To Make A Difference With Our People....Yall! Blessed!.

Posted by: daniel sumrall | April 19, 2007 6:25 PM

To In the Hood--my alder, Yusef Shah. Of course, you could make the argument that his wife's eternal presence on the Board of Education is the reason why he got his alder seat. Regardless, Alder Shah has quite a bit of power for someone who does very, very little legislatively.

Morehead Takes Ward 22 Seat

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