Jackie James Takes Party’s Helm

As New Haven Democrats elected her their first female African-American chairwoman, Jackie James responded to accusations of a power grab by promising to run the organization from the bottom up rather than from City Hall.

The election took place at a meeting Wednesday night of the New Haven Democratic Town Committee (DTC) at the Conte/West Hills School. It represented not only a historic milestone, but a solidification of labor’s power in one-party New Haven’s one real political party.

James (pictured above) beat two opponents, Wooster Square activist Chris Randall and former Alderwoman Esther Armmand, to become party chairwoman. The position holds a two-year term.

James replaces Susie Voigt, who decided not to run again after leading the party for 10 years.

In a brief acceptance speech, James promised to ​“re-energize” the party and bring disenfranchised voters to the polls.

Afterwards, she also declared the DTC’s independence from the mayor’s office.

James, who’s in her fifth term as a Hill alderwoman, now holds two influential posts: Besides being chairwoman, she is president pro tempore of the Board of Aldermen, which means she serves on a small leadership team that sets the agenda for the all-Democrat legislative body. That position puts her second in line to the mayor’s seat after the board president.

As party chair, James will oversee a DTC with lots of fresh faces. The DTC comprises 60 ​“co-chairs,” two from each ward, over half of whom are new to the job. The newcomers, elected in March primaries, rode in on of a wave of democracy that upset the city’s political landscape in September and November elections. Like the new Board of Aldermen that took office in January, the new DTC has strong ties to a labor-backed movement.

Now that they’re inside the party structure, the newcomers will serve as official delegates to conventions to nominate state legislators, congressmen, and senators. They’ll make up some of the 84 delegates that New Haven sends to statewide party conventions — the largest number from any single town.

New Haven’s DTC currently meets only a few times per year to endorse candidates, including aldermen and mayors. In one-party New Haven, winning Democratic primaries or endorsements is often tantamount to winning office. At a recent count, the city had 45,555 registered Democrats, 2,456 Republicans, 15,946 unaffiliated voters and 341 ​“other” voters. The new team now has the chance to consider expanding the party’s role in elections and voter turnout.

James vowed to lead the party as a ​“team effort” along with her fellow officers also elected Wednesday night. They include former Alderman Vinnie Mauro and Carmen Reyes as vice chairs, and Yale union organizer Gwen Mills as treasurer.

Her election came during a lively, hour-and-a-half meeting that showed a variety of allegiances and viewpoints within the new party structure.

In her last act as chairwoman, Voigt (pictured) oversaw the vote for her replacement.

Before she could start, Honda Smith (pictured), a West Rock ward co-chair, raised her hand and called for a paper ballot vote. The move was aimed to free up committee members to vote their minds instead of feeling peer pressure to act in lock-step with a plan to elect James, the clear frontrunner going into the meeting.

Smith’s measure failed: only 22 of the 57 members agreed with her.

When it came time for nominations, Latoya Agnew (at center in photo), the 19-year-old who just won one of Newhallville’s party seats, rose to recommend James.

“We share the same vision of making our Democratic Party a party where everyone can get involved,” Agnew said. She called James ​“the woman who is going to restore New Haven’s Democratic Party.”

Smith offered an alternative: ​“The only one I know that will be grassroots will be Esther Armmand,” she said.

Carmen Rodriguez nominated her fellow co-chair in Wooster Square, Chris Randall.

As he rose to second the nomination, East Rock co-chair David Streever echoed Smith’s concerns.

“I’m uncomfortable seeing the consolidation of power in any group,” he said. He turned to James and said he has no problem with her, but she already has a powerful post on the legislative wing.

“I just feel like it’s good to give someone else a shot,” Streever said.

James clapped politely, then swept the election. She won 48 votes to Randall’s five and Armmand’s four.

Before the vote, her supporters passed around flyers advertising the slate. Her two vice-chairs, Vinnie Mauro and Carmen Reyes, beat back spirited challenges from Randall and Norma Rodriguez-Reyes. (Editor’s note: Rodriguez-Reyes serves on the volunteer board of the Online Journalism Project, which publishes this website.)

As she took the podium as chair, James scrapped a prepared speech and issued a call for unity.

“Look around you,” she told the committee members. ​“This is a grassroots process.”

“I understand we all have our differences, but we need to put them aside.”

“This party will be about inclusion,” added Mauro (pictured).

In the past, the Democratic Town Committee has served as a wing of Mayor John DeStefano’s reelection campaign. Mauro said Wednesday the party is starting a new chapter.

“This party doesn’t have an identity yet,” he said. ​“Our identity starts tonight.”

James said the city has over 45,000 registered Democrats — ​“we need to ensure every Democrat is engaged in the process and comes out to vote,” James said. She vowed to support ward co-chairs in doing that, and take direction from them.

“This town committee is run by the ward chairs,” she said. It’s a ​“bottom-up process.”

“I have no desire to do this by myself,” James said. ​“This is going to be a team effort.”

Her team also includes Rose DeMatteo as secretary, Lateefah Williams as assistant secretary, Gwen Mills as treasurer and Josh Vega as assistant treasurer.

Mills is a 37-year-old UNITE HERE organizer who has quietly developed a reputation as a top campaign strategist. This will be her first time joining the party as an elected official.

A lifelong New Havener, ​“I’ve been involved in the process, and in Democratic politics, for a long time,” Mills said. She said her union, whose locals represent Yale’s blue-collar and pink-collar workers, has a goal to ​“improve quality of life for our members and for other people who live in the city” — a goal that’s served by a robust Democratic party that helps boost voter engagement.

“The union is invested in the success of the party,” she said. ​“I thought it would be good to put myself up in an elected position.”

She said by holding elected office in the party, she aims to make ​“transparent” the connection between labor and the new party leaders. ​“It’s just clearer,” she said. ​“There is no secret collusion.”

James closed the meeting by inviting her fellow Democrats to an after-party — free food, cash bar — at Kudetá on Temple Street.

In an interview on the stage as the others filed out of the room, James promised to work with other party members to create a ward-by-ward strategy to boost voter turnout. She pledged to do more outreach to youth and ex-offenders.

“One of the things we have failed to do is reengage the youth,” James said. As part of that effort, the party plans to start to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter.

As for the mayor, James said, ​“the expectation is the he not have a role” in how the party is run.

Mauro’s father, Vinnie Mauro Sr., a former town chairman, served as alderman of the Hill’s Ward 3 — the same section James now represents. Mauro, Sr. did not take on both roles at the same time. He served as alderman until 1981 and took over as chair in 1982, Mauro said.

James was asked about Streever’s remark that she has consolidated too much power.

She said the power of the president pro tempore is overstated. She doesn’t chair any aldermanic committees. It’s highly unlikely she’ll ascend to the mayor’s seat. In order to inherit the mayoralty, something unexpected would have to happen to DeStefano, and then to Aldermanic President Jorge Perez. That hasn’t happened before.

“Jorge Perez has been on the board for 20 years, and he’s only missed one meeting,” James said. ​“I’m not moving up.”

She does get to sit in on leadership meetings with the mayor and others, to craft the legislative agenda and strategy. James downplayed her power from that seat — after leadership meetings, she said, before making any decisions, ​“we go back to the board.”