Darryl Brackeen To Resign As Alder

Darryl Brackeen, Jr. is stepping down this month from his role as Upper Westville’s alder, becoming the fourth local legislator this term to resign his seat.

Brackeen, a five-term alder who represents Ward 26, announced on Facebook Monday morning that he will be resigning his elected post effective Friday. 

“As a New Haven native, a proud product of the New Haven Public Schools system, and a parent of NHPS students, I am grateful for the opportunity to have served my community,” he wrote in a two-page post put up on Facebook. ​“I am writing to express my sincere thanks for your support during my tenure. For many months, I have planned to transition into a major role that frequently takes my family and me out of state.”

Brackeen wrote about some of his proudest accomplishments during his time as an alder, including ​“fighting for worker’s rights, supporting universal healthcare, increasing access to living wage jobs through New Haven Works, and providing more safe space summer camps for children with asthma.” Brackeen also chaired the alders’ Health and Human Services Committee and led efforts to beef up the city’s lead poisoning law and declare racism a public health crisis.

Brackeen did not respond to requests for comment by the publication time of this article as to what his new job will be that will take him and his family out of state. 

He also did not say whether or not he will remain as Democratic mayoral challenger Tom Goldenberg’s campaign manager. Goldenberg told the Independent on Monday, ​“I’m very happy for Darryl Brackeen’s professional opportunity and I’m proud of his work representing Westville and the City of New Haven for the past ten years. I look forward to his continued involvement in this Mayoral campaign to help us succeed.” Asked if Brackeen will remain in the role of campaign manager, Goldenberg said he and Brackeen will ​“work on a transition over time.” 

Per the city charter, there will have to be a special election for a new Ward 26 alder within the next 45 days. (That’s because Brackeen resigned within the first 18 months of his current two-year term. If he had resigned after serving at least 18 months, the mayor could appoint a successor to finish out his term.)

Brackeen’s resignation marks the fourth time this two-year term that an alder has stepped down early. Last June, Ward 28 Alder Shafiq Abdussabur resigned after citing a conflict between a custodial cleaning contract his company was bidding for with the public school system and his continued services in local elected office. Last August, Ward 9 Alder Charles Decker resigned right before moving out of state. And last December, Ward 21 Alder Steve Winter resigned to become the city’s first-ever executive director of climate and sustainability.