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Harp, Fernandez, Elicker, & Carolina.
(Updated with video of the debate.) One candidate got props from his rivals. Another went after his rivals. And a third gave out his phone number.
Those were three highlights from a live televised mayoral debate Wednesday night at Long Wharf Theatre. The four Democratic mayoral candidates met onstage less than two weeks before the Sept. 10 Democratic primary.
One candidate got props from his rivals. Another went after his rivals. And a third gave out his phone number.
Those were three highlights from a live televised mayoral debate Wednesday night at Long Wharf Theatre. The four Democratic mayoral candidates met onstage less than two weeks before the Sept. 10 Democratic primary. Click the video above to watch the full debate.
Hundreds of people packed the theater for the hour-long debate, which NBC Connecticut broadcast live on Channel 30. The TV network sponsored the debate along with the New Haven Independent, La Voz Hispana, the Democracy Fund, and the New Haven Register.
At the first televised debate, the highest-profile match-up before the election, the candidates — Kermit Carolina, Justin Elicker, Henry Fernandez, and Toni Harp — offered a number of policy ideas they’ve mentioned before, and some new positions.
And Elicker gave out his phone number to TV viewers across Connecticut to demonstrate that he’d be accessible.
Elicker and Carolina — who are both participating in the Democracy Fund, the city’s public campaign-financing program — announced that they will not take special interest money or $1,000. Both candidates, along with Fernandez, have earned independent ballot slots to run in the general election as well as the primary. After the Sept. 10 election, Elicker and Carolina would no longer be bound by the donation restrictions of the Democracy Fund, but they said they will abide by them nonetheless.
Harp contradicted the Board of Aldermen’s view of mayoral power by saying she thinks the mayor should be able to appoint her own staffers. The Board of Aldermen has approved a ballot question for this November’s election that calls for requiring that the board approve top mayoral appointees.
A question to candidates about which of their opponents’ ideas they would adopt led to some plaudits for Carolina, the principal of Hillhouse High School. Both Elicker and Fernandez said they would take his ideas. Elicker would borrow his plan to create incentives for city employees to live in the city. Fernandez applauded the way he’s broken Hillhouse into small “learning communities.”
Fernandez was the first candidate to call out his rivals by name. He went after Alderman Elicker for voting to approve city budgets that raise taxes, and state Sen. Harp for allegedly saying that she hasn’t read the budget.
Elicker responded that he has a strong record of working to amend city budgets with spending cuts, and voted for the amended budgets to avoid the higher taxes in the mayor’s unamended budgets.
Harp said she was “irritated” that Fernandez would have “the nerve” to criticize her when so much of the city’s capital comes from the state Capitol, where she’s worked for years and Fernandez has never shown his face.
In closing statements, Elicker said people keep telling him they want a mayor who listens. Seeking to prove he would be that mayor, Elicker read out the digits of his phone number and asked people to contact him directly. He promised to return their calls.
The Independent covered the debate live from the theater. Read on for a live blog of the action.
6:54 p.m.: Time for a rehearsal of the live intro. Moderator Gerry Brooks make introductions. He’s asked the audience to engage only in “polite applause.”
7: Show time. We’re live. Brooks introduces the candidates again. Whoops and whistles abound. Brooks introduces the panelists: Paul Bass of the Independent, Mary O’Leary of the Register, and Cynthia Calderon of La Voz.
The format: No opening statements. 60-seconds to respond to questions. 30-second rebuttals, if desired. 60-second closing statements. Questions will come from panelists and as prerecorded videos of New Haven neighbors.
7:02: First question: Bass asks Harp what she’d do if three feet of snow fall on the snow suddenly.
Harp: We’d get payloaders in here to get snow removed. Elderly people need to be able to get to hospitals. We need a plan to get them out. Even before I become mayor, we need to make plans for safety if we have 100 year storms like we’ve had for the past three years.
Fernandez: We had a very serious storm just recently. The city wasn’t ready. We need serious planning before there’s a storm. With climate change well have more storms. We need payloaders distributed across the city, not just in one area. Clear hospitals and bus stops.
Elicker: What you’re describing isn’t imaginary. It happened with storm Nemo. The point is: Plan, plan, plan. We don’t as a city plan as much as we should, whether it’s the budget or snow. I’ll work as soon as I’m elected to plan for every scenario. The public didn’t know where to park, where to go in the last storm. We can communicate better.
Carolina (pictured): Acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. A good leader always prepares for the worst and hopes for the best. I’d make sure a plan is in place. Protect homeless and the vulnerable, the elderly.
[All four candidates offer the same answer: Make a plan.]
7:07: Next question: Pensions. The pension funds are underfunded. Are you willing to change contracts? What else would you do?
Fernandez: This is a ticking time bomb. We have to fix the pension system. This is a very serious problem. I’ve laid out a comprehensive plan to bring together the city, the state, and city workers. [This is the plan Fernandez rolled out earlier this week, calling for $20 million more from the state. Harp called it unrealistic.] Fernandez also says city workers (ie. cops) shouldn’t be able to retire as early as they do.
Elicker: We are the Detroit of 10 years ago. We’re expecting too much from our investments. Two things to do: Renegotiate contracts. I was the only one who said I’d be willing to do that during the police union debate. [Not really a risky move since he wasn’t likely to win the police union endorsement anyway.] Second, we need to grow as a city to expand tax base.
Carolina: Let’s be honest, we’ve been fiscally irresponsible. We’ve allowed our unions to inflate their pensions.
Harp talks about defined contributions versus defined benefits, a way to free the city from the vicissitudes of the market — ie, the possibility of switchin city workers from conventional guaranteed pensions to 401k style market investments. She says she would avoid switching to the market because of the risk, because families so their life savings destroyed in the recent market crash. Police officers take great physical risks so it makes sense they can retire early, and we need to make sure they have stabilized pensions.
7:12: Next question: How will you help mainstream Latino students in New Haven public schools?
Elicker (pictured): By changing our education system to invest more where our dollars count: Early childhood education. Studies show it produces better students. … A hybrid Board of Ed means transparency and an end to favoritism. A “No Wrong Door” policy. [Elicker doesn’t address Latino students specifically, but offers several policy ideas.]
Kermit thanks Calderon for the “softball” since he’s a principal. He says: We partner with agencies like Junta to provide support to Latino families so they’re successful in school.
Harp: We have to have a strong education system. I went to Nathan Hale and East Rock schools today. They had parents coming to school. We need strong bilingual education. Parents need to feel welcome.
Fernandez: Today was the first day of school, and I was so proud to bring “little Henry” to the first day of school with my wife. We’re raising him bilingually. Unfortunately, we as a city are not investing enough in bilingual education. We’re not doing enough to bring in parents who don’t speak English in the home.
7:16: Next question, from a citizen on video: Taxes are killing us. What can we do? Can we cut car tax? I’ve owned my car for 13 years. I’m tired of paying for it.
Carolina: We need to maximize and maintain revenue in the city. We need to have more employees live in the city, so the money doesn’t leave. And we need to look at regionalization, to merge services with those of suburban communities.
Harp: We have to grow our economy in this town. I met with a business looking to expand. They couldn’t get their proposal before the Board of Aldermen. We need to streamline government to make it easier to do business.
Fernandez (pictured): My wife and I own our home in Fair Haven, and pay taxes. [Is this a veiled dig at Harp, who was delinquent on her taxes years ago?] I spoke with a senior citizen in the East Shore; she said she’s lived here her whole life and is worried taxes will force her out. We need to grow tax base and hold the line on spending. Unfortunately I need to point out that Elicker has voted to raise taxes and Harp admitted she hasn’t read the budget. [The evening’s first attack!]
Elicker: We have to have a bit of a lesson on how the budget works.. The mayor submits a budget and we either amend it or the mayor’s budget passes. I’ve always voted for the amended budget, to avoid the higher taxes in the mayor’s budget. I’ve proposed $100 million of cuts to the budget. I’ve been the strongest vocal advocate on reining in spending.
Harp: What I do know about the budget is that over half of it comes from the state. I’m really irritated that someone who has never come to the state Capitol has the nerve to say that to me.
Brooks gently reminds the audience not to whoop.
7:22: Questions: Can you name a position that you’re willing to take that some of your supporters won’t agree with?
Harp slowly repeats the question, then says: I believe the mayor should be able to hire the mayor’s staff. [A proposed revision to the city charter would have the Board of Aldermen approve the mayor’s top staffers.]
Fernandez: I’ve been a strong advocate for immigrants rights. Not everyone agrees with this. [This is a very safe answer in immigrant-friendly New Haven, especially given the expressed views of the people who have publicly supported him] We need to continue to welcome immigrants.
Elicker: I’ve already taken the most important position that’s against what people want. I’m willing to say I won’t cut taxes in the short term.
Carolina: I’ve made it clear that I refuse to be beholden to anyone but the people of this city. No special interest money. I’m one of two candidates involved in the democracy fund.
7:26: Question: Education. We’re not closing the achievement gap very well. How would you help the superintendent?
Fernandez: We need to support the superintendent and hold him accountable. The schools have a $3.5 million budget hole. I have a significant background in education. Every child needs to get a great education. The public schools do not exist to employ adults.
Elicker: I’ve been a strong supporter of Garth Harries, the superintendent. He looks at evidence. I talked about early childhood education. We need to improve life-skills education in schools: conflict resolution, perseverance. We need to cut the top-level administrators in the school.
Carolina: I’m proud to lead by example. I’m raising two boys who are in public schools. I’m the principal of Hillhouse High. We’ve increased graduation rates. I would do three things: End school patronage. Recruit the best talent. Hold everyone accountable. And a fourth one: Reduce administrators. We’re down to five administrators from eight at Hillhouse.
Harp: For many years we blamed the students, the families, the teachers. Now the Board of Ed is taking responsibility. We need evidence-based curricula. We need materials in the classroom. We’ve got to make sure kids are reading at level by 3rd grade.
7:31: Question: What are your plans for stopping murder on the streets?
Elicker: Two things. In the short term. Rebuild the police department. We’re hiring more cops and doing community policing. But we need to address the roots of crime. We need more youth programming after school. And we need jobs. I’ll help New Haveners capture those jobs.
Carolina: Chief Esserman is doing a great job. The population causing the most trouble are the people re-entering the city after prison. We’re not giving them second chances. It makes it hard to draw tourists to the city. We need a gang injunction. We know who the problem people are. We need to go get them.
Harp: In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, I brought the concept of community policing to New Haven. It works. We’ve stepped it up with Project Longevity, which identifies likely shooters.
Fernandez: We need to deepen community policing and have more cops on the beat. We need services for people coming out of prison. And we need youth programs and summer jobs for youth.
7:36: Another question prerecorded on video: Craig Gauthier says he’s been in New Haven since 1976 and worked at Winchester. How do we prepare our youth for today’s jobs?
Carolina: We’ve broken our high school into smaller “learning communities.” Young people need the option to get certifications early. We now have Gateway technical institute in our building.
Harp: We need to make sure that our children are prepared to work out of high school. I commend the Firebirds for starting the Public Safety Academy. Those certification programs should be in all of our high schools. And there should be more opportunity to get college credit in high school.
Fernandez: I co-founded LEAP. I led efforts to bring Gateway Community College downtown. Both were aimed at helping young people get jobs that are growing in New Haven, around the bio-tech and medical industries. We need to have the best schools in America.
Elicker: We have the Promise program for kids going to college. But we need more for kids who aren’t going to college. We need vo-tech education that leads to a certificate. And we need job skills training: How to tie a tie, how to dress sharp. I could use that training too. [A joke.]
7:41: Question: Tell us one good idea you’ve heard from your opponents.
Harp: That’s an interesting question. We’re often repeating the same things. Universal Pre‑K, for instance. That would reduce the achievement gap.
Fernandez: I think the idea Carolina has brought to Hillhouse — making smaller learning communities — has been proven to work, so that kids aren’t just another number.
Elicker: This election is an incredible opportunity for this city. Lot of ideas out there. One I heard tonight from Carolina: Employee incentive programs to encourage people to move into the city.
Carolina: I’d like to see PILOT fully funded and put that money into the rainy day fund. [Is that Fernandez’s idea? It’s not quite Fernandez’s pension plan.] From Elicker: We need to do a forensic audit. [This is an Elicker idea? Carolina has been talking about this since the beginning of his campaign.]
7:46: Question about lowering taxes.
Fernandez: Economic growth comes through taking advantage of growth stemming from the hospital, the medical sector. Businesses will follow. We need to build office buildings to create new jobs and pay taxes. We can bring taxes down.
Elicker: Around the country, people are moving back to the city. People are looking for transit-oriented development. We need that and an improved waterfront. We need to improve the zoning code. We need to eliminate pay to play. I’m participating in public financing.
Carolina: I’m proud of being involved in clean elections. Our economic engine is our middle class and small businesses. We’re giving too much money to large contractors who take cash outside the city.
Harp: We need to improve our permitting process. It’s a byzantine process. We have the biotechnology cluster. We need to be business-friendly to small business and growth areas.
7:51: Time for closing arguments.
Carolina: I am committed 100 percent to New Haven. I am a New Haven resident. We need a homegrown mayor. Someone who’s not beholden to unions big donors, and political insiders. New Haven needs a mayor with proven record of creating a team of administrators. I’m asking all of you to believe in the potential that our campaign represents.
Harp: How fitting it is that we’re here on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. My opponents say we are Detroit and our glass is half empty. I believe our glass is half full. We can make the city safer, schools stronger. It requires working together. It requires the connections I have in New Haven. Together we can move this city forward.
Elicker: I’ve been knocking on thousands of doors. People want the next mayor to listen. I will listen. 203 500 2969 is my cell phone number. Call me and I’ll return your call. People want a mayor with practical solutions and how to pay for them. Elicker2013 is my website, look at my 75 solutions that are specific and broad about how we’re going to improve our city.
Fernandez: This is the most important election in a generation. Change is going to come to the mayor’s office. You will write the history of our beloved city. I’m the one candidate with the experience to run the city on day one. I ran a large part of the city government as development director. I started LEAP. Now I’m the head of a company. The best days of New Haven are ahead of us.
7:56: Gerry Brooks: I was listening to Obama speak today. Given the diversity or our candidates and our audience, I’d like to think Dr. King would be proud of all of us. Thank you for watching. Good night.
That’s a wrap. What did you think? Leave a comment below.
Ugh, again, Harp gave the most glorious non answer to the question of the pension funds. Also Carolina really dislikes unions.