Ex-Marine City Hall ​“Coordinator” Nomination Advances

Wowed by her resume and decades-long commitment to public service, alders advanced the appointment of an ex-Marine, state trooper, police officer, and state emergency management deputy commissioner to a top City Hall ​“coordinator” role.

That happened at Monday night’s Aldermanic Affairs Committee meeting. The nearly five-hour virtual meeting — which concerned review of eight mayoral nominations, including Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez—took place online via Zoom and YouTube Live.

The committee alders ultimately took no action on Mayor Justin Elicker’s nomination of Regina Rush-Kittle to serve as the city’s next chief administrative officer (CAO). That’s the City Hall ​“coordinator” position that oversees departments like police, fire, public works, parks, and the emergency operations center. The role has been vacant since former CAO Scott Jackson resigned in January.

The committee’s no-vote on Monday means that the full Board of Alders can debate and take an expedited final vote on Rush-Kittle’s nomination during the body’s next meeting on Dec. 6.

“Very Impressive Resume, I Must Say”

Asked by Aldermanic Affairs Committee Chair and Fair Haven Heights Alder Rosa Ferraro-Santana about why she’d be a good fit for the job, Rush-Kittle dived into the lengthy public-service career that has brought her to this point.

She started out as a corrections officer with the state Department of Correction in 1983. She then worked as a Middletown police officer for two years, for the state police force for 28. She served as a state trooper, academy instructor, patrol sergeant, internal affairs investigator, lieutenant, the head of the statewide narcotics task force, the commander of two state police troops, the head of the state police academy, a major responsible for internal affairs, and the head of the central district headquarters before retiring in 2015.

She also had a ​“dual military career,” Rush-Kittle said Monday. That included serving for three years in the U.S. Marine Reserves for three years, and then in the Army Reserves. In 2009, she was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, where she was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. She also served in Kuwait at part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She retired from her military career in 2012.

In January 2019, she took on the role of the state deputy commissioner of the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She also helmed the Connecticut Intelligence Center.

In 2017, she was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

“I have dedicated 30 years of my life and career to service for my country,” she said. ​“I have dedicated 30 years to the State of Connecticut as a correctional officer and a trooper,” and another nearly three years as a deputy commissioner of emergency management.

“So 30 years is a nice round number for me. I may hit that 30-year mark again. I may not. Eventually, I would like to retire. I am willing to try to hit that mark again here with you in the City of New Haven.”

That’s a ​“very impressive resume, I must say,” Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton responded. ​“Sticking to it for 30 years on anything, that’s very exceptional, and I commend you on that.”

Why head to New Haven after that long a career elsewhere in the state?

“If you want to know, ​‘Why New Haven?’ My response would be, ​‘Why not New Haven?’ It’s an amazing city. I have family roots.” Rush-Kittle said that her husband was born and raised in New Haven, and they would move from their current home in Rocky Hill to the Elm City if she’s confirmed for the coordinator role.

She said she has visited New Haven many times over the decades, and even worked here during her time as a state trooper.

That New Haven-based stint occurred in 1995, when New Haven hosted the Summer Special Olympics. She recalled city residents who attended those games approaching her ​“with many positive reactions, as they said they had never seen a Black female trooper” before.

Military Policing?

Downtown/Yale Alder Eli Sabin asked Rush-Kittle about how her extensive military and law enforcement background might influence her work with the city’s police department.

“I think a lot of folks on the board and in the community may want to see us moving away from a militaristic model of policing and more towards community policing, and building relationships and trust between law enforcement and city residents,” he said.

Rush-Kittle responded that ​“community policing is something that’s going to be key with me working directly with the chief [of police] and her staff.”

She said she has already started talking with Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez about hosting ​“coffee with a cop” meetups. She also suggested the city look into doing a police department vs. fire department annual food drive competition. And she stressed the importance of ​“reinitiating walking beats.”

Asked about how she thinks New Haven could do a better job of recruiting and retaining Black and brown police officers, Rush-Kittle said she went on Sunday to a flag football game between the city’s police and fire departments, and she met the head of New Haven’s recruitment efforts, Sgt. Paul Finch.

“He was very passionate about what he’s doing,” she said in praise of his pitch to her about the importance of hiring Black and brown officers, and about his handing out flyers to seemingly everyone at the game with information about how to join the police department.

“Cameras Have The Potential To Save Lives”

Sabin also asked Rush-Kittle about the Elicker Administration’s proposal to spend $3.8 million in federal pandemic-relief money on 500 new surveillance cameras designed to prevent and solve more violent crimes.

“Based on your experience in law enforcement over 30 years, what is your opinion about that kind of effort and how we balance surveillance, solving crimes, and keeping people safe?” Sabin asked.

Rush-Kittle said that she still needs to look into New Haven’s specific camera proposal before commenting on this particular plan.

In general, though, she is in support of installing more police cameras.

“I know that it has worked well in Hartford,” she said. She recalled visiting the Hartford Police Department’s crime intelligence center and seeing firsthand how helpful that city’s network of public cameras was in helping officers solve crimes.

“These systems only go on public streets. They have the ability to potentially solve crimes that would have gone undetected previously, and they increase public safety,” she contended.

“The cameras have the potential to save lives. They have the potential to increase public safety for our children in the community. They make our neighborhoods safer.”

She said that in order for the city’s proposed surveillance camera program to be successful, though, city leaders must go out into the community and talk with residents about the plan — about where the cameras would go, what they would focus on, how they would work.

“You want them to have buy-in,” she said.

“You Will Not Be Disappointed”

During the public testimony section of Monday’s meeting, former colleagues and fellow public safety officials praised Rush-Kittle and urged the alders to support her appointment.

“The City of New Haven, you have gained hard-working, integral, persevering woman,” said Shelly Carter, who worked under Rush-Kittle at the state emergency management division. ​“So get ready, because her tenacity is contagious.”

State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella described Rush-Kittle’s resume as ​“impeccable, and shows her qualifications, experience, and professionalism.”

Former Waterbury Police Chief and current West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick said that New Haven is not just getting an impressive resume with Rush-Kittle. It’s also getting her ​“integrity, commitment, and intelligence, and an unwavering work ethic. She does not crack under pressure. … You will not be disappointed.”

City emergency operations chief Rick Fontana agreed.

“This is a great opportunity for the City of New Haven,” he said. ​“I think we have an opportunity to have a very talented, a very strong, a very committed and a very fair person leading the CAO’s office.”