Mayoral candidate Toni Harp marshaled Morris Cove troops Thursday to defend their local fire station from what she claimed was a threat of closure.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Harp accused opponent Justin Elicker of making a “coded” threat to close the firehouse, putting the neighborhood at risk.
Elicker denied making any such threat. He has made it clear that he would not close the Morris Cove station. He said Harp has resorted to lying about her opponents’ statements, as a last-minute ploy to mislead voters five days before the primary election.
The accusations came just days before Tuesday’s election, in which Harp and Elicker — along with Kermit Carolina and Henry Fernandez — seek the Democratic nomination for the open mayor’s seat.
The press conference represented stepped-up aggression for Harp’s campaign. It marked the first time she has held a campaign event held solely to blast Elicker by name. It also served to highlight one key base of support in the race: Harp has secured the endorsement of the fire union.
At noon on Thursday, Harp appeared in front of the Morris Cove fire station with Assistant Fire Chief Pat Egan, fire union President Jimmy Kottage, Aldermen Sal DeCola and Al Paolillo, and several firefighters.
Harp referred to an article in the Independent in which Elicker said that as mayor, he would explore some form of consolidation with East Haven for emergency calls handled by the Morris Cove station.
That’s “code for ‘we will close this station,’” Harp said. “I’m here to say no.”
Harp twice referred to Elicker as a newcomer to New Haven. “Clearly Mr. Elicker hasn’t been around for very long,” she said. “Some folks have lived here for decades, unlike Mr. Elicker.”
Public safety may be something “Mr. Elicker can easily cast off” as mayor, she said. “The people of this community deserve the same protection” as other parts of the city.
Elicker later responded that Harp had deliberately distorted his stance as presented in the Independent article.
“I specifically say in those comments that I am not proposing shutting down a fire house in the East Shore,” he said. “She flat-out lied in front of the public about my platform, in an attempt four days before the election to mislead people into changing their vote. That kind of politics is deeply dishonest and is exactly what we’re trying to get away from as a city.”
Elicker said that he “pushed back” against the fire department’s move to do away with Engine 8 in East Rock.
Morris Cove’s Engine 16.
Elicker outlined a proposal for fire services: The East Shore has two fire houses, on Woodward Avenue and at Lighthouse Point. Each has an engine only, not a squad, a bigger truck with different capabilities. The city has two squads, on Ellsworth Avenue and on Whitney Avenue. Elicker said squads are needed for particular emergencies, including cold water rescues, and dealing with hazardous materials. They have equipment to handle these situations that engines don’t, he said.
Currently, if Morris Cove has a cold-water rescue emergency, the response time for a squad would be eight to 10 minutes, Elicker said. “By partnering with neighboring towns, and through regionalization in general, we can decrease the response time and increase the safety for places like the East Shore, where right now, from a municipal perspective, they’re very isolated.”
Alderman Sal DeCola points out the boot-like shape of Morris Cove.
The East Shore is a peninsula of New Haven, but is not actually isolated if you look beyond the city borders, Elicker said.
Elicker also said he would “explore” changing minimum staffing requirements in fire stations, as long as safety isn’t compromised. “I’m focused on evidence-based government,” he said.
Asked if minimum staffing requirements should be changed, Harp said, “I don’t think so.”
“I think he’s changing the story now,” Harp said of Elicker’s explanation about hazmat and cold-water rescue. Elicker didn’t mention those things in the quote in the Independent story, she said.
Harp said she doesn’t know how Elicker would partner with East Haven since that town has a volunteer fire department.
“He’s trying to get away from what he was saying,” Harp said. “East Haven, while they have wonderful volunteers, the reality is that you wouldn’t call East Haven to handle a call in New Haven.”
“He doesn’t understand how the fire department works. He doesn’t understand inter-municipal agreements,” Harp said. It’s unreasonable to suggest that New Haven could partner with East Haven without it costing New Haven money, she said.
Despite Elicker’s denial, Harp said Elicker’s intention to close the Morris Cove fire house is clear “if you read between the lines.”
“It’s suggested by what he said,” Harp said.
If he wouldn’t close the Morris Cove fire station, he would remove the engine, leaving any staff without a vehicle, Harp said. Elicker was quoted saying that the Morris Cove fire station handles the fewest calls, so therefore, that engine would be the one he would remove, Harp deduced. “Where else would he eliminate one?”
Harp said Elicker is “shooting from the hip” and betraying his “lack of experience.”
“The people in our town have got to be assured that their safety comes first,” Harp said.
As evidence of the essential need for the Morris Cove fire station, Harp said that the firefighters there were among the first to respond to last month’s plane crash, just over the border in East Haven.
Very sad to see Harp resorting to lies as a way to get attention.
Elicker's statement that he would not close the firehouse was very clear.
It only makes you wonder what else she has lied about, like her statement that she "knows nothing" about the slumlord family business that contributed nearly $4,000 to her campaign in just one filing, not even counting the lavish fundraiser that Mr. Harp sponsored in Hamden.