Parks, Schools Anchor Annex Alder Primary

A first-term Annex alder and retired longtime local educator is seeking another two years in office to focus on cleaner parks, slower traffic, and better schools — while his Democratic primary challenger wants to ​“give a voice to the Annex” after her years of advocacy for her former home neighborhood of Cedar Hill.

On Sept. 12, incumbent Alder Sal Punzo and challenger Camille Ansley will square off in a Democratic primary election for Ward 17 alder. Whoever wins that race will advance to the Nov. 7 general election to face Republican alder nominee AnneMarie Rivera-Berrios, who ran against and lost to Punzo back in 2021.

Punzo’s name will appear at the top of the primary ballot, as he was endorsed for reelection at the local Democratic Party’s convention on July 25. Ansley successfully petitioned her way onto the primary ballot, making Ward 17 one of six wards in the city to have a contested Democratic primary this year.

Ansley has also petitioned to run as an unaffiliated candidate in the general election, meaning that, if Punzo wins in September, Ward 17 alders could have three candidates to pick between — Punzo, Ansley, and Rivera-Berrios — come November.

The ward’s newly implemented redistricted bounds include Chamberlain Street to the north, Townsend Terrace to the south, the I‑95 highway to the west, and the East Haven town line to the east. (Click here to review the new ward lines for all 30 wards citywide.)

Punzo: "Top Priority = Taking Care Of My Constituents"

Punzo, who lives on Elizabeth Ann Drive, has represented the district since the start of 2022. Now retired, he worked as a teacher and a principal for the city’s public school system for 49 years, including 17 years as the principal of East Rock School. He also spent 11 years as president of the Annex Little League baseball program, where he remains on the board.

“I’m really enjoying it. My feeling is I’ve built a strong relationship with the community,” Punzo said in a recent phone interview about his bid for reelection. ​“I feel like I’m helping people, I hope.”

Punzo said the most frequent constituent calls for service he’s received during his nearly two years in the role of Annex alder include ​“obviously, sidewalks that need repairs. Blight in the neighborhood. And parks, [where] we’ve made some headway.”

He said he’s proud of the work that he and other volunteers have done to clean up Fort Wooster Park. (“I’m just a helper,” he said. ​“It’s really come a long way. It really uplifts the neighborhood.”)

Punzo noted that the state legislature recently approved $500,000 for repairs to Peat Meadow Park, and that the neighborhood has already had two community meetings to discuss those planned upgrades. ​“Hopefully the renovations will start soon.”

He also said that, in his opinion, people move to a neighborhood for two reasons: the first is the schools, the second is the parks.

In regards to schools, Punzo said, he feels like he’s been able to get a clearer understanding of the challenges and opportunities at the present moment in the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) system through his membership on the Board of Alders Education Committee. He’s also been able to contribute some of the wisdom he’s accrued across his own many decades working in that same district. ​“I try to help and share some of my successes. I’m there to help. That’s my purpose” on the committee. ​“I think we’re heading in the right direction” with the new superintendent, he added.

And what about the elephant in the room, as it were, with Tweed New Haven Airport, which sits just across ward lines in Morris Cove’s Ward 18?

“I don’t get too many calls about Tweed,” Punzo said, despite the dramatic increase in plane traffic that the expanding airport has seen over the past two years with the launch of Avelo Airlines.

“We have to make sure the community is taken care of on this,” he added. He noted that he was not an alder when the board approved a 43-year lease agreement between the city and the airport authority in September 2021 that paved the way for the airport’s planned expansion, which is set to include the construction of a larger terminal on the East Haven side of the property and the extension of the current runway to attract more airfare.

But, about that deal, he said, ​“I think the community package” — related to traffic calming and soundproofing homes in the neighborhood — ​“has to be reviewed. I think there needs to be a stronger mitigation plan for the community. … How that’s done, I really don’t know.”

He concluded by stressing that his ​“top priority is taking care of my constituents.” What the people in his ward want, he said, is what he’s prepared to advocate for.

Ansley: "Community Advocate," From Cedar Hill To Annex

In a separate interview via a series of text messages for this article, Ansley, a project manager who has lived on Townsend Terrace since 2017, said that she is running for alder because she is a ​“community advocate that is looking to improve communication, and give a Voice to the Annex.”

Ansley said she hopes to ​“talk about S.T.E.A.M Initiatives in education, and how we can work towards an education system that will prepare the [next generation] to be ready for jobs that will not look like the landscape of jobs that we’ve had in the past,” especially given the ever-rising impact of artificial intelligence on all parts of ​“business & home life.”

She added that she is ​“passionate about Public Safety,” and wants to push for New Haven to ​“become the safest city in Connecticut.”

Ansley previously lived in Cedar Hill, where she worked with neighbors to press City Hall to fix broken streetlights and support neighborhood beautification in the form of an underpass mural.

“There are many similarities of Cedar Hill and The Annex. Everyone wants to live in safe, [tree-lined,] beautiful streets, and communities where everyone respects one another, and their issues get addressed by the city in a timely manner,” Ansley said. ​“Some differences are that in [Cedar Hill] the collaboration and communication was for everyone.” 

She said that both the East Shore, where she serves as the chair of the neighborhood’s community management team, and Cedar Hill have ​“large-scale collaborative events” like the East Shore Halloween and Easter celebrations, and Cedar Hill’s Good Friday get-togethers and twice-a-year barbecues ​“that brought out the masses.” 

She said she’d like to see a ​“small business East Shore association” established to further support neighborhood businesses, as well as ​“visual improvements” to the area around I‑95’s Exit 50, Woodward Avenue, and Main Street.

As for Tweed, Ansley said the airport ​“has to be a good business neighbor,” without taking any specific stance on the airport’s current operations and expansion plans. She did claim that the airport is ​“solely responsible” for the over ​“110k additional cars” that have come to the East Shore community.

Finally, Ansley offered a similarly high appraisal of the neighborhood’s public greenspaces when describing what she loves so much about the Annex. ​“I love all the parks,” she wrote. ​“All the walkers, joggers. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets.”