Political Newcomer Leverages Ties, Passion

Orlando Cordero, the youngest candidate seeking to be New Haven’s next probate judge, sees himself as part of a new generation of politicos who want to give back to their community.

Born and raised in the Hill section of the city, Cordero is new to the political arena. But he’s no stranger to the inner workings of the city. He attended New Haven Public Schools, graduating from Career High School in 1992.

Not too long after graduating from Yale College in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies, he took and passed the civil service exam and worked for a year as a legislative assistant in the Office of Legislative Services, supporting what was then called the Board of Aldermen. He followed that up with two years in the city’s chief administrator office before heading off to Boston University to pursue a law degree, which he obtained in 2004.

“I’m deceptively older than people think,” Cordero, 42, said with a laugh during a recent interview. ​“I was around during the DeStefano administration.”

Cordero is vying with fellow attorneys Americo Carchia and Clifton Graves to replace Judge Jack Keyes, who has presided over New Haven’s Probate Court for 32 years. Keyes will retire January 2018. The three are seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination at a convention Tuesday night.

Probate is the only elected judgeship in the state. Judges serve four-year terms; the position pays an annual salary of $125,000. Candidates are required to live in the district where they serve.

Cordero had to take a leave of absence from his job as a staff attorney from Statewide Legal Services to run. He acknowledged that he doesn’t have as much experience as his opponents; he’s been a lawyer for just 12 years. But he said he is as ready as he believes Keyes, who was in his 30s when he took the bench, was when he took on the role.

“I’m starting a little older than he was,” Cordero noted.

Though he was not personally mentored by Keyes, Cordero had the opportunity to observe Keyes at work and acknowledged that the outgoing judge is leaving big shoes to fill.

“He set a great standard for anyone who is going to come after him to carry the torch,” he said. ​“I just hope whoever that person is — hopefully it’s me — will be a person who is sensitive, caring and compassionate about the people of New Haven because they’re from New Haven.

“I’m from New Haven,” he added. ​“I was born here. The Hill is my home traditionally. I moved to the Dwight neighborhood in the summer of 2015. Being able to serve is the thing. Being up in Wethersfield, that’s where Statewide Legal Services offices are, I’ve been a little detached. But I’ve really felt at my best professionally and personally when I’m practicing in New Haven. “

Making A Difference

Cordero said he could have taken his law degree to a big private firm and pursued a legal career that would have likely made him a lot of money. But money has never been his motivation. He said he’s always been driven by whether he could make a difference, and that’s why he stayed in New Haven and worked with the indigent for a lot of his career.

“At the end of the day, we shouldn’t measure success by the amount of money we make but in the number of lives that we impact, whether it’s one person at a time, or as a group,” he said. ​“That’s very important to me.”

Prior to his stint at Statewide Legal Services, where he mainly works on housing cases such as evictions and other housing disputes, he worked for New Haven Legal Assistance and then his own private practice. That is how he became involved with the probate court. Cordero said he enjoyed working with the probate court system, particularly Children’s Probate Court.

One of his more memorable probate court cases involved a woman and her father. The father had custody of the woman’s daughter. The woman wanted her daughter back. The woman didn’t get along with her dad, and her dad didn’t approve of a man she was dating at the time. The woman also had some other problems that made returning her daughter to her challenging for the court, though the court generally wants to keep families together.

“It was very complicated and messy,” Cordero recalled. ​“All sides were lawyered up, so to speak.”

He said it took about a year and a lot of work, but the woman eventually did what was necessary to regain custody of her daughter.

Family and faith are important to Cordero. He is from a large family that established its roots in the city back in the 1960s when his parents came to Connecticut from Puerto Rico. His mother is from a family of nine siblings; his father has 13 siblings. Cordero is one of four siblings who came of age in the Star of Jacob Christian Church on Howard Avenue. He said that upbringing has influenced him.

In addition to his work with Legal Services, for the last four years, he has served on the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center Board of Directors, where he has been part of the finance committee and currently serves as the chair of the governance committee. His legal background came in handy as that committee recently took on the task of redrafting the board’s bylaws. He said he remembers getting his vaccinations at Cornell Scott when he was a kid, so when he was asked to become a director he didn’t hesitate.

Cordero said at the end of the day, he’s a lawyer, not a politician and not the best at tooting his own horn. But he said he believes he’s the right person for the probate judge’s job because, in addition to meeting the qualifications and being from the community, hehas the empathy and compassion needed to fairly apply the law and meet people where they are.

“Obviously, I believe I have the qualifications,” he said. ​“I’ve been an attorney for 12 years … I went to Yale and BU for law school. Those are great schools, but that’s obvious stuff. It’s more about what you do with those degrees.”

He said he sees an opportunity to leverage the kinds of relationships that he’s built as a native and his pedigree as Yalie to open doors to find more resources for the court.

“I wanted to stay in New Haven to serve my community,” he said. ​“Having empathy and compassion, they’re not just buzzwords or nice character traits to have. They are vital and essential to the role of probate judge because it’s a position of trust.”

Leaving A Mark Of His Own

Like his opponents, Cordero has every intention of building on the foundation laid by Keyes when it comes to making the probate court accessible, intimate and less formal. He also would like to carry on the work of the fund Keyes established to help alleviate some of the financial stress of would-be guardians taking on the full-time care of children, he said.

He said he also sees room for things to improve particularly in the area of dealing with Spanish-speaking clients. He said there have been times when he is waiting to represent a case in probate court when he has been called on to interpret for the court.

“I don’t want to be seen as the Latino candidate, but I can’t hide what I am,” he said. ​“There is a need in probate court to have Spanish speaking folks. Being Puerto Rican, being bilingual, I’m sensitive to that issue. The legal system is daunting regardless of the language and the culture and you need someone who is sensitive to the issues, sensitive to the mental health issues and open to that.”

Cordero said that he would like to see the probate court system in New Haven provide workshops about what it means to be a conservator and what responsibilities come with such a role.

“I might be the least experienced in terms of practicing but I have lawyered and having gone to court representing people,” he said. ​“I’ve been a probate court attorney and I think serving as probate judge would be a good marriage of what my personal values are as well as being able to practice the law.

“I want to represent this next generation of leaders coming up who are from here,” he added. ​“New Haven is in my DNA.”