Voters Unfazed By Charter Changes

(Updated and corrected) Cody Uman, an undergraduate math major at Yale, was running late to class Tuesday after setting aside an extra hour to research the proposed changes to the city’s charter and bike over to King-Robinson School to cast his vote in Ward 21, which covers parts of Newhallville, Dixwell and Prospect Hill.

He said he was voting ​“yes” on the ballot measure in favor of four-year terms for all elected officials and increased salaries for the city’s alders to make sure they’re better ​“compensated for their time.”

“I do wish the language on the ballot were more clear,” he said, rather than a ​“yes” or ​“no” question that would likely be indecipherable to those not closely following the charter revision process.

He argued that four-year terms would improve voter turnout each election, and that more articulate ballot question breakdowns would aid voters in making more informed decisions. The focus, he said, should be on upping civic engagement across the city.

Uman was one of roughly a dozen voters in Wards 2, 5, 7, and 21 whom the Independent spoke with on Tuesday morning as they hit the polls to vote not just for mayor and alder and city clerk and Board of Education representative, but also for a set of proposed changes to the city’s charter. Those changes, if passed, would create four-year-terms for mayor, city clerk and alders, raise alder pay, and enable alders to more easily alter rules for boards and commissions.

At the polls, most voters the Independent spoke with exhibited a relative equanimity about an issue that has provoked quite a bit of red-hot debate among the Independent’s commentariat in recent weeks. 

“It’s useful to have a longer term” in office, said a Ward 7 voter named Ted, who declined to share his last name. Same goes with increasing the annual stipend for alders (from $2,000 to $5,000 each, with cost of living adjustments) to attract more candidates for office.

Ward 7 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Polly Gulliver agreed. She stood a few feet away from incumbent Democratic Alder Eli Sabin, asking voters on the way to the polls if she could answer anyone’s questions about charter revision.

Gulliver said that she’s lived in New Haven for 35 years, and has wondered for 34 of them ​“why on earth we have two-year mayoral terms” rather than four. A longer term means more time spent governing, and less time campaigning.

She said most voters she had spoken to Tuesday morning were leaning towards voting ​“yes” to support longer terms for both mayor and alders.

And she said the most frequent criticism she heard from voters about the ballot question was in regards to four-year terms for alders bundled in with four-year terms for mayor.

Maybe lengthening the term and increasing the pay for alders will mean ​“more people are interested” in running for the positions, she said. All too often in New Haven, alder races are uncontested. Why pay for so many uncontested elections every other year — and why not do what you can to encourage more people to run?

Bill Criscuolo, an 88-year-old Humphrey Street resident, was the only Ward 7 voter the Independent spoke with Tuesday morning who turned out to the polls specifically to vote against the charter revision question. That was what brought him out to the polls, that was what he wanted to talk about with this reporter.

Why’d he vote ​“no”? Because of the ​“gender crap” included in the charter revision, he said, in reference to the proposal’s move to make the charter’s language gender neutral. ​“It’s ridiculous,” he said.

Another Ward 7 voter, who asked to remain anonymous, said he voted for the charter revision question specifically because of its ​“gender equality” provisions. His biggest concern this election was instead the closure of East Rock Park’s Farnham Drive to cars. He said he’d like to see that park road reopened to cars, and not just pedestrians and cyclists. But he couldn’t bring himself to vote for any of the mayoral challengers, even with this park-road frustration. If only there was some other ​“qualified candidate” running against the mayor.

Josh, a Trumbull Street business student, also voted against revising the city’s charter.

Without saying exactly which candidates he cast his ballot for, he said he votes ​“to maintain New Haven as a safe place, to provide a good education” for New Haven kids.

Correction: The Independent initially reported that Josh (who subsequently asked not to have his last name included in the article) had voted ​“yes” on the charter changes. He reached out after this article was published to state that he had actually voted ​“no” on the charter question, and to correct a number of errors this reporter had made in an earlier version of this story in regards to his comments at the polls. He explained he thinks a four-year term would help alders who are doing a good job, but that not enough are, and so two-year terms should remain. The article has been corrected.

"Elections Are Very Time Consuming"

Couple Al and Emily Powers did vote ​“yes” for the charter changes at their Ward 21 polling place at King Robinson School on Tuesday morning. They both said that the main measure they cared about within the charter revision was four-year mayoral terms.

“I think it’s a waste to have to dedicate so much time towards campaigning,” Al Powers said. ​“Elections are very time consuming and officials should spend their time governing.”

Emily Powers stressed the importance of a longer mayoral term, but said she felt more ambivalent when it came to alder terms because their campaigning process is ​“typically less onerous.”

Only one voter, James Cohen, who said he served on the charter revision commission ten years back, said he would be voting against the proposed provisions.

In particular, he said four year terms for any elected official would be a mistake.

“I think they should have to be on their toes for the entire period of their term,” Cohen said in support of two years. ​“They don’t get to take a break and say, okay, I don’t have to do anything for the next two years.”

"I'm New Haven, Through And Through"

At Ward 5’s polling place at Betsy Ross arts magnet school on Kimberly Avenue, lifelong Hill resident Richard Gaskins showed up at around 4 p.m. to cast his vote. 

Gaskins, 55, said he’s been voting ever since he turned 18. ​“It’s my duty and responsibility,” he said. ​“I think everyone should vote whether you think things are going ok and want them to stay the course, or if you think things are going bad and want change.” Not voting, he said, ensures that progress cannot happen.

A registered Democrat, Gaskins said he almost always votes for Democrats across the line ​“unless I’ve seen a glaring problem.” 

While the city isn’t perfect, he said, he has no major problems with re-electing the city’s incumbent candidates, including Democratic nominee Mayor Justin Elicker.

“I think the mayor has a good grasp of what’s going on in the city,” he said. 

Gaskins said he doesn’t believe that any one candidate has a ​“magic fix” for every issue in the city. He urged neighbors and friends to consider: ​“Has he [the mayor] done a horrible job?” Or has he ​“done a lot and there’s just one piece that’s angering you.” 

“Don’t throw him out over one thing,” he said of Elicker and current Hill Alder Kampton Singh. ​“You’re not going to find perfection or everything you want in one candidate.” 

And what does Gaskins make of the charter revision question on the ballot?

He said he had only heard of the change that would bump up mayoral and aldermanic terms from two to four years each. While in the parking lot of Betsy Ross before casting his vote, Gaskins read through the Independent’s voter guide to better learn of the other proposed charter changes. 

Gaskins said he believes four-year terms are better than two-year terms because newly elected officials typically spend their first year learning how the role works; then, once the second year comes around, they don’t get to do work, they have to start campaigning again. 

Gaskins has spent his entire life on Putnam and Spring Streets and has met the mayor and his alder. 

“I’m New Haven through and through,” he said. 

After casting his ballot, Gaskins confirmed that he voted ​“yes” for the charter revisions because ​“I’m not opposed to giving raises,” he said about increasing aldermanic stipends to $5,000 a year, with cost of living increases. 

Meanwhile, fellow Hill resident Carlos Jimenez, 26, came out to vote Tuesday because he hasn’t been ​“liking how my neighborhood has been with addicts and so much crime.” 

Jimenez, who lives on Rosette Street, said since 2012 he’s had no problems with living in the Hill. Then, earlier this year, someone broke into his Hyundai Veloster and several other cars around the area at 3 a.m. He said his AirPods were stolen and his back window needed replacing, which cost around $700 to fix. 

He voted Tuesday for Republican mayoral challenger Tom Goldenberg with the hope that he will bring change to the Hill. 

“He says a lot that the Hill has been forgotten about and I think that shouldn’t be happening,” Jimenez said. 

Not only is crime a concern for Jimenez, but also the selling of properties on his street and lack of road maintenance. 

He said the city only does short term fixes on the road that don’t last and he wants to see that change. 

When asked about the charter revisions, Jimenez said he wishes the changes were explained better to residents like himself. ​“The people that can’t keep up with everything don’t even know what they’re voting yes or no for,” he said. 

He voted no for the charter revision question mostly because he believes two year terms are best to keep candidates accountable to New Haveners needs and so ​“we aren’t stuck for four long years.”