Thomas MacMillan Photo
Jim Berger: “Heck, maybe make more wards.”
Neighbors weighing in on a once-a-decade revision of New Haven’s core laws sent a clear message: Don’t shrink the Board of Aldermen.
That was a nearly unanimous messages that emerged from the testimony of 27 neighbors Thursday evening in an auditorium at the Davis Street School.
It was the first public hearing of the newly formed 15-member Charter Revision Commission.
The newly formed commission is charged with the decennial task of studying the New Haven Charter and deciding if it needs any changes.
The charter is the city’s foundational legal document, covering such municipal basics as the composition of city government and its departments, the length of lawmaker’s elected terms, and even the name of the city.
Every 10 years, the city is required to form a commission to propose any revisions that may be necessary. After approval by the Board of Aldermen, the proposed changes are then submitted to voters in the form of a ballot referendum, which is planned this year for the November election.
Aldermen have given the commission a list of 15 topics that it must consider. The commission may, however, take up whatever other topics it chooses.
Thursday’s hearing was designed to hear testimony from the general public on what changes people would like to see.
Close to 100 people attended, comprising a who’s who of current and former aldermen, neighborhood activists, Board of Ed staff, former New Haven Green Occupiers, and ward Democratic committee co-chairs.
“We simply are here to listen,” said Wooster Square Alderman Mike Smart, the commission chair, as he kicked off Thursday’s hearing.
Three items on the list of 15 emerged as the hot topics of discussion: Reducing the number of aldermen, moving to a partially or fully elected Board of Ed instead of one appointed by the mayor, and reforming the Civilian Review Board.
The majority public response on those two ideas seemed was: no thanks and yes please, respectively. Civilian Review Board reform earned unanimous support and some of the most impassioned testimony.
BOA
Proponents of having a smaller Board of Aldermen argue that the legislative branch could be a more effective check to the mayor if it had fewer, more powerful lawmakers. The aldermen could be paid more and could then devote more of their time to public service.
Almost no one who spoke on the matter Thursday night agreed with that argument. Having a larger board allows people to have a personal connection with their representatives, several people argued. That means more democracy, in their opinions.
If the size of the board were reduced, “it’s no longer a community-oriented town — it’s bureaucratic,” said Bridget Gardner, who lives on Beverly Road. “Don’t take the people’s touch away from dealing with the government.”
“A lot of people feel alienated from the political process,” said Kenneth Reveiz. Cutting the size of the board would only increase that sense, he said.
“The smallness of the wards makes actual democracy possible,” said Jim Berger, who lives on Woodbridge Avenue. Having a lot of small wards means you don’t need a huge political operation to win a seat on the board, he said. “You can run on a shoe string.”
“Heck, maybe make more wards,” he joked. (New Haven did once have 33.)
“I don’t think the city of New Haven is ready for professional politicians,” said Arthur Lindley, who lives on Central Avenue. Having a smaller, professionalized board would change the “close relationship” aldermen now have with their constituents, he said.
Former Westville Alderwoman Nancy Ahern was one of only two people to speak up in favor of having fewer aldermen. Andy Orefice suggested cutting it in half. Ahern’s suggestion was more modest.
“Take a giant step” and reduce the size of the board by exactly one, she said. The oddly shaped Ward 27 should be eliminated, she said.
“There are too many wards in Westville,” she said.“The 27th Ward, since it was created, has looked like a dragon.”
BOE
As it is now, the Board of Education comprises seven unpaid members appointed by the mayor, plus the mayor himself. The set-up is unique in the state. It gives the mayor enormous power over the school board, which has a budget that’s not subject to line-by-line editing by the Board of Aldermen.
Proponents of appointed school boards say that takes politics out of the equation, and allows talented people who might never run for office to serve on the board.
Former East Rock Alderman Allan Brison (pictured), who now lives in Hamden, said that as an aldermen he was part of a budget committee that determined that the education budget truly accounts for some 65 percent of the total city budget, when you factor in debt service for school construction and pensions and health care for school staff.
For the mayor to appoint the people who control that many city dollars puts “too much power in the hands of one person,” Brison said. “We need to shore up legislative branch oversight.”
Brison said he favors a fully-elected Board of Ed. Having a partially elected, “hybrid” board “makes no more sense than having the mayor appoint 10 of 30 aldermen,” he said.
The majority of at least the speakers who showed up Thursday night leaned toward making at least some change in the current set-up.
One woman spoke in favor of an appointed Board of Ed as a means of keeping the quality of board members high. “I do not want just anyone being on the Board of Ed,” she said. “I do not want Joe Schmoes being on the Board of Ed.”
Carlos Torre (pictured), chairman of the Board of Ed, also testified for an appointed board. “We need to keep the politics out of education.” Elected Boards of Ed work “in places with little or no diversity,” unlike New Haven.
“Special interest groups with all kinds of money would come in,” he said.
Torre rattled of a list of successes in the city’s school reform push: plaudits from The New York Times and Education Secretary Arnie Duncan, a $53 million teacher development grant, school construction, the Promise program, a closing achievement gap, reduced drop-out rates.
Westville parent Tim Holahan took the mic immediately after to blast “a troubling culture of unanimity on the board.” The Board of Ed does not have enough debate, and it’s because of the process, not the people, he argued. It’s because the mayor, who appoints the other members, also sits on the board, he said.
Holahan spoke up for a hybrid board, with at least three members elected citywide.
“Everybody thinks, ‘Elections are good. It’s democratic.’ Not so,” said Nancy Ahern. Having an appointed board works, she argued, “extremely well.”
And anyway, moving to a hybrid Board of Ed would require a special act by the state legislature, Ahern warned.
CRB
Some of the most passionate testimony of the night came from people calling for a Civilian Review Board that’s enshrined in the charter and has subpoena power. The current Civilian Review Board, created by an executive order of the mayor, can only call on the police department to investigate itself; it cannot conduct its own investigations.
“I’m supposed to have faith in other police officers policing themselves?” said Jewu Richardson (at left in photo), who is was shot in the chest by a police officer after leading cops on a cross-town car chase. “How could I have faith in something like that when a police officer just shot me?”
Carrie Ellington (at right in photo) unleashed a detailed list of people allegedly abused at the hands of New Haven police.
Natasha Wells (pictured) called for a more effective Civilian Review Board. “I’m begging you to consider this.”
“That was very moving testimony,” commission member Elizabeth Torres told Richardson after the meeting.
I remember well when New Haven had 33 wards, it also had a population substantially larger than now (before the white flight of the late 1960s and early 1970s). 30 members of the Board of Aldermen is far too many to be effective. It leads to too many factions and power plays in a small city. With a population loss of 35,000 since 1950 and better communication tools for residents to contact government, a 20 member Board would be sufficient to govern.