New Haven Independent

Ude, who has headed the Office of Corporation Counsel for the past six years, will depart City Hall on June 15 to become a senior staff attorney with Lambda, which advocates for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV.

“I’m looking forward to being involved in a position that’s going to be more front-line and hands on,” said Ude. He’s been active in LGBT advocacy for the past few years, most recently on the push for a gay marriage law in Connecticut.

“I am delighted that he has the opportunity to continue his career in an area that is both
challenging and rewarding to him. I wish him the very best of all things in the future,” said Mayor DeStefano in a press release.

DeStefano protected Ude last year when outside consultants Hildebrandt issued a blistering analysis of the department’s flaws and concluded Ude should be dismissed. The mayor censored the report, preventing the consultants’ embarrassing recommendation from seeing the light of day. When the censoring was revealed, he defended his redaction and Ude’s job.

Ude said his departure was prompted not by pressure resulting from the report, but by a chance to advance professionally.

“Tom had the opportunity come his way. It’s an issue that he was passionate about,” said mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga. Ude’s departure “is not related to the results of that study.”

Ude, who grew up in the New Haven area, said he’ll stay in the city he’s grown to love and commute by train to NYC. He’s spent his 17-year-long legal career in New Haven. In the past 10 years he worked for the city, he’s worked on everything from economic development issues to noise ordinances, with a great deal of time spent battling members of the police and fire departments over promotional exams.

Hill Alderman Jorge Perez, who criticized the Office of Corporation Counsel’s various expensive flubs, as well as the doctoring of the report, responded only: “I wish him the best of luck.”

“People get burned out on the job,” reckoned Aldermanic President Carl Goldfield, learning the news Monday. “It’s a big job. The workload the corporation counsel’s office has is enormous, in relation to what people are paid. It will be good to get a fresh face in, with new ideas on how to run the office.”