Dems Unanimously Endorse Elicker

(Updated at 8:58 p.m.) Mayor Justin Elicker unanimously won the local Democratic Party’s endorsement at Tuesday’s town convention — a key step on his path to reelection for another two-year term.

Elicker won that overwhelming show of support Tuesday night during the Democratic Town Convention at the Betsy Ross Parish House on Kimberly Avenue.

The first-term incumbent earned the convention’s endorsement after challenger Karen DuBois-Walton announced her decision to drop out of the mayoral race altogether.

Mayce Torres, who is also vying for the Democratic nomination for mayor, was not nominated and received no votes of support at the convention.

Elicker’s endorsement Tuesday night means that his name will appear at the top of the ballot during the Democratic primary on Sept. 14. If he wins that contest, he’ll advance to the November general election to face off against presumptive Republican mayoral nominee John Carlson.

“This is more emotional than I thought,” Elicker said as he took the mic to accept the endorsement. He thanked his wife, Natalie, for supporting him and his family throughout the campaign and his time in office.

He also thanked DuBois-Walton — who previously served as a top aide to former Mayor John DeStefano before helming the city’s public housing authority for 14 years — for her ​“incredible history in the city. She threw herself into this campaign with endless energy” and, he said, ​“you can literally see her impact in every single neighborhood” in the form of redeveloped, high-quality affordable housing.

Elicker spent much of his roughly 10 minutes at the mic reflecting on the Covid-19 pandemic: how it hit New Haven less than two months into his first term as mayor, and how his administration — and the city more broadly — has spent the past 16 months trying to respond, survive, adapt, control, and rebuild from the public health crisis.

“I’m proud of our city and how we responded to this crisis that none of us have ever experienced in our life,” he said. ​“We have done so in a way that follows the science, but that, most importantly, shows equity.”

He called to mind for the roughly 100 local politicos present images that have defined the pandemic: school cafeteria workers coming to work to feed young people and their families, Covid-testing popups with pastors and other community leaders, and setting up vaccination clinics all over the city.

“This is not over,” Elicker said. ​“We have a lot more work to do. All of us know there’s so much more work to do in this city.”

Local Dems who spoke up in support of Elicker Tuesday night also frequently returned to the first-term incumbent’s response to the pandemic.

“You’ve been a steady hand in uncertain times,” Democratic Town Committee Chair Vinnie Mauro said. ​“You deserve this.”

Elicker hadn’t been mayor for more than 100 days when the pandemic hit, said Ward 20 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair and interim Newhallville Alder Oscar Havyarimana, who formally nominated Elicker at the convention.

“He didn’t just lead us through it. He made sure we didn’t get left behind…. New Haven’s future looks bright with Justin as mayor.”

Ward 19 Democratic Ward Committee Co-Chair Ray Jackson agreed. ​“The city is on the upcline” under Elicker’s leadership, he said. ​“He made that a top priority: To keep people alive.”

Elicker is a first-term incumbent who came in second place in a crowded mayoral race in 2013, ran a local community-garden nonprofit for five years, and then bested incumbent Mayor Toni Harp in the Democratic primary and general election in 2019.

He first filed for reelection in January. With his wife standing alongside him, Elicker said then he was running for another two-year term because there was ​“so much work” left to do regarding the pandemic, schools, housing, and town-gown relations.

In the intervening months, Elicker has campaigned on his administration’s response to the pandemic, his successful advocacy for a doubling of state aid to the city budget, and his directing of millions of dollars in pandemic-era aid toward increased police walking beats, street violence intervention workers, and summer youth programs.

Overall, his reelection pitch has resonated with public health experts, local Democratic Party insiders, and regular voters who believe he deserves another term in office after confronting the most serious public health crisis in a century.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s convention, Elicker won the nonbinding, advisory support of 20 Democratic Ward Committees. His campaign fundraising reports also show that he’s won the financial support of high-profile public health experts in town.

Click on the Facebook Live video below to watch parts of Tuesday’s convention.