No Vote Leaves Ward 15 Up For Grabs

In one competitive Fair Haven alder race, the local Democratic Party did not endorse any candidate — meaning that both incumbent Ernie Santiago and challenger Frank Redente Jr. will have to gather signatures to make it onto the primary ballot.

That was one surprise at Tuesday evening’s Democratic Town Committee (DTC) convention, which drew over a hundred party officials and politicians to the Parish Hall at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School at 150 Kimberly Ave. 

At the convention, roughly 60 Democratic ward committee co-chairs — two for each of the city’s 30 wards — voted to endorse Justin Elicker for re-election as mayor, Michael Smart for re-election as city clerk, and Andrea Downer to unseat incumbent Darnell Goldson as a Board of Ed representative. That means those candidates will all have their names listed at the top of the ballot during the Sept. 12 Democratic Party primary.

Each pair of co-chairs also endorsed a candidate for their ward’s alder seat as well, primarily casting support for incumbents. 

Fair Haven’s Ward 15 was the exception. Neither Santiago, who is serving his sixth two-year term on the Board of Alders, nor Redente, a political newcomer yet longtime Fair Haven resident, received the party’s endorsement — meaning that both will have to gather signatures from 5 percent of registered Democrats residing in Ward 15 in order to make it onto the primary ballot. With 711 registered Democratic voters in Ward 15 as of Wednesday, that means each candidate will have to collect 36 signatures in total.

Santiago appeared at the convention on Tuesday, where he picked up materials to begin gathering signatures.

Redente said in a phone interview that he was not able to come to the convention due to a recent surgery from which he is still recovering, but that he plans to begin collecting signatures on Wednesday.

Both candidates expressed surprise at the non-endorsement.

“I have work to do communicating with the leaders of my community,” said Santiago. 

“I didn’t expect a tie. I expected it to go one way or the other,” said Redente.

Santiago reflected that the ward committee process revealed that ​“communications broke down between me and my constituents.” 

He attributed this faltering communication to his busy schedule serving on multiple city boards and alder committees. On the Board of Alders, he chairs the alders’ Black and Hispanic Caucus, attends aldermanic leadership meetings, vice-chairs the alders’ Tax Abatement Committee, and serves on the Finance Committee. He also serves on the Livable City Initiative’s board and on the Parks Commission.

Santiago said that a main concern of his as an alder is public safety in the neighborhood. He cited illegal substance use, sex work, and violence on Ferry Street as key concerns.

To address these issues, Santiago said, ​“We have to educate our kids. They hate cops and they don’t know the cops.”

He argued that police officers are too afraid of lawsuits and accountability to fully enforce the law in Fair Haven. ​“Don’t tie the cops up. Their hands are so tied,” he said, adding, ​“I’m not talking about abusing! But a little more ability to operate.”

His other priorities include traffic calming measures —“I’m working that hard”— and maintaining the parks in his district. 

Redente raised similar quality-of-life issues in Ward 15 as a critical priority of his campaign. 

Though he’s worked for decades as a violence interrupter, Redente said that in his neighborhood, ​“I’m afraid to walk the streets at night.” He cited speeding cars, noise issues like blaring dirt bikes and blasting music, and ​“illegal garages popping up all over the place” as some of his major concerns.

“The large percentage of Fair Haven crimes are not committed by Fair Haveners,” he argued, emphasizing the importance of focusing on ​“the good in this community.” He said that crime can be discouraged by improving city services in the neighborhood such as street lighting, trash pickup, and police response times, and by fostering an active community culture through events like the recently-revived Fair Haven Day.

Meanwhile, he criticized Santiago’s attendance record at alder meetings along with the lapses in communication to which Santiago himself alluded. ​“We need somebody who is going to show up for the people,” he said. 

“I’m running to remind the politicians that they can’t forget about Fair Haven,” he added later. ​“This is my home and I love it.”

Also on Tuesday night, three first-time alder candidates received Democratic ward committee endorsements in neighborhoods whose alders have decided not to run again. 

Specifically, the local party endorsed Caroline Smith for East Rock and Fair Haven’s Ward 9 seat (replacing Claudia Herrera, who is herself a ward co-chair); Theresa Morant for Quinnipiac Meadows’ Ward 12 seat (replacing Gerald Antunes); and Brittiany Mabery-Niblack for Newhallville’s Ward 20 seat (replacing Devin Avshalom-Smith). 

Here is the full list of alders endorsed by the local Democratic Party on Tuesday (and the candidates who have filed to run against them):

Ward 1: Alex Guzhnay (who at one point said he would not run for re-election, but later reversed course)

Ward 2: Frank Douglass

Ward 3: Ron Hurt

Ward 4: Evelyn Rodriguez

Ward 5: Kampton Singh

Ward 6: Carmen Rodriguez

Ward 7: Eli Sabin

Ward 8: Ellen Cupo (challenged by Democrat Andrea Zola)

Ward 9: Caroline Smith

Ward 10: Anna Festa

Ward 11: Renee Haywood (challenged by Democrats Shanique Williams and Ira Johnson and Republican Gail Roundtree)

Ward 12: Theresa Morant

Ward 13: Rosa Ferraro-Santana (challenged by Green Party candidate Paul Garlinghouse)

Ward 14: Sarah Miller

Ward 15: no endorsement (Democrats Ernie Santiago and Frank Redente Jr.)

Ward 16: José Crespo

Ward 17: Salvatore Punzo (challenged by Democrat Camille Ansley)

Ward 18: Salvatore DeCola (challenged by Democrat Susan Campion)

Ward 19: Kimberly Edwards

Ward 20: Brittiany Mabery-Niblack (challenged by Democrat Addie Kimbrough)

Ward 21: Maceo ​“Troy” Streater (challenged by Democrat Frederick Christmas)

Ward 22: Jeanette Morrison (challenged by Democrat Anthony Geritano Jr.)

Ward 23: Tyisha Walker

Ward 24: Evette Hamilton

Ward 25: Adam Marchand (challenged by Democrat Dennis Serfilippi)

Ward 26: Amy Marx

Ward 27: Richard Furlow

Ward 28: Tom Ficklin

Ward 29: Brian Wingate

Ward 30: Honda Smith