Harp Passes Reins Of Mayors Group

With a last blast of New Haven policy talk, Toni Harp completed her term as president of the African American Mayors Association.

The group elected a new president, Mayor Oliver Gilbert of Miami Gardens, Florida, at a conference this past weekend at a Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.

A year ago the group elected Harp, New Haven’s first-ever female mayor, its first-ever female president. (The above video shows Harp representing the mayors group on MSNBC after the deadly racist rally in Charlottesville.)

Harp invited New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell and Project Longevity coordinator Stacy Spell to the conference to address a session on public safety. They spoke about successes New Haven has had with community policing, YouthStat, and Project Longevity, which targets the small number of most violent offenders in organized groups, then offers them a choice between help in going straight or help in going to jail for a long time.

Harp said New Haven’s policy experience contributed much to the association’s work over the past year. She said she also benefited from getting to know mayors from other cities and attended events like a ​“Light Up The City” conference in Baltimore at the invitation of that city’s mayor, Catherine Pugh. Harp spoke of how former Mayor John DeStefano made New Haven an ​“early adopter” in installing LED lights throughout the city; in Baltimore she picked up ideas about how new technology can improve the lights’ operation, including dimming or brightening based on when sensors detect approaching cars.

During Harp’s tenure, the association also took a stand in support of sanctuary city policies. The topic did not prove controversial among members, she reported during her latest appearance on WNHH FM’s ​“Mayor Monday” program.

“We’re not just mayors of African-Americans. We’re mayors of all people. We understand the difficulties newcomers have in this country, especially when [the president] has such unusual and outlandish views about immigration,” Harp said. ​“Most people in America are not indigenous.”

Harp also noticed during her tenure the growing numbers of women seeking elected office, including African-American women; in April Essence magazine declared 2018 ​“The Year Of The Black Woman Mayor.” She welcomed the trend.

“What you see in particularly African-American women candidates, and women period, [are people] who are qualified, who come with a lot of knowledge to the job, come with some moral standing. But we are so used to electing men who don’t have all those qualifications. At some point we’ve got to say to the men, ​‘Look, if you can’t be as qualified as we are and have the same sense of ethics, have the same experience so you can move our areas forward, just stay at home. We’re going to do it.”

Brooklyn U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke inspired the group at one gathering, Harp said, with a call ​“not to lose heart” in these tough political times.

“Yes, we are in currently in a difficult time,” Harp said. ​“Our leadership has unearthed a lot of racism and other kinds of negatives around race and around sexism. But it’s important that those things be unearthed so we can address them.”

Click on or download the above audio file or the Facebook Live video below for the full episode of ​“Mayor Monday” on WNHH FM.

This episode of ​“Mayor Monday” was made possible with the support of Gateway Community College and Berchem Moses P.C.