Allan Appel Photo
Passing the torch: Jones-Barnes (at right) with Santana.
Dan Kops came to Fair Haven Heights’ Ward 13 Democratic committee meeting hoping to interest members in instant run-off voting (aka “IRV”).
He even brought a handful of IRV ballots with him. They never left his pocket.
The ward committee met in the cafeteria of the Benjamin Jepson School Thursday night to endorse candidates for mayor, alderwoman, and city clerk.
Kops’s candidate for mayor, Justin Elicker, received only 3 votes. So did Henry Fernandez 3. Mayoral candidate Toni Harp prevailed with 17 in an old-fashioned voice vote.
By another voice vote, Michael Smart prevailed over Sergio Rodriguez 16 to 6 to receive the ward committee’s endorsement for city/town clerk.
Rose Santana, who was the area’s alderwoman between 2000 and 2006 until she was replaced by Alex Rhodeen, was unanimously endorsed to step into that role again. Incumbent Brenda Jones Barnes has decided not to run again — due to personal reasons, she said.
In presenting IRV, Kops (pictured), a new member of the ward committee, said he was following the lead of Westville’s Ward 25, which last week experimented with that complicated method of choosing among multiple candidates.
The sentiment in the room seemed to be for the old-fashioned way despite Kops’s pitch that IRV makes for a more democratic reflection of voters’ sentiments by having voters rank all the candidates on a paper ballot. (This story explains how it works.)
Committee member Albert Onorato listened for a few minutes and then expressed the desire to “just call the names.”
“But we haven’t even discussed what a majority is,” said Kops.
Calling him a local guy who has done well for the city, Johnny Fabrizio put Henry Fernandez’s name in nomination.
Then Onorato made a motion for a voice vote. Kops continued to make his pitch.
Kops wanted to continue, but in a sometimes confusing invocation of Robert’s Rules of Order, Onorato said a motion was on the floor, namely his, and while Kops could expatiate on IRV all he wanted, now was not the time. “He made a proposal, not a motion,” said Onorato, and the motion had to be dealt with.
It was, and then the voting occurred.
After the meeting ended, in a collegial atmosphere, Kops said,“I’m not sure we followed Robert’s Rules of Order.” He said he had joined the ward committee in the hope of having wide-ranging discussions. But one did not occur this night.
On his way to his car after the meeting, Onorato said, “IRV, it’d take too long. We’d be here all night.”
God forbid they "be there all night" in the interest of good governance and democracy.
Welcome to New Haven politics, Kops.