Thomas MacMillan Photo
In a letter to the city clerk’s office Monday, Yale student Ella Wood officially threw in the towel in her fight to be the next downtown alderman.
Wood (pictured), a 19-year-old Yale junior, was running for a seat on the Board of Aldermen representing Ward 7, which comprises downtown and part of southern East Rock.
Wood lost the Democratic primary to Aldermen Doug Hausladen, but she had petitioned for a spot on the general election ballot as a backup plan. In her one-sentence letter to the city clerk Monday, she asked that her name be removed from the ballot.
Wood said she wants to continue the community building work she started during the campaign, and realized she didn’t need to hold elected office to do so. “It came down to choosing to pursue those other projects instead of continuing in the general election campaign.”
She said her biggest project is building “political community” by bringing more people into the political process.
Wood said she hasn’t considered whether she may run again in the future. Her candidacy this year caused a stir because she moved into Ward 7 just days before filing to run for the ward’s aldermanic seat, breaking her lease in another ward to do so. She ran with the support of Yale unions.
Alderman Hausladen said he will continue going door to door and building his get-out-the-vote operation, despite running unopposed in the the general election. He said he’s working to inform his constituents about the charter revision referendum questions on the ballot.
Hip Hip Hooray!!!!