What ward am I in? asked Alan Dalaku. The answer: Ward 8. One of many wards with no Republicans running for office.
“Yeah, why not,” Dalaku decided. And a campaign was born.
Panhandlers, beware.
Dalaku was one of the few candidates to step forward at the Republican Town Committee’s caucus Thursday night at 200 Orange St. The event was held to endorse municipal candidates for a November general election.
Those Republican candidates who could be found in what’s otherwise a one-party (Democratic) town. New Haven has 43,811 Democrats, 2,592 Republicans, 16,644 unaffiliated and 357 “other“s registered to vote.
In total, the Republicans scraped together four candidates for alderman (three of whom showed up for the caucus), out of 30 possible slots, and no candidates for mayor or town clerk.
East Shore Alderwoman Arlene DePino, the sole Republican on the board, announced she is seeking a fifth term in office. Candidates also emerged in Wards 9 and 26, in addition to Dalaku in Ward 8.
A Call Answered
Dalaku, who’s 40, is making his first try for public office after living in New Haven for three years. A Derby native, he now lives with his wife on Wooster Square’s Greene Street. He described himself as a former warehouse stocker, musician, and one-time professional wrestler. He said he decided to run after receiving a pleading letter from the RTC Chairman Richter Elser.
“I need your help,” read the letter, sent out on July 15 to all registered New Haven Republicans. The letter announced that no new candidates had materialized for alderman or mayor.
“If there are no Republican candidates on the ballot, it will be even more difficult for New Haven Republicans to continue as a viable party,” wrote Elser (pictured).
Dalaku said he read the letter and thought, “You know what, what the hell? Why not? I’ve seen people with less qualifications become governor.”
Jail The Panhandlers?
So Dalaku showed up to the convention in the Hall of Records basement hearing room Thursday night. He came dressed in a John Fogerty T‑shirt and jeans. He inquired which ward he lives in. Fellow Republicans checked a list and reported back: Ward 8.
When the meeting began, party officials read through the list of wards in search of candidates. For the first seven wards, they struck out.
“Actually, I would be interested” in running, said Dalaku, when they got to his. “Yeah, why not.”
In an interview, Dalaku said he doesn’t know whom he’s running against. (It’s Democrat Michael Smart.) “It doesn’t matter,” Dalaku said. He vowed not to “sling mud” at his opponent, but rather to run a straight-shooting campaign based on a few core goals.
“I plan to inform everyone that our economy is the way it is for two reasons — selfishness and greed,” Dalaku said. He’d like to see more mom and pop shops, and he’d like to see factories used for manufacturing, not apartments.
“I’d like to see every panhandler removed from this town,” he added. Where would they go? He’d make them seek shelter and employment — or “put them in jail.”
Dalaku said he can’t stand to see panhandlers making money by begging, “whereas I’m busting my hump, sweating out my brains” to make a living. “I want this city filled up with people who want to give,” he said.
“Those who just want to take — they’re going to have trouble with me.”
Rematch
When the count reached 18, Alderwoman DePino announced, after much suspense, that she will be seeking reelection.
“I thought about it long and hard,” said DePino after the meeting.
DePino (pictured), who’s 56, works as a radiological technician at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She’s seeking a fifth two-year term representing Morris Cove. She said there are still many issues she’d like to work on, including helping streamline the confusing process for families to register their kids for schools. She said she’s proud of her accomplishments: she worked with neighbors to get a new dog park in Morris Cove; created the elderly tax freeze; and lobbied the attorney general to get the Pardee Morris House fixed up.
DePino will face Democratic challenger Susan Campion, who’s best known for her work on zoning battles against the city. Campion recently received the party blessing from her Democratic ward committee.
Campion has challenged DePino twice before, without success. She said she’s looking forward to a “a very spirited campaign season.”
“Put Your Name Out”
A third candidate didn’t show up to the caucus Thursday. Elser announced that James O’Connel, of Fountain Street plans to run in Ward 26. The incumbent, Democratic Alderman Sergio Rodriguez, also faces a primary opponent, Lashell Rountree.
As the ward count climbed toward 30, still only three candidates had emerged.
“Put your name out!” urged a sliver-haired woman knitting in the front of the room. “Just to give voters a choice!”
The party agreed to take a five-minute recess so that the roughly three dozen Republicans in the crowd could “rethink” their decision not to run.
The tactic proved fruitful. When the meeting resumed, a fourth candidate emerged: Grant Kreizenbeck (pictured) of Cottage Street.
He’s mounting a challenge against Alderman Roland Lemar in East Rock’s Ward 9. Kreizenbeck, who’s 29, said he works at an investment company and has lived in New Haven for five years.
“Alive and Kicking”
The slate thus assembled, Republicans endorsed the four candidates. Elser defended what may appear to be a rather piddling offering.
“While those of you in the media may laugh at it, it is twice the slate we had last year,” he said.
“Reports of the death of our party are a bit premature,” Elser insisted. “We are alive and kicking.”
Elser said he realizes that some people would like to see more candidates. State rules dictate that the party can only give endorsements at the caucus, he said.
However, getting on the ballot as a petitioning Republican is pretty easy: All you need is 5 percent of the registered Republicans in your ward, Elser explained, prompting a wave of chuckles. In some wards, he said, the threshold would be a mere three signatures.
Asked how the party plans to build itself up, Elser said the RTC will sponsor a series of public lectures to get people interested in being Republicans.
Elser said the party does not intend to act as a “mere placeholder.” He said he expects “four credible campaigns.”
What exactly does the Republican party have to offer New Haven? Waterbury redux? Nationally, and on the state, level all I see are Republicans being anti-science, anti-environment and anti-Gay. Is there something that the Republicans are for (other than crazy Protestant evangelicals and closet cases - often one and the same)?