Democrat Justin Elicker defeated incumbent Toni Harp by 12,296 to 5,034 votes, or 69 to 28 percent, in Tuesday’s mayoral election, according to official results released by the Registrar of Voters office.
The office released the numbers (in the above chart) Wednesday evening, including absentee and Election Day Registration votes. (The latter were not included in the figures reported by the Independent on Election night based on results from the voting machines, which comprise the vast majority of ballots.)
Elicker previously defeated Mayor Harp in a Sept. 10 Democratic primary, 7,198 votes (58.29 percent) to mayor’s 5,150 (41.71 percent). Harp then ran Tuesday on the Working Families Party line. Elicker increased his vote total from the primary by more than 5,000; Harp collected 116 votes fewer on Tuesday than she did in the primary.
Once again, the big winner on November 5 was APATHY. Thirty-Three percent of New Haven's eligible voters (55,000) troubled themselves to vote. The alleged 69 percent win by Elicker was of 33 percent of New Haven's voters, or 22 percent of New Haven's voters! Why doesn't the NHI show these real numbers as a reality check? Especially for the new administration.
What's needed is a thorough education in our schools to teach our kids of the importance of VOTING to make their voices heard in their local government. Votes count. "You can't win if you don't play"!