That’s how the choice was presented Wednesday night in a vote over who should replace an alderwoman who’s retiring mid-term.
East Rock’s 9th Ward Democratic Committee gathered to choose a candidate to succeed Elizabeth Addonizio. The vote pitted Roland Lemar (pictured), a former mayoral aide who works for a regional environmental organization, against real estate developer Alex Marathas.
Wednesday’s vote came as three of the city’s wards seek to fill abandoned aldermanic seats. Ward committees, the smallest branches of the Democratic Party, vote on a candidate for the party to endorse. That candidate then faces possible Republican or independent candidates in a special election, most likely on Nov. 7. Committees at Ward 28 (Beaver Hill) and Ward 14 (Fair Haven) voted Tuesday. Just like a year ago, Ward 14 promises to be a hot race: outspoken City Hall opponent Evelyn DeJesus-Vargas, who lost the endorsement to Erin Pascale, is going to run as a petitioning independent, according to Norma Rodriguez-Reyes, the Democratic Town Committee vice president and a DeJesus-Vargas supporter.
In East Rock, over 40 local Dems and onlookers gathered in the library of the East Rock Magnet School to see Lemar face off against a member of the ward party organizations’s own leadership: Alex Marathas is the ward co-chair in the ward, along with Paul Wessel. He ran for alderman once before, in 2001; the entire citywide party swarmed into the ward in an unsuccessful attempt to help Marathas knock out a Green Party alderman (named John Halle).
Marathas does Starbucks-type real estate development. He came with a business resume. It described studying drugstore development for Eckard’s, owning a West Haven caf√©, and working in sales for a steel company. He also has a B.A. in French Lit. and enjoys the books Super Trains and Walden.
Lemar, 30, passed out a bio with a picture of himself and his daughter, Caitlin. They live on Orange Street. He’s got four years experience in City Hall, as a city planner then in the office of public information. He also used to write for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Lemar now works as “manager of advocacy, outreach and communications” at Environment Northeast, a regional environmental organization. He recently testified before the Board of Alderman on the environmental effects of deisel pollution and the need for a public transit plan.
Up against a ward co-chair, Lemar reached out to the committee beforehand. His friend and active Dem Carlos Eyzaguirre (pictured at left, with Rob Smuts) helped him make the pitch: “It’s Walgreens or environmentalist.”
Lemar spoke first, handing out a One Year Plan with what he pledges to accomplish in his term. His priorities:
First, crime. He said he never would have imagined the day when people would be robbed with sawed-off shotguns near Orange Street. He called for the city to “maintain a commitment to community policing,” which he sees as drained by the ID-NET squad. He urged revived neighborhood vigilance: “We need to make sure there’s a block watch on every street.”
Asked about the proposed youth curfew, he said he would support it: “I don’t like the idea of placing a curfew on [youth],” but he preferred it to seeing 14 year-olds shooting each other. The real problem: “We need to provide options for kids.”
Lemar put combatting rising property taxes as a second priority. He proposed to open up the appraisal process so citizens know the statistical model used to evaluate property. He would fight for a phased-in property revaluation so neighbors don’t get walloped. He’d support Arlene DePino’s proposed Elderly Tax Freeze.
Marathas (pictured at right) agreed about the importance of community policing, which he called a “baseline of preventative maintenance”: Four years ago, he petitioned to get an extra beat cop on State Street. He was non-committal about a youth curfew, saying he’d sit down with police to determine whether it was practical.
Marathas said he was running on his record as a neighborhood activist: He’s been active in the ward committee and East Rock Management Team. He helped negotiate a plan for Nica’s Market expansion and was a key author in the city’s recently approved noise ordinance.
During a Q & A session, Lemar outshone his contender with more developed stances and knowledge of the city. On question after question — do you approve of a recent landlord licensing ordinance+ how can we deflate the school budget? are city appraisals unfair? — Marathas said he didn’t know enough to comment. Lemar gave specifics and goals, engaging in one-on one dialogue with questioners.
Committee members retired to make fill out ballots and slip them into a box. Bill Donohue and his sister counted the vote. Their tally: Lemar, 20, Marathas, 13.
“It’s an honor that you came out to support me,” said Lemar in a short victory speech. Now, he said, it’s time to talk about “who we are as a party, who we are as a city, and where we want to go.”
Barring the possible appearance of a Green Party candidate, Lemar will run unopposed. If he’s elected, he hopes to land a seat on the aldermanic Finance Committee and City Plan Commission — both spaces recently vacated by former Alderman Joe Jolly.
Board of Aldermen President Carl Goldfield, who came to the meeting to watch, said he didn’t know when he’d make the decision on who’ll succeed Jolly in the powerful position of Finance Committee chair.
Of Lemar, he said: “Roland was very articulate tonight. … He clearly understands the needs of the ward and the neighborhood.”
i've come to the realization that the "independent" in newhavenindependent.com means that you are independent of the necessety of a valid news source to keep an open and neutral stance on whatever it's reporting. from your unwillingness to be tough on john destefano (who's boy carl goldfield and a few others in his possee have helped with the establishment and funding of your fine opinionated ramblings) to this seemingly innocent little article about a meeting of 40 people, you have shown time and a again you cannot keep your opinions to yourselves. which by the way is fine, but don't pretend to be neutral like a lefty version of fox news.