Markeshia Ricks Photo
Paca at his first campaign office Friday.
Mayoral candidate Marcus Paca opened a campaign office and made a pitch for voter registration and education, in the heart of Fair Haven, particularly for those who are formerly incarcerated.
With a DJ Skorp spinning tunes and drowning out the busy Friday traffic making its way up and down Grand Avenue, Paca and his supporters gathered to talk about building an informed electorate and putting more voters on the rolls.
“We’re here today because we all have a passion for the city of New Haven,” Paca said. “What I want to do is ensure that everyone is a well-educated and well-informed voter. So when we at the Progress with Paca campaign talk about voter registration, we’re not just talking about someone signing up and someone going to the booth. We’re talking about all the issues facing their communities and their city, this very day.”
Paca talks to a potential voter.
Paca, who is seeking the Democratic mayoral nomination, said he has been crisscrossing the city and talking to New Haveners. What he hears a lot are people who want to know how they can be involved in their city. One of the key things he said he tells them is to participate in local elections by voting. Some of those people tell him that they have participated in national elections for president, but he said he challenges them to focus on what’s happening at the local level.
“I challenge them and say, ‘hey, listen, voting in your local election is probably the most important thing you can do because it’s going to affect you and your family every single day,” he said.
With supporters outside the new office on Grand Avenue.
And one of the groups that he is keen to get educated and involved again in the voting process are those who have been formerly incarcerated. Paca said that he has learned that about 11,000 people in the city have been convicted of a crime, and whether they know it or not, they can vote in Connecticut.
“I’m reaching out to the people who feel disenfranchised,” he said. “I’m reaching out to the people who feel like they’ve been ignored. I’m reaching out to the people who feel like they don’t have a voice. I will be your voice, because it’s not all about the politicians downtown. It’s about what’s going on in our community.”
Bridgeport Re-entry Director Louis Reed talks about felon voting rights.
Louis Reed, the re-entry director for Bridgeport and a friend of Paca’s, said that he can attest to how important participating in the electoral process can be for someone who is formerly incarcerated. He served 13-and-a-half years in federal prison and missed participating in the election of former President Barack Obama.
“Missing out on that created a thirst for my interest in politics and being involved,” he said. “I wanted to be involved. I wanted to do something.”
Reed reminded those gathered that being incarcerated or formerly incarcerated doesn’t necessarily exclude you from voting. In Connecticut, if you are in custody but in the pretrial portion of your case being adjudicated, you can vote by absentee ballot. If you’ve served your time and you’re not on parole, you can vote.
Of the formerly incarcerated, Reed said, “I don’t know how many are registered to vote, but it is a large populace we need to tap into…. That’s not just because I personally believe that Marcus Paca is the most viable, is the most robust, is the most innovative candidate, for mayor here within the city of New Haven.
“The fact of the matter is that people should come out and cast their [vote], even if you feel that Marcus Paca is not the most qualified candidate to be mayor of New Haven,” he added. “You should come out and you should engage in that process. Now, again, I personally believe that this man is the right man for the job.”
Paca spreads the voter education message.
Paca said he’s not going to be the type of politician who only comes around at election time.
“I’m not going to pander for your vote,” he said. “I’m going to sit down and have a conversation with you because you’re important. Our city is important. Our communities are important. Our streets are important. Our kids are important. Our educational system is important.”
Friday’s voter education and registration event wasn’t the formal grand opening for the Grand Avenue office. Paca said it was important to him to get his first office going in Fair Haven because of the diversity of the community.
“There’s black, there’s white, there’s Latino,” he said. “I thought it would send a good message to the community that we’re willing to come to one of the most diverse neighborhoods in our city to open our first campaign. I encourage everyone to come here and register to vote, but I also encourage folks, again, to be educated voters, educated constituents, and citizens — to learn about my platform, not just register to vote.”
Personally, I would like to know from Mr. Paca, how he plans to get former/current employees of the City that he did not support (i.e. assisted in 'railroading' good employees based upon 'politics' or the whim of 'higher' individuals) to either support him or believe a word he says. I am asking for those City/BOE managers who were either demoted or opted to resign due to little more than being chastised or attacked for fulfilling their job duties. Sadly, many 20 year plus quality employees have decided to leave instead of fighting against fabricated and ludicrous accusations. As Mr. Paca sat there as MANY excellent employees were unjustly pigeonholed, how does he plan to rectify the wrongs committed and ensure they do not continue to occur??