Harp Crushes Paca 3 – 1

• New Haven Democrats give an overwhelming vote of confidence to Mayor Toni Harp, as she clobbers challenger Marcus Paca in a party primary 5,788 votes to 1,977.
• 30-ward sweep.
• Paca said he plans to continue his run as an independent in November.
• Kim Edwards, Renee Haywood, Michelle Sepulveda win alder primaries.
• Only 20 percent of the city’s 38,341 registered Democrats vote.
• Harp calls her victory a vote for unity over division, a contrast to the current national political mood. ​“Division is exhausting and counterproductive,” she declares.
• Robert Lee gracious in defeat: ​“The people made a statement. You got to respect it.”

Final returns showed Harp with 74.5 percent of the vote to Paca’s 25.5 percent. Counting absentee ballots, Harp received 5,788 votes to Paca’s 1,977.

Both camps had anticipated a closer race because of Paca’s energetic campaigning, contrasted with Harp’s lower-key style. Both sides in effect made the primary election a referendum on Harp’s first two terms in office, from her leadership style and budgeting record to her housing and criminal-justice and pro-immigrant policies.

With no alder races in nine-tenths of the city, and with a badly outspent challenger facing an incumbent with 30 years in elected office, turnout was anemic citywide: Only 7,765 — or 20 percent — of New Haven’s 38,341 registered Democrats cast ballots in the mayoral primary. By contrast, 13,397 Democrats voted in the 2011 mayoral primary, which featured four mayoral candidates and hotly contested alder races citywide. In 2013’s four-way primary for an open mayoral seat, 14,723 Democrats voted. (There was no Democratic primary in 2015.)

Three Democratic primaries for open alder seats also took place in the city Tuesday. Kim Edwards defeated Sarah Ofosu 373 to 151 (not counting machine votes) in Newhallville/Prospect Hill’s Ward 19. Renee Haywood defeated Robert Lee in a primary in Fair Haven Heights’ Ward 11. Michelle Sepulveda topped Charlie Delgado and Tosha James-Goldson in West Hills/West Rock’s Ward 30.

The two polling places with the highest turnout, at 45 percent (Bella Vista and Celentano School), also had alder elections.

Harp: We’re United, & Positive

At a raucous victory part at the new Vanity nightclub on Temple Street, without naming Paca, Harp took a shot at what she characterized as her opponent’s relentlessly negative campaign. She compared it to the divisive nature of national politics. Then she thanked the crowd for ​“reject[ing] the disparaging characterization of our great city and our people.”

(Click on the above video to watch her speech.)

“Division is exhausting and counterproductive,” Harp declared. ​“Frankly, I think we’re all just sick of it. It’s time to come together, to focus on what really matters, which is making sure that our communities are thriving.”

She also reaffirmed her support for New Haven’s sanctuary city policies.

“We will build bridges, not walls,” Harp declared to thunderous applause.

Paca Promises To Press On

Up the block on Temple, Paca’s own party was a muted affair, with about a dozen supporters gathering at the restaurant Ah-Beetz.

On the sidewalk, Paca conceded the primary to Harp and the ​“Democratic machine,” swearing that he’ll continue to run as an independent in the Nov. 7 general election — for now.

“The gap was huge,” he said of the results. ​“I’m not blind to the fact.”

Democratic voters didn’t turn out because they don’t feel galvanized, Paca said. The campaign will continue to stay positive, he added, as he aims to reach Democrats who didn’t vote, Republicans and independent voters with a message of ​“inspiration and hope.”

“I think I can make up a tremendous amount of ground during these next two months,” he said.

There a is historical precedent that 5,000 to 6,000 votes can be made up between the primary and the general, Paca said — most recently, in Justin Elicker’s 2013 campaign against Toni Harp. ​“And I think I could do the same,” he said.

Generational Torch Passed

On a night of relatively low voter turnout, Celentano Magnet School on Prospect Street was bustling with activity until the minute the polls closed at 8 p.m.

That was because Celentano is the polling place for Ward 19, one of only three wards wards in the city that saw a contested Democratic primary for alder on Tuesday night, pitting a lifelong New Havener with deep roots in local politics against a relative newcomer eager to make local government more transparent.

Kimberly Edwards, the daughter of the outgoing Ward 19 Alder Alfreda Edwards and a current a union steward and a customer service representative at Frontier Communications, defeated Sarah Ofosu, a Ghanaian immigrant who has lived in New Haven for four years and works for a local education non-profit, by a vote margin of 401 to 153.

As the sun set over Prospect Hill on Tuesday night, Edwards and Ofosu stood among supporters and tried to do some last minute voter outreach after weeks of knocking doors in the ward that traverses Newhallville, Prospect Hill, and East Rock. Ofosu had been at the polling location since 6 a.m. and Edwards had been there since 7 a.m., but they were both energized as voters continued to stream in as late as 8 p.m. on their way home from work.

​“It’s been wonderful meeting people from all over the ward, and seeing people respond to my strong voice,” Edwards said. ​“I’m a union worker, and people know that I’m a strong advocate for regular people.”

One such voter, John Carmona, who has lived on Huntington Street for 25 years and works for Tower Laboratories in Clinton, said in a mix of Spanish and English that Edwards was the right alder for the neighborhood. ​“She is someone who cares about all people in New Haven,” he said. ​“She is good people.”

Surrounded by a range of political leaders who had come out to show their support for Edwards, ranging from Mayor Harp to East Rock Alder Anna Festa, Probate Judge candidate Clifton Graves, City Clerk Michael Smart, and her mom and current Newhallville/East Rock alder Alfeda, Edwards said that she did not expect any special treatment because of her family history.

​“We’re not kings and queens, and I don’t expect to be next in line,” she said. ​“I never take for granted that people will know me. You still have to network to touch everyone.”

Ofosu stood a few dozen feet from Edwards’ coterie at a table filled with campaign lit and surrounded by a few supporters, including her parents and younger brother, who had driven up from Washington County, Maryland for the day.

​“This is my home now,” Ofosu said. ​“As someone who is working here, living here, playing here, I think that I deserve a chance to participate in political life here too.”

Over 50 people moved into the Celentano auditorium as 8 p.m. approached to listen to the voter results. Mayoral hopeful Marcus Paca paced the floorboards nervously as his wife Mendi Blue looked on from the side of the room.

The moderator announced that 526 total votes had been cast at the polling location, and that Edwards had defeated Ofosu by over 220 votes, and that Harp had defeated Paca by almost 300. Edwards and Ofosu gave each other a hug as Edwards’ supporters cheered her on.

​“I feel great that people have faith in me and want me to represent them,” Edwards said after the results had been announced. ​“And I’m very ready for the general election in November.” She said that, if elected alder, her number one priority would be encouraging local businesses to hire local workers.

Ofosu said that she was not yet sure if she wI’ll not run in the general election. ​“I’m exiting today without a title,” she said. ​“But it’s not a title that matters, it’s your actions.”

In a letter to supporters, Ofosu wrote in part, ““I ran for office because I love New Haven and because I want it to be a place where city government is accessible to all, where our elected officials are transparent about how our tax dollars are spent and invested and a place where all voices are included in the decision making process. In the following weeks and months, I will reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and most importantly I will remind myself of the reason why I decided to get into local politics.”

A Familiar Face In West Hills

A familiar face beat out two political newcomers in three-way race for the alder seat that represents both sides of West Rock.

West Rock/West Hills Alder Michelle Sepulveda, who was appointed by Mayor Toni Harp in August to finish out the term of Carlton Staggers and had served in the role in the past, won handily Tuesday against challengers Charlie Delgado and Tosha James-Goldson.

Sepulveda garnered 182 votes to Delgado’s 36 and James-Goldson’s 32. But it remains to be seen if she will face her primary opponents in the November general Election.

Delgado said prior to final ballots being cast Tuesday that he had yet to decide whether he would carry through with a general election fight. He spent much of election night still canvassing his Brookside neighborhood and listening to residents who were concerned about rent increases and crime.

“I think whatever happens, I will be grateful to go and work with other programs and people in the city to sharpen my tool set,” he said.

An attempt to reach James-Goldson was unsuccessful late Tuesday.

Sepulveda said she was excited about winning the election and she had a promise for her constituents.

“I promise that I will call all of my constituents back,” she said. ​“I know that sounds small but it seemed to be a really big thing to them when I was out there.”

A New Face In The Heights

Haywood, who in the past has helped other people run for office, had tears in her eyes after defeating Lee 275 votes to 171.

“I had a lot of people who helped me. I’m on dialysis. They supported me when I was weak. I’m so grateful. [Alder Gerald] Antunes is fantastic. He told me about the job. He was a kind of mentor. [Alder] Ken Reveiz too,” she said. She promised, if elected in November, to make a priority of bringing speed bumps to Bella Vista, Eastern Parkway, and Quinnipiac Avenue. She also spoke of helping the senior center on Atwater Street and the larger one at Bella Vista need to exchange and share information better, about programs and activities.

All the losing candidates have the option of running as unaffiliated candidates in the Nov. 7 general election because they have submitted petitions qualifying them for ballot positions.

Robert Lee, a former alder who has unsuccessfully tried to regain a seat on the board several times, said after the polls closed that this will be his last year running for office. He said he hadn’t decided yet whether to see this campaign through to the general election.

“The people made a statement. The people made a choice. You got to respect it,” Lee said.

Thank you to all the community volunteers who helped the Independent collect voting results at the polls!