Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
Mayoral candidates Wendy Hamilton, Toni Harp, Urn Pendragon, and Justin Elicker at the Ward 8 Democratic committee meeting.
Seth Poole entered his 3‑year-old’s name into multiple school lotteries. His kid didn’t get into any of the schools.
He brought that up during a political gathering Monday night at which he and four other mayoral candidates agreed that the system needs to change for how kids get into desired New Haven schools.
Alder candidate Ellen Cupo (second from the left).
The gathering was a meeting of the Ward 8 Democratic Ward Committee, held in the library of Conte West Hills School on Chapel Street in Wooster Square.
Ellen Cupo, a candidate for alder, and the five mayoral candidates each had ten minutes to present their ideas and answer questions in order to earn support for an endorsement from the committee.
The committee held a private meeting before the candidate presentations and then a second private meeting afterwards. The committee ordered public observers, press, and even the candidates to leave the room for both meetings. That all violated Article VII, Section 8 of Democratic state party rules, which states: “In accordance with the Charter of the Democratic National Committee, all meetings of the Democratic town committees, subcommittees and all other Democratic Party Committees shall be open to the public, and votes shall not be taken by secret ballot.” (Numerous other ward committee meetings have also violated that rule over the past month.)
Committee Co-chairs Ana Winn and Brenda Harris both responded “I don’t know” when asked how they plan to vote at this Thursday night’s Democratic Town Committee nominating convention. They said they “can’t discuss what the committee concluded.”
Harp before the committee.
Because of the private meeting beforehand, committee members shoved the candidates into a back corner of the library until they called each member forward to speak. Eventually, one member was dispatched to go behind the rows of bookshelves into the unlighted back corner and announce the speaking order.
The candidates were startled to hear no vote would follow the presentations.
“So what is the purpose of this committee meeting then?” Democratic mayoral candidate Justin Elicker asked.
Magnet Mayhem
Urn Pendragon.
“I don’t like the school lottery,” Poole, who is running as an unaffiliated candidate for mayor, said during his presentation, He said he thinks it might be time to scratch the lottery system from New Haven magnet schools.
Poole referenced recent Independent articles on magnet school funding reimburainsg suburban communities for students taught in New Haven and the lottery keeping seats empty in cherished schools until suburbanites can be found to fill them.
Elicker said he too encounters issues with the lottery system with his own daughter. “The process itself is not parent and family welcoming,” he remarked. “The website even crashed on us!”
Candidate Urn Pendragon said she’s “not against charter and magnet schools, but we need to make sure the money stays in the city.” Pendragon said the schools should “stay local so every student gets equal opportunity.”
“I don’t think anyone is happy with the system,” agreed Mayor Toni Harp, who is running for reelection.
Candidate Wendy Hamilton vowed to get rid of the lottery altogether.
“We need to wipe the slate clean regarding the superintendents and Board of Education,” she continued. :I don’t even have children, but I’m disgusted by what’s going on here.”
Charter Chatter
Hamilton, donning special specs: “I think I can now see into the future, I think I know who the committee is going to back. I think their first name starts with the letter J … And I’m OK with that.”
Hamilton also said she is opposed to charter schools. “Charter schools make rich people richer,” she argued.
On charter schools, Poole said, “it depends on the leadership of the school, but it can work.”
“I don’t think they should replace the system, but there is value to the ones that exist in our city,” Elicker said. “We can learn from charter schools, and adopt some of the successful aspects.”
“Charter schools don’t build as much resilience into our young people as public schools, and they don’t have the same level of trauma informed care as we provide,” Pendragon argued.
Harp stated that charter schools have both advantages and drawbacks, and traditional public and charter schools “need to learn from one another.”
Because various Ward committees have chosen not to meet or to meet and not vote, the process of endorsing a candidate has become a parody of democracy and undermines the integrity of the Ward committees and the subsequent vote at the Convention. People have the right to support whatever candidate best fulfills their needs, but manipulation, coercion , and disingenuousness should not be part of the process. We shred the process at our own risk.