New Haven Independent

Candidate Begins Forming Positions

by Thomas MacMillan | June 9, 2009 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

New Haven schools? They’re good. Community policing? Needs work.

So far that’s where Greg Dildine stands on issues.

He’s beginning a campaign for alderman from an open seat in Westville’s 25th Ward. So far he doesn’t have a lot of positions on city issues, but he’s just starting out.

He doesn’t yet have an opponent yet, either. He does have dozens of neighbors behind him.

They stood with him at his McKinley Avenue home on Sunday, as Dildine kicked off his campaign to replace retiring incumbent Ina Silverman. Fifty of his Westville neighbors showed up, including friends, supporters, and people curious to learn what the new candidate is all about.

What he’s about so far is listening and communicating. The stay-at-home dad, who’s 40, said that he doesn’t yet have “an agenda” and is in the process of gathering information from his potential constituents on issues important to the ward.

In conversation with the Independent, the candidate staked out positions on several topics, like New Haven schools — he thinks they’re good — and community policing — he thinks it needs improvement.

From the 1970s through the 1990s, Ward 25 had a reputation for sending independent Republican aldermen (typically liberal Republicans like Jonathan Einhorn and Rosalind Berman) to the full board to challenge the City Hall on citywide issues like downtown development and patronage, even though the ward’s voters tend to be Democrats or liberal independents. That’s because voters supported the idea of a check on the power of New Haven’s one-party Democratic machine. Serious Republican candidates have largely vanished in recent years.

If elected, Dildine would take over from the ward’s three-term Democratic alderwoman, Ina Silverman (pictured), who is set to retire at the end of her current term. Silverman, who declined to comment on Dildine’s candidacy or her retirement, has signed on as treasurer for Dildine’s campaign.

Silverman was joined at the campaign kick-off by Aldermen Bitsie Clark, Carl Goldfield, and Moti Sandman.

Neighbors converged on the Dildine household at 1:30 p.m. on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Walking up the driveway past the well-manicured lawn and pebbled stucco house, locals gathered in front of the garage to socialize and snack on watermelon and cookies.

Dildine lives on McKinley avenue with his wife, Laura Bontempo, an emergency medicine doctor at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and his two children. Ross is 2 years old. Maria, a first-grader at Edgewood, turned 7 on Saturday. The family moved to Westville from Boston five years ago.

The candidate addressed the crowd briefly. “I want to add to my commitment to the neighborhood,” he began. Dildine is the treasurer for Friends of Edgewood Park and he is a tutor at the Edgewood Elementary School.

The “key issue” Dildine identified was “listening and communicating.” He said that he wants to be an effective conduit of information and ideas between “downtown” and “you guys.”

Other issues he named were responsible city spending, traffic calming, and “making sure Edgewood school remains a top choice.”

Asked later about if he thinks that New Haven has good schools, Dildine said, “I do.”

“You wouldn’t send your kids there otherwise,” he added.

“School reform is something people are always talking about,” Dildine said. “What reform means to me is listening and talking to people… I just want to make sure our voice is reflected.”

Edgewood School is unique, Dildine said, in that it is a magnet school that has managed to maintain the feel of a neighborhood school.

On the question of whether school board members should be elected or appointed, Dildine said he hasn’t yet formed an opinion. “That’s something that I need to listen to more people about… I don’t have a position.”

In general, Dildine said that he is favor of “transparency and oversight.”

Asked about community policing, Dildine gave his definition of the term. “To me it means the community interacting more one-on-one with the police… To me knowing the cops is important.” Dildine spoke of the importance of personal neighborhood connections with the police who patrol Westville, so that residents are on close terms with their local officers.

Does the current policing situation meet his definition of community policing? “I don’t think we know everybody, no.”

“In general, I’d like to see more of a [police] presence,” Dildine said.

Dildine did not come out for or against city subsidies of Tweed Airport, saying that the more important issue is that taxpayers know what they are getting for their money.

“In general, oversight of how we’re spending our money is really important,” he said. “What’s the return on that investment?”

The largest issue, and the main job of an alderman, is communication, Dildine reiterated. If elected, he plans to expand on Silverman’s Ward 25 newsletters and to use the internet to reach all of his constituents. He also mentioned maintaining regular “office hours” at his house, when neighbors could come by to talk with him.

The candidate’s focus now is knocking on doors and talking to Ward 25 residents. “That’s how you start,” he said. “I don’t have an agenda ready to go out.” A more specific list of policy priorities will “coalesce from a general list” as he talks to his neighbors, Dildine said.

Bargara Segaloff, co-chair of the Ward 25 Democratic Committee, was at Sunday’s event. She said the committee will meet on July 20th to decide on an official endorsement. If no other Democratic candidate comes forward, Dildine is expected to secure the endorsement.

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Comments

Posted by: Kristin R | June 9, 2009 1:32 PM

Greg seems like a great candidate for Ward 25. I still hope to learn a little more about his stance on certain issues, but I appreciate his emphasis on transparency. Also, I think he raises a great point about the lack of communication between neighborhood residents and local police. Developing a closer familiarity with the officers who protect the neighborhoods in which we live is important.

Posted by: Mr. E | June 9, 2009 2:20 PM

Wow i think that is a great idea to hold office hours. It seems like he is committed to listening to the interests of the neighborhood that is a great trait for an alderman.

Posted by: tom | June 9, 2009 2:46 PM

GO GREG! I can't wait to volunteer and walk the ward with you!

Posted by: ward25rez | June 9, 2009 3:15 PM

I am glad to hear about Greg's commitment to communication with the residents of Ward 25. With a spiraling economy and budget problems plaguing municipalities across the country, it is good to know that we will have someone who is accountable for city spending. Greg is hardworking and will take the time to find out the true "return on our investment." I look forward to meeting him when he meets with the neighborhood this summer.

Posted by: helloworld | June 9, 2009 4:18 PM

I'm glad to hear that a candidate is willing and excited to talk to his constituents. It's refreshing to hear from someone who doesn't have all of the answers yet, and it's great that he is willing to listen to others' concerns. I'm excited to meet this guy! It also seems like he's committed to maintaining this dialog in his office hours and newsletter. What a strong candidate!

Posted by: Blue Dog Dem | June 9, 2009 6:31 PM

I was unable to attend his gathering, but from what I hear, he seems to be genuine in his concern for our neighborhood. If that is the case, then he will have my support.

The two things that concern me are having Ina (who did nothing in 6 years for Ward 25) as his Treasurer and having existing members of the Machine in attendance. Having them as mentors doesn't bode well for the residents and probably means more of the same.

I disagree, however, with the concept that an alderman's main responsibility is communication. I thought elected officials were there to represent our interests and the fourth estate for communication. When we speak of those in politics we usually refer to them as elected "representatives." I want someone who is proactive for the needs of our ward and not someone who just relays whatever dictate King John passes down.

Time will tell if this could be more of the same. I'm still waiting for "transparency" at the federal level, so pardon my skepticism.

Posted by: Mr. E | June 10, 2009 10:57 AM

Blue Dog Dem, from what it appears in this article, Greg will be representative of the community. He will be accomplishing this by listening to the people and will use the information gained from this contact to make informed decisions on the BOA.

Posted by: ward25rez | June 10, 2009 11:06 AM

Blue Dog Dem, I'm really not sure why you're convinced that this has anything to do with Mayor DeStefano. Ina worked with the mayor but was a very reliable and consistent voice in advocating for our neighborhood for the past 6 years. I'm sure that there are things she voted on or advocated for that you disagree with, but she can and will readily explain to you exactly why she did each one--I don't think you can really argue that she did "nothing." Having her input on his campaign will provide him with a valuable source of information about the ward, the way the Board of Aldermen works, and how to represent us.

Additionally, while you are right that our aldermen are supposed to represent us, they are also responsible for communicating their actions to the ward in a responsible manner, and, through their advocacy, "communicating" the desires of the residents to the City government. I put all that under the broad term "communication"--you chose to call it transparency and representing our interests. My point was that, while all aldermen automatically represent their wards by means of the power vested in them, they MUST communicate openly with their constituents in order to accurately represent their interests. That was my point with communication--that it was not a responsibility in and of itself, but an absolute necessity for the purpose of accomplishing the general responsibilities of being an alderman. Right?

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | June 10, 2009 12:09 PM

Mr. Dildine thinks the schools are "good"? Perhaps Edgewood fits into this category at least in comparison to most other schools in New Haven. But in general, the schools are NOT good as evidenced by the yawning achievement gap numbers - with which Mr. Dildine should become familiar before he runs for public office.

Having said that, New Haven is beginning to take some very promising steps to becoming good. The mayor's reform plan and the hiring of Garth Harries are excellent steps. But they have a loooong way to go before we can call our system "good".

Mr. Dildine, if you want to learn about education issues, please call someone up at ConnCAN in New Haven. I am sure that they can give you facts about New Haven's school quality.

Or, call Justin Elicker who is in your situation in Ward 10. He seems to have done his homework on the most important issue facing parents and taxpayers in the city of New Haven and beyond: The dire need to improve the quality of education in all of our schools.

Posted by: sadie lambert | June 10, 2009 1:36 PM

I agree with Blue Dog Dem.

I am excited for change (no matter what the outcome we get a better Alder person); however, separate yourself Mr. Dildine from "the machine" in order to gain those 400+ votes that went to the Republicans during the last election.

Hold true to your promise of better communication if you get elected and you will win back those 400+ people who have been so infuriated at Ina's lack of communication about "real" issues....and, if you continue your neighborhood notes, talk about "real" issues...not trivial, social news...and include "all" neighbors, not just those in support of the current Alder person...after all we all live in the neighborhood and want the best for it.

I look forward to learning more about your positions and, for the sake of the ward, hope that someone has it in them to run and make this another exciting election in Ward 25.

Posted by: blue dog dem | June 10, 2009 4:31 PM

I can't think of one thing Ina did for the neighborhood, but am willing to listen to what anyone states that was of significance.

As far as her ability to "communicate," after she and I had an email debate about her not defending the elderly constituents in the property tax hike, she removed me from her mailing list. The communication that I received, loud and clear, is that dissent is not tolerated. So if these are the examples that Mr. Dildine is to follow, I can do without it.

I am encouraged by his desire to listen to the residents, but listening is the start, not the end, of good government. If he also is listening to the advice of the Machine (such as those who attended his gathering) then I believe that their advice will be followed more closely than our concerns.

Posted by: working(too hard)mom | June 10, 2009 9:39 PM

Does anyone know if there will be any other candidates for Alderperson in the 25th ward? I like to have a choice when I vote.....doesn't matter much to me what party affiliation they have.

Posted by: sadie lambert | June 11, 2009 6:57 AM

AMEN Working(toohard)mom!!

Posted by: Yale MD | June 14, 2009 9:51 AM

Kicking off the campaign at his own home and having scheduled "office hours" really show that Greg is a member of the Westville community. He has my full support.

Candidate Begins Forming Positions

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