The road to a record ninth term cleared for Mayor John DeStefano Thursday, as Bill Dyson announced he won’t mount a challenge to him this fall.
Dyson (pictured), a popular and outspoken Democrat who retired as state representative last year after 32 years in office, electrified the city’s sclerotic political scene in January when he revealed he was considering a run against DeStefano.
DeStefano has won most of his eight two-year terms with barely a challenge. Dyson’s potential bid drew interest from groups around town upset about the quality of public schools and the decline of community policing. If DeStefano, a Democrat, wins in the fall, he will surpass Richard C. Lee in the history books as having won the most New Haven popular elections for mayor.
Despite an outpouring of support, Dyson told the Independent Thursday afternoon, he decided that he had committed to other plans that would preclude a mayoral run. He’s forming a not-for-profit group to advocate for ex-inmates trying to reintegrate into society. He began serving on the state Judicial Selection Commission in February. In September he begins teaching political science at Central Connecticut State University.
“I retired from the General Assembly. My energies were being directed toward things I wanted to do and didn’t have time to do,” Dyson, who’s 68, said Thursday. “For me to go back from that and go back to the full-time occupation of running for office and serving, it was more than I wanted to get into at this time.”
He said he didn’t know of another challenger to DeStefano whom he plans to support.
“If there’s anything that came out of this that was good, it was the number of people who were interested,” he said. “It was good because it was a demonstration of confidence in me. And the fact that they believed in me.”
Supporters impressed on him the dissatisfaction in town with the schools, Dyson said. “There’s an awful lot of money that’s been put into school buildings. I don’t think as much effort has been put into closing the achievement gap.
“People are more in tune with what is going on than you’d think they are. Right now they want to some change take place.”
Since Dyson began toying with a run, DeStefano has moved to reclaim the schools issue. First in his annual State of the City address, then in his reelection campaign announcement, the mayor began embracing school reform measures he has in the past opposed including working with charter schools, closing failing schools. He promised more detailed reform efforts in months to come. Unless another credible challenger emerges in the mayor’s race, it will be left to activists and others removed from the electoral playing field to pressure DeStefano to follow through.
Closing the achievement gap means having better summer programs. It has little to do with the schools.
Studies show that for the most part, kids do fine while in the schools - if schools and teachers are good (and they often are, even in low income areas), they do even better, but they don't fall seriously behind.
The fact that many kids spend all summer with no real enrichment is the reason why the enormous gap between poorer and minority, and wealthier and white, emerges.
The Achievement Gap needs to be addressed with comprehensive policy and poverty reform, and new summer programs -- not with school reform.