nothin High-Voting Ward Backs Marchand | New Haven Independent

High-Voting Ward Backs Marchand

Finnegan Schick Photo

Westville Alder Adam Marchand has no one running against him for reelection, but on Sunday he had a lot of people running with him.

Escaping the heat in the cool Coogan Pavilion in Edgewood Park on Sunday, Westville neighbors and city officials came out to support Democrat Marchand’s (pictured) bid for a third two-year term representing Ward 25.

I can’t think of a more hard-working person for this ward,” said Democratic Ward Co-Chair Janis Underwood.

Ealier this month the Ward 25 Democratic Committee voted unanimously to endorse Marchand, whose full-time day job is health benefits coordinator for Yale employees.

Ward 25 often has the highest rate of voter turnout in New Haven, with an engaged and active citizenry.

We like to get full and loud participation, and that was not an issue this year,” said Ward Co-Chair Michael Slattery. Slattery, who ran and barely lost to Marchand in the 2011 race for alder, now supports and collaborates with him. That campaign was almost four years ago.

Marchand said even if no opponent emerges he plans to spend lots of time knocking on doors, making phone calls, and registering new votes in the months ahead. Marchand called for hard work even in years when there’s not a contested election.”

Alders Jeanette Morrison and Delphine Clyburn with City Clerk Smart at the event.

[Marchand] listens to us. Sometimes,” Arthur Lindley said half-jokingly at the gathering.

Lindley, who helped Marchand win his first election in 2011, said a handful of people in the Ward are not satisfied with Marchand’s work, but added that discontent comes with the territory.

Aldermen don’t have very much power,” he said. They can’t make a loud neighbor go away or a pothole get out of the street. But people believe that they can.”

Neighbors present at the announcement praised Marchand’s broad perspective on city governance. Instead of focusing exclusively on the issues of his ward, Silvia Hines said, Marchand understands that all areas of New Haven are connected.

We all work together to make sure our city is successful,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker said.

Despite talk about strengthening citywide politics in a slow election season, Marchand did find time to present his plans for the next term. He emphasized the importance of community policing in improving public safety, and said the city needs to attend to the unacceptably large gap between when a call goes in and when the police arrive.” (Read more about that here.)

Also of importance to Marchand is the improvement of Westville Village storefronts. The fire that destroyed Delaney’s Restaurant left an empty lot in the heart of Westville Village; Marchand said he will aid the search for a new occupant for the space.

Marchand said he thinks a balance between citywide and local governance is essential for success. Legislative work allows Marchand to tackle problems across New Haven, while meetings with his constituency keeps him aware of the issues in his ward. 

For instance, Marchand took part in a city task force to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. Last year, he supported the preservation of the West River, which runs through Edgewood Park.

Uncontested election or no, ward activist Jim Berger said, there is still much work to be done in New Haven. Berger is an organizer with the grassroots labor group New Haven Rising.

[The election] is a cake walk, but the socioeconomic problems … are still here,” he said.

Reciprocating Marchand’s support for their respective campaigns, City Clerk Michael Smart, Walker, and Board of Education Candidate Edward Joyner addressed the crowd and introduced themselves.

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