Community Centers, Schools Anchor Alder Race

The future of community investment and education sits at the center of a contested race for alder for Ward 30’s West Rock and West Hills neighborhoods.

Republican challenger Perry Flowers has thrown his hat into the race, calling for more community centers to bridge what he sees as a divide within the ward. 

Meanwhile, three-term incumbent Democrat Honda Smith — the force behind the revival of The Shack community center on Valley Street — is seeking reelection to continue her fight against school closures and to defend neighborhood education, which she sees as essential to preserving community stability and opportunity.

Ward 30, on the city’s far north-west side of town, includes West Rock Park; several public housing communities, including Rockview, Brookside, Westville Manor, and McConaughy Terrace; the New Haven Job Corps center; the now-closed Brennan-Rogers School; and The Shack community center. Smith ran unopposed for reelection in 2023, winning a total of 233 votes in that one-person race.

Smith, 61, is running for another two years in office on a platform rooted in continuity, public service, and a commitment to finish the work she began nearly five years ago after what she says was encouragement from residents urging her to seek another term.

“I’m running again to finish off what was started and halfway done,” she said, pointing to a list of accomplishments that includes infrastructure upgrades, youth employment programs, and the creation of new community partnerships.

At the center of Smith’s campaign is her opposition to the Board of Education’s decision to close Brennan-Rogers School, a move made in support of the Fiscal Year 2025 – 26 budget in an effort to reduce the deficit and avoid staff layoffs. Smith said the closures did not make sense particularly given the high concentration of families in the area and the transportation challenges many face in getting their children to more distant schools.

“I think it is a tragedy to take away the only urban school in this district,” Smith said, noting that more than 650 school-aged children live near the shuttered school. ​“The Board of Education says it’s because of low turnout — but you’re going to remove 132 students just to put 35 into Wexler Grant? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Smith is also campaigning on her work to provide local youth with job opportunities and skill-building programs. In partnership with Elm City Communities (the city’s housing authority), she has launched training initiatives that teach teens entrepreneurship, carpentry, painting, and community gardening.

“We had children build a shed, maintain the community farm, build a chicken coop, and learn real trades,” she said, calling it one of her proudest accomplishments. She emphasized that teens outside public housing were also welcomed into the program.

Another top priority for Smith is protecting the New Haven Job Corps center, which has faced repeated threats of closure under shifting federal policies. 

In May, the Trump administration announced plans to shut down Job Corps centers nationwide, citing low graduation rates, rising costs, and safety concerns in a Department of Labor report. The move was part of a broader effort to scale back federal anti-poverty programs and reduce social safety net spending. In response, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in June, temporarily blocking the closures. On June 25, the court ruled in favor of program advocates, halting the shutdown.

Smith explained that the center remains open due to a judge’s order, but its long-term future is still uncertain. She emphasized that efforts are ongoing to keep the program operational and accessible to local youth.

Despite the court order, delays from the Department of Labor, particularly in processing background checks, have stalled new student enrollments and undermined the injunction’s immediate effect.

The New Haven Job Corps Center remains open, with 149 students currently enrolled in hands-on training programs across multiple trades, including construction, carpentry, culinary arts, and plumbing.

With decades of experience working in city departments and social services, Smith said her long-standing relationships uniquely position her to deliver for Ward 30. Her campaign, she says, is not just about defending past accomplishments, but about ensuring the work continues.

More Community Centers Needed?

Republican challenger Flowers, 56, is bringing a different vision to the race — one grounded in expanding access to community resources, restoring neighborhood pride, and re-centering political power within historically neglected parts of the ward. 

A lifelong New Havener and former roofer and house painter, Flowers grew up in Rockview Circle and currently lives in the West Rock area of the ward. Flowers said that political neglect has left working-class families without critical services. 

At the heart of Flowers’ campaign is a call for increased investment in local community centers. He called for the creation of a new facility offering recreational amenities, mentorship opportunities, life skills training, and intergenerational programming that serves both youth and elders.

“Looking at the youth, I want to see a big place where they can go swimming in the pool and get help with life,” he said.

Previously a Democrat, Flowers ran unsuccessfully for Ward 30 co-chair last year. He said that experience, along with a growing sense of disillusionment, pushed him to change his political affiliation. 

Flowers argued that for decades, the community has received only minimal support, and believes it’s time for residents to take control of their own progress, saying the Republican Party offers the freedom and opportunity to do just that.

In his view, it’s time for residents to reclaim control over their own future.

He expressed admiration for President Donald Trump’s economic record, particularly during the pre-Covid years when Flowers said he held a stable job as a manager. Though he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, he now views that period more favorably.

Though if elected he would likely be the sole Republican on a predominantly Democratic Board of Alders, Flowers said he is willing to work across party lines — so long as his community’s voice comes first.

“I won’t compromise my ward,” he said. ​“If my ward says this is what they want, that’s what I’ll be fighting for.”

In response to Flowers’ critique that Ward 30 lacks adequate community centers, Smith defended her track record. She highlighted The Shack, a center she helped open, and pointed to other community facilities in housing complexes such as Brookside, Rockview, and Westville Manor, including one at 295 Wilmot Rd.

Smith emphasized that while some centers are located within housing developments, they are open to residents in those communities and offer a range of available resources. She suggested that greater awareness and participation could help ensure those spaces are used to their full potential.

“Ward 30 is Ward 30. It doesn’t matter where you live in this community, you are Ward 30,” she said. ​“If people want it, they would come out and they would get it.”

Smith and Flowers have each secured the endorsement of their respective parties — Democratic and Republican — and will face off in the general election scheduled for Nov. 4. Early voting will be available from Oct. 20 through Nov. 2, as Ward 30 voters decide who will serve as their next alder.