When 50 people converged on a sunny Edgewood Avenue front porch Sunday, it had all the trappings of a local ward political event — as well as a landing for a citywide face-off.
The event was a meet-and-greet for the reelection candidacy of Edgewood Alderwoman Liz McCormack (at center in photo). McCormack has represented Ward 24 on the Board of Aldermen for 22 years. That makes her the longest-serving member of the board, along with Hill Alderman Jorge Perez.
Ward 24 has one of several competitive Democratic primary races this summer. Ward elections come down mostly to which candidate’s team works the hardest knocking on doors and bringing voters to the polls. Ward 24’s should prove no exception: McCormack faces a political newcomer, Marcus Paca, who has been working the ward tirelessly.
In a year with no Democratic mayoral primary (which is usually the de facto election in one-party New Haven), aldermanic primaries can also serve as proxies for citywide battles present or future. Political teams contest issues or personality grievances and develop vote-pulling operations. They also seek to build the number of votes for their side on the Board of Aldermen.
Judging on the two candidates’ opening events, Ward 24’s race appears to be no exception on that score, either. With a few notable exceptions, the two candidates have attracted support from citywide politicians and organizations currently at odds over the direction of the city, including the majority control that City Hall and the Democratic machine currently have on New Haven politics and government.
Paca’s opening April event drew, among others, Mayor John DeStefano, Town Chairwoman Susie Voigt, DeStefano administration appointees, and members of the pro-City Hall majority on the Board of Aldermen. The machine has targeted McCormack because she’s considered a less-than-automatic vote for the administration.
Similarly, State Rep. Pat Dillon and State Sen. Toni Harp hosted McCormack’s event Sunday at the West Park Avenue home of Sherry and Jack Ellis (owned back in the 1980s by City Hall’s then-development chief, David Holmes). The two politicians are often seen as at odds with or independent of City Hall; Dillon is believed to be a target of a machine-backed challenge next year. Harp’s often mentioned as one of the potential candidates who polls within striking distance of the mayor. Dillon and Harp are pictured surrounding McCormack, along with State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, who won his office last fall with an insurgent campaign against a machine-backed candidate.
Also attending was State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, who ran against DeStefano in 2001, the last time the mayor had a serious challenge …
… former Board of Alderman President Tom√°s Reyes (at left in photo), who has been at odds with DeStefano over downtown development and Latino politics; and neighborhood organizer Eli Greer (at right). Greer is affiliated with the Yeshiva of New Haven, which generates some of the ward’s most active vote-pulling in local elections. (The group opposed McCormack when she first won her seat in 1987, but has since allied with her.) The gathering also included aldermen from the side of the board sometimes critical of City Hall: the Hill’s Andrea Jackson-Brooks and Dolores Colon. (The crowd included one inconspicuous attendee from the other camp, a New Haven-born college student who’s spending the summer back home door-knocking with pro-administration aldermanic candidates.)
In speeches to the gathering, McCormack and the other politicians didn’t mention her opponent, Paca. Nor did they focus on specific issues. Rather, the theme was experience: McCormack has served a long time and fought for her neighborhood, they said. (She was one of four women elected to their first terms in 1987 who went on to long local political or government careers. The others were Toni Harp, Elaine Braffman, and Robin Kroogman.)
Before the speeches, McCormack’s campaign treasurer, Sandra McKinnie (at right in photo, with Holder-Winfield), did speak about Paca. She told a reporter she believes McCormack will win based on “character issues.”
She was referring to the revelation that police charged Paca with owing $20,000 in child support. (He said he fell behind because he was out of work but that he’s paying the debt.)
“We have a lot of single mothers in the ward,” McKinnie said. “Let’s face it — the one thing a single mother doesn’t want to hear, we’ve already heard.”
Reached after the event, Paca (pictured) called that question “irrelevant to the race.”
“I’m hearing only a lot of positive things” on the campaign trail, he said. “I’m hearing that a lot of people feel those are personal attacks. There are a lot of personal things people can conjure about Liz and her family, but they don’t.”
Paca said “the community is crying” for “leadership.” McCormack’s more than two decades in office might hurt her more than help her on that score, he said.
“They’re crying for people being out there not just talking about being there 20 years, but showing some kind of tangible results,” he said.
“You could look at it two ways. It’s positive she’s been there 20 years. It can also be a not-so-positive thing. People tend to get a little complacent. I’m not saying that she’s complacent. But I think there are people in the community who feel they are ready for some type of change.”
Previous coverage of the Ward 24 primary race:
• Challenger Takes On Edgewood Veteran
• Will Trees = Votes?
• Candidate Owes Child Support
• Mayor Sticks By Paca
Paca,
Low blow warning--"People could say a lot of negative things about Liz & her family"--really? Is that true? or is it an empty rhetorical statement, designed to get even with the fact that you screwed up something in your life & failed to be proactive on it?
Sorry--I wouldn't have commented on this at all, but that type of senseless rumor spreading is irritating. (and sentences with no meaning are equally irritating)