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Challenger Eric Mastroianni, incumbent Alder Anna Festa.
Incumbent East Rock Alder Anna Festa faces a Republican challenge this year from a Cedar Hill native and U.S. Navy veteran in her bid for a fourth two-year term on the Board of Alders.
Festa, a mother of three, an East Rock landlord, and an outspoken budget watchdog on the aldermanic Finance Committee, has represented East Rock and Cedar Hill’s Ward 10 since 2013. A Democrat, she will face off against petitioning Republican candidate Eric Mastroianni, Sr. during the Nov. 5 general election.
Mastroianni, who grew up on Cedar Hill Avenue, currently lives on State Street. A veteran of the United States Navy Seabees, he works as a supervisor of transportation for the Orange-based construction supply corporation, Colony Hardware.
Mastroianni has never held public office before. He mounted an unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic State Rep. Roland Lemar in 2017.
“I feel that I’ve been an independent voice not only for my constituents but for city residents as a whole,” Festa said about why she’s running for a fourth term. “There’s still unfinished business that needs to be done.”
A member of the aldermanic Finance Committee and frequent critic of police and fire overtime deficits, Festa has joined Downtown Alder Abby Roth and Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter in recent years in proposing cost-cutting amendments during Board of Alders budget debates and voting against general fund budgets she disagrees with.
If reelected, she said, she promised to prioritize “more transparency for the budget and trying to get our finances under control.” She said she will also focus on better understanding the Board of Education budget, on maintaining high-quality public safety in her ward and throughout the city, and on ensuring equity on the Board of Education.
“We need a fair, equitable representation of the diversity of this city on the Board of Education,” she said when asked about recent Latino-led protests regarding lack of representation on the Board, in the classroom, and in the school system’s central office. “I don’t disagree with that.”
Mastroianni, meanwhile, said that, if elected, he will prioritize boosting community cohesion in the ward.
“I would hold more get-togethers with the neighborhood,” he said. “I will be more visible as an alderman, more accessible to have them voice their concerns to me.” He said he would hold most festivals on Rice Field and fight for a farmer’s market to be added to the Cedar Hill neighborhood.
As for public safety, Mastroianni said the greatest danger presented in the ward right now is speed.
“State Street needs speed bumps,” he said. “Too many cars speed through here and they put children in danger.” He said he would work with the state Department of Transportation to put speed bumps on the state-run road.
In regard to the uphill battle of convincing neighbors to vote for a Republican, of which the 30-member Board of Alders currently has zero, Mastroianni said, “This is not D.C. This is Connecticut.” A vote for Mastroianni is a vote for Mastroianni, he said, and not a vote for Donald Trump.
“I set them aside. You should choose the person best suited for the job and the person who can work across party lines.”
It is terrific to have at least some alder competition in at least a few wards this election. Competition in elections makes office holders better.
Adam Marchand, in Ward 25, should have competition in this election, and in every election he ever engages in henceforth. His conflicts of interest, his smugness, his hunger for power need to be continually challenged. If he were to lose next week, it would be a healthy development for New Haven.
Anna Festa, on the other hand, deserves reelection mightily. A vague promise from one candidate for more neighborhood get-togethers versus certainty from the other of continued agitation for city budgets that are more responsible? The choice is clear.
Festa will be a great ally for Mayor Elicker as he tackles rethinking the way city government is run.