Harp Still Mum On Mayoral Run

Dear Mayor Harp,

Many of us are urging you to keep running!!

This short video encapsulates why:
https://twitter.com/alextt/status/1176674163072913408?s=21

Mayor Harp can drag this out until November if she wants. It doesn't matter anymore.
The people of New Haven are moving forward. The election will take place in November with or without her. It doesn't matter any more.
All roads to re-election are blocked to her. That is her political reality. If Harp has difficulty handling that truth, that may be the reason she will not announce a decision about running. She may be in deep denial.
Her campaign office is closed. She has no campaign manager or organized staff to chart any path forward. Her campaign has little finances remaining to compete against the highly organized, well-managed, well-financed Elicker campaign team, which is officially backed by the Democratic party, and supported by most Democratic elected officials.
The media might do Mayor Harp and the rest of us a favor: don't ask her again if she plans to run.
Leave her alone. Let it go. Simply consider her campaign suspended with her name remaining on the ballot. Let the political process take its course.
Elicker will be elected the next mayor.
This is a rather unfortunate ending to a long, accomplished political career that would be difficult for anyone. It did not have to close in such an evasive, mysterious manner, but that is what the mayor has chosen to do. There is nothing we can do about it but accept it, and move on to prepare for the next administration, and the next chapter of New Haven history.

'I am unaware of what you are talking about. I will have to look into it!'

Harp's style of leadership, inaction...

The media is giving free election ad time to the Harp campaign by constantly speculating on whether she will run or not. Why are we not asking more detailed information questions on the plans of the endorsed candidate or the other candidates; rather than wasting news space to this fake news story?

Enough, already. This childish game playing that makes NH a toy for the Harp campaign to pick up and put down is reason enough not to vote for her.

TPaine and People like TPaine
Please stop going on and on about the sad end to a long accomplished career. You could give zero ___s about Toni Harp's long accomplished career.

You watched your guy peddle lies all summer about Toni Harp and regurgitated them here. You had no concern about the attribution of poisoned kids or overdosed on the green to her. So, please stop it.

We are prepared to see Elicker take credit for all she has done or started and for you all to look the other way or handle him with kid gloves when he screws up. That's how this all works.

New Haven Lives - I think people are being nice, recognizing her many years in politics. I'll be blunt - there is nothing remarkable about Mayor Harp's political career except that she survived so long during which she did so much damage and avoided being held accountable.

By the way - there will no lies spread about Harp. There was truth. Here's some more: Shootings are up 50%; in Westville, crime is up 30 and 40%. The quads are out of control and Harp has delivered year over year deficits and fiscal instability. The schools are in chaos. You just wish they were lies.

She had a 24-hour window in which she could have pivoted to a run as an independent.

Now she's just using this opportunity to pressure Ned and Susan into giving her a cushy, six-figure job in Hartford.

It's gonna break the hearts of her supporters when this becomes apparent.

Given the non-stop nastiness and lies from her opponents' social media campaigners (including much of this site's commentariat), the mayor is taking her time to decide what's best for the city.

Newhavenlives is right, the "concern trolls" on this site don't care about Toni. And they're ignoring all the work she is continuing to do for the city.

This social media refrain is about erasing a great leader, so a privileged white guy doesn't need to face competition or work for the general election. It's an mini campaign to tell a black woman leader not to run for office. It's wrong.

Alex - there is no erasing Mayor Harp. Why do you say something like that? The fact is she's alive, well and clearly hunting for a job. She's been in politics all her life and it's provided her a very cushy one at that. She served as New Haven mayor - there's no erasing any of it.

I hope the Mayor decides to move on quickly and gets back to work at trying to make our government function more effectively for the last few months. Right now businesses are yet again having trouble getting started because we are down a fire marshall and don't seem to have a backup plan for permit sign-offs. Someone needs to step in and manage the process before we lose more revenue. It is not acceptable to wait and see if the new mayor can fix the cluster that is the building department and its dependencies.

The proper thing to have done would have been either to quickly announce a continuing campaign, or a quick withdrawal. And then to announce a new job, once obtained.

The way she is doing this is toying with all of New Haven. It is vanity. She is considered better than this.

@ItsGettingBetter

Thanks for the refresher...

Choo Choo....

Looks like the runaway train has passed through Orange St and Grand Ave...

It is utter ridiculousness to think TH will get back to anyone on whether she will continue to seek re-election. Her answer was simply procrastination based and I dont think she will ever plan on saying anything. That's an ole objection trick than rather be transparent ....

Thankful Elicker camp is moving forward not being consume by TH's many smokescreens.

@LivinginNewHaven
Despite my political differences with the mayor, I still respect her as a person. For me, it's a matter of policy differences which I separate from personality. You can't judge t
my thoughts and intents because you don't know me or my inner feelings.
I voted for Harp several times as Senator, once for mayor. I have even defended her from attacks in 2013. I simply grew weary of her leadership as mayor like thousands of others.
I challenge you to list the "lies" promoted by the Elicker campaign, then list the actual lies of the Harp campaign.
Every accusation made by the Elicker camp was based on facts. No one directly accused Harp of poisoning kids. No one charged her with providing drugs to people on the Green. Her policies caused the lead problem. Her court appeals made it look worse. The drug crisis on the Green happened on her watch and could possibly have been averted if certain policies were in place.
Elicker did not want to use drones to spy on black people. Elicker is not a racist-elitist who endorses policies of Donald Trump. The Elickers never engaged in a conspiracy with Donald Trump, the FBI and Vincent Mauro to promote a federal investigation of the Harp administration. Elicker never cut a million dollars from the school budget.
Also, Barack Obama never endorsed Harp for mayor in this election.
Elicker has his own ideas and vision for this city. He does not have to steal ideas from Harp. Elicker is the type of person who would be willing to give credit where credit is due. He would not take praise for anything positive Harp put in place.
One more thing, Elicker supporters will place him under the same scrutiny that they placed on Harp. If he ever violates his principles, his platform or his vision, his accountability or transparency, his supporters will confront him as they should.
If Harp supporters had done the same on a regular basis and the mayor responded appropriately, the outcome of this race could possibly have been different.

@alex
The Mayor is taking her time to do what is best for Toni.
The PEOPLE have already decided to do what is best for the city.
This Harp indecision on this matter is a silly, selfish distraction, an attempted contemptuous dig at Elicker, or an example of her leadership style.
Nobody is trying to erase Toni Harp or her political record. That is an impossibility! The criticisms of Harp are not meant to be personal. To my knowledge, mo one posting here hates Harp or wishes her any ill-will.
I only wish that Harp supporters like you would stop trying to make this political race a racial and class issue. Those dog whistles blown loudly and clearly during the primary campaign surely cost Harp some votes. Trying to scare Black people from voting for Elicker simply did not work!
Harp was not defeated because she is Black. Elicker did not win because he is White. People voted for change, but not racial and gender or class change!
Your love, loyalty and devotion for Toni Harp have clearly clouded your reason and logic. Your appeals to the public have not resulted in a renewed groundswell of support for Toni Harp.
The voters have moved on.
Toni Harp has made history as the first woman and second African American mayor of this city.
But right now, as far as most voters are concerned, Toni Harp IS history. The eyes and attention of the public have shifted to the future leadership of Mayor Justin Elicker, and a better, brighter future for New Haven.

Alex and Harp diehards who somehow seem to have forgotten the 11% tax increase and then the salary increases totaling over $400,000, what about the fact that since Nicole Jefferson was fired the programs that provided construction training to many of our residents was eliminated and Mayor Harp was quick to fire the Pacas but Jason Bartlett on leave due to investigation is still on the city's payroll. Let's not forget the wasted tax dollars on Escape, legal fees on losing court cases, the BOE fiasco that every day students are losing due to the incompetence on the top, the police driver/ bodyguard shall I go on because there is still much more.
The New Haven voters have had enough!!!

posted by: alex on September 25, 2019 8:45am

This social media refrain is about erasing a great leader, so a privileged white guy doesn't need to face competition or work for the general election. It's an mini campaign to tell a black woman leader not to run for office. It's wrong.

Let me say this.Black faces in High Places mean Nothing.Did you know In fact it was a Black Face Mayor Wilson Goode who dropped a bomb in a Philly neighborhood which destroyed three block by the fire.My cousin house was one of them destroyed.It was a Black Face Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, Who did wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering related to bribes from city contractors before and after Katrina and poor Black people are still hurting today.This is why New Orleans is still in Bad shape.It was A Black Face Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who did mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering.In fact the Pension system got messed up behind him.So do not tell me we have to put some one in office because they are Black.

She is well within her rights to take her time. The fact of the matter is that most people know right now who they will vote for in November (whether she is in the race or not). I'm not sure why people are so bothered by someone who has spent 30 years in the Political arena taking their time in determining where to go from here after what I'm sure was a shocking loss for her.

@ imho — I don't hear anyone that hot and bothered about Harp staying in.

For me: