4th Yalie Enters Alder Race

Norah Laughter, a rising senior and American Studies major at Yale and current Ward 1 Democratic Town Committee co-chair, announced Wednesday evening that she will run for Ward 1 alder – becoming the fourth Yale undergraduate to enter the race so far.

Laughter, 21, joins fellow Democrats and fellow Yalies Rhea McTiernan Huge, Jake Siessel, and Elias Theodore in a bid to replace incumbent Democrat Kiana Flores, who decided not to run for a second two-year term. Flores has endorsed McTiernan Huge in the race. 

With four active candidates, the contest is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Ward 1 alder races in recent memory.

Surrounded by roughly a dozen supporters at her campaign launch near Yale’s Phelps Gate on College Street, Laughter grounded her candidacy in personal hardship and a broader call to organize against systems of inequality. She said she plans to officially file her candidacy on Thursday.

In a speech that wove together her Kentucky upbringing, financial aid struggles, and campus labor activism, Laughter positioned herself as a candidate who understands the material pressures faced by both students and New Haven workers. She recounted her sophomore-year scramble to find on-campus work — an effort that bypassed the student employment portal entirely. Instead, she emailed former professors directly to ask about any available entry-level jobs

That outreach led to a position in the history department, where she worked with the Yale Group for the Study of Native America. The search for employment, she said, unfolded during a period of mental health strain, but ultimately deepened her commitment to collective action.

“What pulled me through was finding community and support by banding together with others who also felt the weight of Yale’s broken promises,” she said.

Laughter described her home town of Russellville, Kentucky as small, working-class, and gutted by the coal industry and right-wing politics. She said she came to Yale already skeptical of institutions that consolidate wealth while underdelivering for the people who sustain them. She pointed to the Schwarzman Center — named after Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone and a Trump mega-donor — as emblematic of the contradictions between Yale’s public mission and its financial alliances.

Laughter praised the ongoing work of local coalitions such as New Haven Rising and Students Unite Now, groups she said have helped secure key wins like increased local hiring, greater financial contributions from Yale, and student aid reforms. If elected, she said she would prioritize racial equity, affordable housing, mental health resources, and the need to center student workers and residents alike in city decisions.

“I’ve come to love this city and the people who welcomed me in shared anger,” Laughter said. ​“My love for New Haven has made me bolder.”

Two speakers at the campaign launch underscored that commitment. Shams Goodwin, a room service server at the Omni New Haven Hotel and a recent strike participant, praised Laughter’s solidarity with workers. 

“During the strike, she showed up. Not just once, but many times. Even better, she brought lots of friends to the picket line during the day and at night,” he said. ​“She clearly shows up for workers on and off campus … That’s the kind of alder I’d like to see.”

Tenzin Jorden, a Ward 22 co-chair who has worked alongside Laughter in the Democratic Town Committee, also spoke at the event and highlighted her record of organizing on and off campus. ​“Norah has consistently participated in often invisible work that makes local change possible,” Jorden said. ​“She is principled, fiery, and deeply caring. She knows how to spark people to action and how to be consistent. We need representatives who get angry at injustice, like she does.”

In an interview with the Independent, Laughter said her campaign is grounded in the coalition she has already helped build. 

“I have organized to build capacity with students who are engaging with the fights in New Haven for a fully funded city,” she said. 

She emphasized that she is running on a platform that includes affordable housing, good union jobs, and youth and educational opportunities. Laughter also highlighted the importance of Yale students in leveraging power to hold the university accountable. 

“Ward 1 has a lot of students and it’s mostly Yale. Students occupy a very specific place in the dynamic of the city where they can leverage power against Yale to make them pay their fair share,” she told the Independent.

In addition to her organizing work, Laughter is currently working on her senior thesis in American Studies, which explores social movement coalition-building in 1970s and 1980s Louisville, Kentucky. She is collecting oral histories from former organizers involved in everything from anti-apartheid protests at the University of Louisville to local Rainbow Coalition campaigns.

Laughter said that the key to boosting student turnout is grassroots organizing — empowering students to recognize their personal stake in local issues and helping them feel confident sharing their stories. 

She added that she hopes to engage more students in the political process and ultimately increase voter participation in Ward 1.