New Haven Independent

Posted by: jeffreykerekes | July 21, 2009 8:41 AM

This last issue, about who is on the Ward committee is a serious one. This has been a reoccurring issue both in 2007 and now again throughout the city. Either no one knows who is on these committees, or the Town Committee is obstructing candidates from finding out. At this point, I am inclined to believe that the ward committees are largely disorganized. Ward committee listed could so simply be added to web that it is an embarrassing omission. Additionally, many people don't even know Ward committees exist and how they operate such as elected Co-Chairs. The Democratic Town Committee has failed its most basic function - to engage people in the electoral process. I wonder why? Do new people question the status quo too often?

Posted by: WOW | July 21, 2009 9:02 AM

Paca--it's no secret how the Greer's, and Liz were able to pull this off. I keep Hank out of this ... Did you expect this to go differently? Of course they would house the Ward Committee list and then make sure all their key supporters were able to attend and vote for Liz's endorsement. You still have the community behind you. You proved to the people even more last night that you are who we want as our Alderman. Good Luck!

Posted by: Appauled | July 21, 2009 9:29 AM

Something changed for me last night as I never knew what the ward committee was until I was told I was on it and to show up and vote for Liz. After hearing Paca speak about his goals for our neighborhood, I genuinely felt he wanted to envoke upon postive change primarily with regard to transparency. I am appualed that he didn't have a fair chance at winning this Ward Committee endorsement. Most importantly because I participated in such a bias vote process. Which was justifed by our Co-Chairs as "their perogative".

Posted by: Hew Naven?? | July 21, 2009 9:44 AM

Ahh, good old machine politics. Hide information from challengers, give inaccurate meeting times, launch personal attacks, and generally form a cabal to discourage any newcomers from entering the political process... Is it any wonder that citizens are so disgusted by politics?

Posted by: Paca4alder | July 21, 2009 9:58 AM

Marcus Paca is clearly committed to this ward. I see him everywhere -- at community meetings, hitting the streets, reviving the reading club...so he didn't get votes from a handful of Liz loyalists -- how could he have? Clearly they did all they could to shut him out of the process. I know that with Paca as alderman we'll get a lot more transparency and that his energy, committment and work ethic, as opposed to insider politics, will get things done for our ward.

Posted by: Hubinger Res | July 21, 2009 10:11 AM

I have voted for Liz in the past but I am very concerned with her behavior on the Ward committee. Everyone should have access to the ward committee list. If you believe you've been doing a good job as Alderwoman, you shouldn't be afraid of losing the endorsement. Doesn't look like that's the case. I give Marcus credit for pushing through the secrecy and showing up; real political courage for a new comer. I'm definitely planning on learning more about him.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | July 21, 2009 10:44 AM

People wake up,Town Committees are run by the machine.Proportional Represention and Term Limits
will solve this problem.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/BeginnningReading/howprwor.htm

Posted by: Insider | July 21, 2009 11:02 AM

Greer's machine backs Liz because she caters to their agendas. Eli hand-picked the Ward committee in the past 2 weeks to ensure the win for McCormack. Majority of the people picked for the ward committee didn't know they were on this list or what the ward committee was. This is underhanded and a dirty scheme.

Greer will vote pull and do anything it takes to re-elect Liz. She is a sure vote in favor of anything they want. Tired of our ward being run by the Greer's. We all live here! I know the Greer's own alot of property in the ward, but there are other property owners and renters who have vested interest as well.

Posted by: Tom | July 21, 2009 11:21 AM

Are people content with Liz "doing what she's been doing"? She has yet to establish a platform of initiatives she plans to work on for this term in office. She did not have a platform for any of the previous terms either. This is unacceptable and I will not continue to vote for someone who has not produced results in previous terms.

Posted by: Hobart St. | July 21, 2009 11:52 AM

I am surprised Paca managed 6 votes from this TOP SECRET operation. Paca I admire your courage and preservance. It's unfortunate Liz, Hank and Eli had to sink to these measures to get her an endorsement. People respect what you are doing and you can win this.

Posted by: DTCWATCH | July 21, 2009 12:01 PM

This sinks of corruption! There are no laws against the ward committee being public knowledge! Where's the transparency? Shouldn't all candidates have the right to know who is on the committee or better yet the members should at least know they are on the committee!

WHY IS THIS A SECRET? Wait a better question, did Voight have a copy of the list or does she have a current list for all the ward committees on file?

Posted by: AMomentofTruth | July 21, 2009 12:18 PM

Ok, people were saying Paca is machine backed...if so why didn't Suzie produce a list? I bet if the kid had the list he would have had the nomination. Liz's loyalist are dwindling and without the Greer's vote pull operation her efforts would be obsolete.

Posted by: jeffreykerekes | July 21, 2009 12:20 PM

To be a bit clearer. Ward Committees are largely controlled by the Democratic Machine. Last election, Ward 25 Co-Chair race is a good example. The city poured in City Hall staffers taking a "personal day" to ensure their team won. The secrecy around the existence of Ward Committees is a failure of the Town Committee run by the Town Chair and machine politics. They should be doing ongoing efforts to organize people. What else is a Town Committee for?

Posted by: FACTS | July 21, 2009 12:21 PM

Campbell or Greer can still vote to endorse Paca at the convention. This case has come up before in Ward 22 and the co-chairs are not obligated nor does it say in the bylaws that they must endorse the candidate who won the ward committee vote.

Posted by: Eva M | July 21, 2009 12:26 PM

I respect Marcus a lot for persevering in this race. It seems like it should be about issues instead of who packs the ward committee, and so on. I'm glad to know that he's been out on the doors letting people know his message.

Posted by: First timer | July 21, 2009 12:39 PM

This was the first time I attended any kind of Ward Committee event. It was apparent that the meeting was held early to diminish the effect of the presence Marcus' supporters (Liz was practically quivering as she watched the place fill up). Howard Hack looked scared too, I think they know that Liz's time is up.

Posted by: City Hall | July 21, 2009 1:06 PM

FALSE, LIABLE, DIVISIVE ALL HALLMARKS OF THE PACA REGIME, SUSIE VOIGHT AND THE MACHINE HAD AND HAS THE CURRENT WARD 24 COMMITTEE LIST. GET YOUR FACTS AND THEM COMMENT. PLOY BY PACA TO DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION FROM THE REAL ISSUES, UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT ETC....

Posted by: Nobody | July 21, 2009 1:48 PM

City Hall,
I doubt your "Fox News" style of getting your point across is gonna fly here.

Posted by: Somebody | July 21, 2009 1:52 PM

Liz was really reaching with her "platform" she presented yesterday. The only thing that got her slight impassioned was her mention of the pot-hole problem.

Posted by: Anika Singh Lemar | July 21, 2009 2:03 PM

I don't have an opinion on the Paca/McCormack race but transparency is important. If anyone would like a copy of the list of members of the Ward 9 committee, please let me know. You can reach me at anika.singh@gmail.com. Our committee is meeting this Thursday evening to discuss and vote on endorsements. As far as I know, no one is currently challenging our incumbent alderman but if you'd like to do so, I'm sure the members of our committee would be interested in hearing from you.

Anika Singh Lemar
Co-chair
Ward 9

Posted by: ThanksMarcus | July 21, 2009 2:23 PM

I thank Marcus for inviting me to this ward committee meeting. I didn't even know what a ward committee was. I would have loved to be a part of ward committee; being that they were charged with endorsing the democratic candidate for our ward.

Marcus not only explained ward committee's to me he also proposed to have a visable active ward committee. I liked this idea because as things as are now, everthing is a secret. People should be proud and honored to be on the ward committee and should serve as activist and leaders in the community.

Posted by: WAS THERE | July 21, 2009 2:38 PM

When Gary asked Liz about how the ward committee was formed and why the list has been top secret she quickly forwarded the question to Hank and Eli. Through all the BS provided in their response the best they could conclude was its "our prerogative".

Posted by: Somebody | July 21, 2009 2:40 PM

Liz was really reaching with her "platform" she presented yesterday. The only thing that got her slight impassioned was her mention of the pot-hole problem.

Posted by: Democracy NOW | July 21, 2009 2:41 PM

DTC- Bylaws http://newhaven.dems.info/towncommittee/bylaws/

Section 3. Each Ward shall have a Ward Committee of no more than 50 enrolled members of the Democratic Party residing in that Ward unless expanded by agreement of the Co-Chairpersons of a Ward within 30 days of the start of their term of office. No increase or decrease of the size of the Ward Committee shall occur after said 30 days. The Co-Chairpersons of each Ward shall select said members of the Ward Committee from those who apply for membership on the Ward Committee. Said application for membership shall be made within 30 days of the commencement of the term of the Town Committee. Said application shall be made to either of the Co-Chairpersons of the Ward. The Town Chairperson shall publish notice in the New Haven Register of the procedure for membership on the Ward Committee within 10 days of the commencement of his or her term. The Co-Chairpersons of each Ward shall make every effort to contact all registered Democrats In their Ward concerning said procedure. If more than 50 persons or the expanded maximum as determined above, apply for membership on the Ward Committee, the Co-Chairperson shall have the discretion to chose the members of the Ward Committee from among those applying for such membership. If more than 50 persons, or the expanded maximum as determined above, apply for membership on the Ward Committee, any vacancy subsequently occurring shall be filled by the Ward Co-Chairpersons from among those applying for membership within the 30 day period. If fewer than 50 persons apply for membership, all shall be members of the Ward Committee. If all those applying for membership are made members of the Ward Committee, any vacancy shall be filled by the Ward Co-Chairpersons with any enrolled Democrat from the Ward. The Ward Committee shall meet at the call of the Co-Chairpersons or upon petition of 20% of the members of the Ward Committee.

Posted by: NewBlood | July 21, 2009 3:05 PM

Even with the inequitable treatment Paca's team endured, they were in good spirits and remained positive as the room filled with support primarily for Paca. I initially attended the event in support of Liz, but I left with a new vision for our community--Enlightened, inspired, and motivated by Paca's message to play an active role in transforming the communial activity in our ward. I look forward to working with Paca and helping him get elected.

I hope that we all can come together and Liz will retire to work with Paca.

Posted by: Eliezer Greer | July 21, 2009 3:53 PM

As everyone in Ward 24 knows, this election cycle we have a very contentious race for Alderperson in our Ward. It is my hope and prayer that the person best suited to representing the needs of our constituents in City Hall is elected. More importantly, even as we engage in spirited and meaningful debate, the vigorous process of democracy, we need to look ahead and work together in the years ahead with the elected Alderperson.

Obviously, the Ward Committee Meeting last night was going to be tense. Hank and I did the best we could to keep the meeting orderly and fair. With all the emotions, this was not an easy task, and I think, under the circumstances, we did as good a job as possible.

As to the details of the Ward Committee list, the 2007 list was submitted to the Town Committee two years ago. The vast majority of the people on that list had been on even before Hank and I were elected Ward Co-Chairs. Of the fifty people on the 2007 list, seven have since either moved from the neighborhood or passed away and the 2009 list has seven replacements. The other 43 members of the committee are the same. The new list was also sent to the Democratic Town Chairperson early last week.

As was mentioned last night, I have repeatedly urged the Town Chairperson to upload each Ward's Committee List to the New Haven Democratic Party's website. I, too, believe that this would only aid transparency and facilitate greater participation and involvement in the political process across our City. We would all be the richer.

I feel blessed to participate in such a well-fought race. Many fine people on both sides care deeply for their candidate but more importantly for their Ward. I think we will all gain from the interest and energy this election has created.

Hank and I look forward to continuing to serve as your Ward 24 Co-Chairs and advocating for the common good and aspirations of every voter and constituent in our neighborhood. We wish the best to both candidates and hope to greet you at the Ellsworth Avenue firehouse on Tuesday, September 15th.

Sincerely yours,

Eliezer Greer
Ward 24, Co-Chair
(203) 606-3085

Posted by: Shalom | July 21, 2009 5:35 PM

Eli I must hold you and Hank accountable for not disclosing the 2007 list to Paca's campaign. Even if that meant giving him the old list. It is my understanding that this information was asked for on numerous occassions. I am very disappointed and expect alot more from a community leader like yourself. It is not in our power to try and make things which are destined different. I expect that you will be a leader to unite the ward and work towards positive growth in our community.

Posted by: Confused | July 21, 2009 6:26 PM

Eli, at the meeting yesterday, you shrugged the question about the list off, saying in effect that it is a city-wide problem that doesn't warrant our attention. Now it seems you have a different story.

Posted by: Watchdog | July 21, 2009 11:42 PM

I've been in the neighborhood now for a few years and have watched Eli step up to the plate. It's refreshing to see an issue addressed honestly. Imagine where our city would be if all politicians did the same.

Posted by: PointFingers | July 22, 2009 10:56 AM

Ahhh good old fashioned New Haven politics. Point fingers! Pass the buck!

Paca promised transparency and he seems like he will ensure thats what we will get. I'm getting behind him so that something actually happens as he seems like a man of action.

When are the terms up for Co-Chair seats?

Posted by: Peoples Polls | July 22, 2009 11:09 AM

Polls are in and the crowd chants WE WANT PACA! We the people of the 24th want PACA. It's time for a renewed vision of leadership.

If its true that Eli and Hank can vote for Marcus at the convention...redeem yourselves and give him the endorsement at the convention.

Posted by: strangerthanfiction | July 22, 2009 2:09 PM

Paca is strongly favored both by the Mayor and the Town Chairwoman, despite the serious issues that have been raised about his candidacy. Paca has the support and all the resources of The Machine. If he was ill-prepared he has no one to blame but himself. Nice trick to make out you're a rebel and a newcomer when you're beholden to The Machine.

Posted by: Sandra McKinnie | July 25, 2009 2:38 AM

What I find most interesting is the fact that the issue around bylaws for the Town Committee and disclosure of participating ward committee members was raised and described by me at the ward meeting. Yet this was not shared with the community. We should all wonder why the Town Committe Chair was questioned about what we already knew. Where is committed community reporting now? Lets all be real...