“Dems For Dems” Crush Challengers

First of all, no surprise....
Secondly, no reporting of 'the vote' count.... well, not yet.

No Headline that read 'IN A LANDSLIDE', but I bet it was!

That's tomorrow's newsday!

Now that this is over ... since 'there's room for everybody', and 'this was about letting more people participate in the process and people learning more about what the process is', then maybe we can actually begin to do some work. I hope that the incumbents do a better job in informing their party members about the process and work to keep the voters involved in the process by REGISTERING, COMMUNICATING, EDUCATING and then endorsing candidates according to the consensus of the committee members who should represent the registered voters in their WARD ... not who the Alder promote. It truly was not a good look for the majority of incumbents being led ... yes I said 'LED' around seemingly by the nose by their Ward alders because this gives you some idea of what happens during elections. I had seen 'hide nor hair' of the incumbents in my ward until just before election time so how are they supposed to represent a ward member with their endorsements if they have never introduced a candidate nor their issues to the people they are supposed to represent? And I hope that the challengers do a better job of showing their commitment to their wards by learning more about the neighborhoods where they reside, get involved in activities to uplift and improve their neighborhoods, involve themselves in the current processes already taking place like participating in their Community Management Teams, and attend public hearings about matters concerning their neighborhoods and engaging with their neighbors. I actually would expect that every one of the challengers attempt to get a seat in their respective ward Democratic Ward committees. And if you don't like the process - work to change it! Although it was the first time for many incumbents and challengers ... it should not be the last time that we see you. Just do better in your service in and to your community ... not the elected of your community, but the residents of your community!

Let the real work begin!

This is why we need Proportional representation.

Found something very interesting and worth repeating from a posted comment in the NHI by Thomas Alfred Paine:

Thomas Alfred Paine - Mar 4, 2020 4:20 am

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL DEMOCRATIC WARD COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS:
Make sure the nomination and electoral process for mayor and aldermen are fully democratic.
Don't block or lock the people out of the process.
Be open and transparent with the people in your wards. KEEP THE PEOPLE INFORMED!
No secret meetings. No private meetings. Let in the light!
Poll your wards to seek the views and candidate preferences of ward residents.
Remember that you are supposed to represent the people of your ward, NOT a Yale union!
Make sure people in your wards know who you are.
Most residents do not know who their ward chairs are!
Ward chairs are not power-brokers, party bosses, or king makers. You are supposed to be representatives of the party members and voters in your ward.
If you do these things, you will do your part to help make this city more democratic.
If you fail to do these things, the public should consider you an enemy of democracy.
Any enemy of democracy is an enemy of the people.
REMEMBER: DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS.

Imagine my relief on what Party Big Vincent Mauro will change in light of the unprecedented challenge to their authority - the Unite Party controllers will begin to follow the law. Wow. Nothing gets their attention like a political challenge. Too bad the lemmings let them get away with such a lame promise. Will this apply to every ward? Will it affect how this city is run on a day to day basis? The elites will listen and collaborate? Because now they only listen for three minutes - then you're dismissed along with your input.

Mauro is wrong. There is room for only machine candidates in New Haven. This is why people give up on voting. It is so discouraging to see the same old faces behind the curtain, even if a couple of machine faces look "new". They are not new and will do as they are told.

Is the election in ward 12 even legal? How can the the ward alderperson also run as the ward co-chair since the co-chairs also vote for candidates. Does this make any sense at all? NHI could you please find out for your readers. This is happening no where else in the city.

The machine has had a warning shot.

I'm so proud of my mom, Dawn Bliesener, for running for chair of Ward 7 and challenging Unite here. I was equally proud to vote for her on Tuesday. It takes a massive amount of bravery to take on such a vital role in our city's politics and call attention to the the chokehold that Unite here has on this city.

This was not about winning or losing. This was about showing New Haven that there are other people who are worthy of these positions. This was about showing people that the door is open to New Haven Agenda, and could potentially close on Unite here in the future.

Asked what good ideas came out of this primary, Mauro cited the call for the party to follow the law and file the names of all ward committee members in a public place. New Haven Agenda supporter Dennis Serfiilippi called attention to the fact that many wards did not file member lists. Well make sure that happens, Mauro promised.

This is a good news. But we also need to make sure the community at large has an opportunity to join the ward committees, and the rules for joining are open and public.

I plan to post online the Ward Committee membership lists and plan to reach out to the Ward Committee Co-Chairs and ask that each hold an "Open House" so registered Democrats can learn more about (a) what the Committees do (b) who is on the Committee and (c) how to join.

We need more people and a diversity of opinions to be represented in city politics.

I want to commend the NHI for covering this important topic.

Dems for Dems perfect title for a crap city. Dems run this city. It's not even worth a republican to run because if there is an R next to the name they will lose. You could have the best way to make the city better and the other person could be Elicker and they would still lose. Even with the Alders only dems can win. What has been done to the city by the alders and mayors is criminal. The whole defund the police, we are seeing nationwide how dumb and stupid it was. New Haven is getting bad. You can put fake figures out there about crime but crime is up. Downtown is a dump. There is no punishment for doing anything bad. It's the dems to blame. So everyone celebrating the win for the dems, don't complain about the state of the city. Get some different ideas in there.

@Hill Resident
I want to thank Hill Resident for finding and reposting a comment on ward chairs that l had written four years ago.
I still stand by those comments because they represent the sentiments of any believer in democracy who resides in this city. My comments should be required reading for all Democratic party leaders, and most specifically, ALL ward committee chairs and members!
In a democracy, governments are established by the consent of the People to represent THEM and THEIR INTERESTS. The People MUST know who their representatives are in order to hold them a countable.
I said then what l meant, and l meant what l said, so l won't say it all again. Read the entire post that Hill Resident re-published.
May the ward committee and their chairs govern themselves accordingly, come out from the shadows, and fully and transparently meet and consult with the residents of every ward.

The reporting on Joey Fekeita's weird 'canvassing' clearly had an impact on his election totals... dead last.

Surprised at the turnouts in some of these races.... in some cases not much different than a general election. Lets you know who out there is really pulling the levers!!!!!

@ Dennis
There is a big rat here somewhere.
How can a co-chair (alderperson) who votes/recommends the alderperson to the Democratic Town Committee their choice of of Alderperson for their own ward which is a paid city job be one and the same person. I bet everyone would like recommend and vote for their own paid job. This election needs to be held again without the shenanigans. The rules that allow this need to be re-examined.

This is truly what a political machine looks appears like. I really need to know what these Yale Unions have to do our poor neighborhoods. It was better this time, but its still really insulting to see people from outside my neighborhood trying to push their people on those of us that actually live here. These people aren't going to support our best interests. As a former Yale employee, I'm not even sure they work towards the best interest of their members. The UAW and Teamsters would never tolerate the junk that Local 34 and Local 35 allow Yale to do. What is Unite Here actually going to do for the citizens in the neighborhoods?

There is no democracy .What you have is a two-party system duopoly which dominate and control the entire political system.Which is leaving little room for independent candidates or dissenting voices.