Paul Bass Photo
Mayor Curt Leng Thursday at WNHH FM studios.
Hamden Mayor Curt Leng is “seriously considering” seeking a fourth term as mayor — though he’s not saying whether he’ll do that as a Democrat or as an unaffiliated petition candidate.
Leng, who has led town government since 2015, offered that response to the question du jour in local politics during an appearance Thursday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline Hamden” program.
Leng has waited unusually long to make his intentions known. Nationally, many mayors have chosen to leave office after a bruising year combating both the Covid-19 pandemic and police accountability controversies. Leng stated that the chance to “finish” the pandemic recovery work and return to other priorities were a reason he would want to seek another term.
“I’m not going to play anything with you. I’m leaning toward running again,” Leng responded when asked on the program about a reelection run.
“It’s been a long two years. The last two years have been unlike anything else that I’ve experienced. It’s certainly different than what was expected two years ago. There are a lot of things I would have liked to be focused on more. But your local government has to [focus on] what is most important to the health and well being of residents.”
“My family has lived here for 100 years. I feel an obligation to the voters,” he added.
Another question: Will he bolt the party? Critics of his administration have assumed control of the Democratic Town Committee last year. Two of those critics, former Council member Lauren Garrett (who ran a primary against Leng in 2019) and Council member Brad Macdowall, have filed papers to seek the Democratic nomination. A Republican, Ron Gambardell, is also running for mayor.
Asked the question, Leng responded, “I’m a Democrat. I’ve been a Democrat since my first election.”
Then he noted that in that first campaign — as a 17-year-old seeking a Council seat — he in fact ran on a third-party “Citizens for Hamden” line. “I was a Democrat then in philosophy and remain so,” he said.
Leng said he has not decided yet whether to pursue the party nomination if he runs. “The Democratic Party in Hamden is complex and complicated. That’s a different conversation I’d love to have with you,” he said.
Hamden has roughly 4,045 registered Republican voters, 18,914 registered Democrats, 536 voters registered with third parties, and 12,731 unaffiliated voters, according to figures provided Friday by the registrar of voters office.
Also during Thursday’s radio interview, Leng:
• said the town will soon launch a pilot compost pick-up program.
• argued that a proposed charter change to add seats to the Police Commission should follow existing policing districts rather than legislative districts.
• expressed “cautious optimism” about the town’s continued recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Click on the above video to watch the full interview with Mayor Curt Leng on WNHH FM’s “Dateline Hamden.” The discussion of his reelection plans begins at the 20-minute point.
As a Hamden resident, it worries me that Curt Leng is considering running for a third term as mayor. I voted for Curt during his first run for mayor, but I have realized since then that he does not have the skills needed to run the town of Hamden responsibly. In fact, he has contributed as mayor to the town's financial decline. At a town meeting I attended a couple of years ago, he refused to admit to the town's dire financial troubles, which were (and still are) no secret. This not only struck me as bizarre but also left me quite concerned. If you can't see a problem, you won't try to fix it. Hamden needs and deserves a mayor who will work hard to understand and address the town's serious financial problems.