Elicker: Brackeen Switched Sides After I Turned Him Down For A Job

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Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Mayor Justin Elicker: Alliance broken.

Mayor Justin Elicker informed a longtime supporter on Tuesday that he would not hire him for a City Hall job. On Wednesday that former supporter, Upper Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, announced he had signed on to manage the campaign of one of Elicker’s challengers in this year’s race for the Democratic nomination.

Elicker said Brackeen had applied to replace Kevin Alvarez as his administration’s legislative liaison with the state legislature. Elicker said he informed Brackeen by text message at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday that he will be hiring someone else. (Alvarez moved this week to a new position with State Treasurer Erick Russell.)

The campaign of Democratic mayoral challenger Tom Goldenberg announced the next day that Brackeen has agreed to serve as campaign manager. The paid position is part-time, according to Brackeen.

One day Darryl was interested in being part of the administration,” Elicker, who is running for a third two-year term in office said Friday. The next day he was not.”

Brackeen said Friday that that decision had nothing to do with the legislative liaison job. He said he did receive the text from Elicker Tuesday, but hadn’t corresponded with him since Jan. 6.

It’s on the record that I have applied for many city jobs over the last few years even before my time as alder. So did I apply? Yes. Because I’ve always been applying for roles, since well before Justin Elicker. I’m trying to take care of my family,” Brackeen said.

Brackeen cited the state of public education in New Haven, and Elicker’s handling of it, as a reason he is supporting someone else now.

Until now Elicker and Brackeen have been political allies. Brackeen supported Elicker for mayor in the face of a challenge from housing authority chief Karen DuBois-Walton. Elicker supported Brackeen’s exploratory quest last year for the Democratic secretary of the state nomination.

Consider that alliance broken.

It has taken a while to learn the type of person that he is,” Brackeen said. It’s clear all he thinks about is himself. He should not be surprised when other former supporters come out and address the issues that he’s clearly avoiding.”

I’m not running for mayor,” he added. (Asked for a response, Elicker stated: We have more important things to worry about [in the] city rather than this back and forth.”)

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