Fifteen supporters have lined up behind Carl Goldfield, but Hill Alderwoman Jackie James-Evans said she isn’t giving up on her bid for president of the Board of Aldermen.
The fifteen aldermen and aldermen-elect signed a letter Monday announcing their “enthusiastic support” of incumbent Goldfield to serve again as board president for the 2010 – 2011 term.
Click here to read the letter, which follows weeks of intense lobbying by supporters on both sides of the race.
If everyone who signed the letter sticks with Goldfield when the board elects its leader on Jan. 4, that level of support would be enough to send him back for a third term as board president.
Goldfield said he authored the letter and collected the signatures between Friday and Monday. He intends to vote for himself, which would bring his total to 16 — just the number he needs to win a majority on the 30-person board.
For the past couple of months, both candidates have told the Independent that they have 16 votes lined up, which of course is impossible. Goldfield said he sent out the letter not to declare victory, but to back up his claim.
Reached Tuesday, challenger James-Evans refused to concede. She said some people on the list have already pledged their support to her, and people keep changing their minds.
“I’m not giving up,” she said.
If elected, James-Evans would be the first black and first female president of the city’s legislative board. Flyers on city streets announce that fact and urge voters to call their aldermen to support her. Pictured: a flyer spotted on Whalley Avenue near the Ella Grasso Boulevard.)
James Evans has framed her candidacy as a “historic” opportunity, and an opportunity for “inclusive” leadership. Two Latino aldermen heard that call and switched to James-Evans’ side.
“I’m Not Black Now”
For Alderman Yusuf I. Shah, an African-American who represents the West River’s Ward 23, the race has brought high pressure and daily phone calls from people urging him to empower the black community by supporting James-Evans.
Shah (pictured) said he’s heard a racial pitch from James-Evans, from the Rev. Boise Kimber — and from the national civil rights leader Al Sharpton.
Shah said Sharpton called him a couple weeks ago.
Sharpton told him that black leadership is organizing across the country to get African-American elected officials into higher positions, according to Shah. He asked Shah to support James-Evans.
“This would be a historic occasion in New Haven,” Sharpton said, according to Shah.
Shah said he told Sharpton, “I will consider this call.”
Moments after his one-and-a-half-minute call with Sharpton, Shah got a call from Rev. Kimber, a local power-broker and black leader, who is supporting James-Evans. Kimber pressed him to back James-Evans, Shah said.
“Forget all this nonsense Yusuf, I need to know tonight,” Kimber told him, according to Shah.
Shah didn’t make a commitment then. He announced on Dec. 8 that he’s backing Goldfield. Shah had initially sought a seat on the Water Pollution Control Authority board, an elected aldermanic position that pays a stipend. He said he has dropped that bid because he doesn’t have the support.
Shah said Sharpton knows his family — Shah’s father, Yusuf Shah, was active in the Nation of Islam and worked with Sharpton as well. Kimber is a family friend. Kimber declined comment for this story. Click here to read Elizabeth Benton’s coverage of his role in the Register.
Shah said the evening was the climax of a stressful few weeks for an African-American man caught in the middle of a high-stakes board presidency race.
He said he’s been getting calls every day from Kimber about the topic, and from many others, too.
“People say I’m not black now,” Shah said, “because this is an opportunity for us to take over.”
Shah said he doesn’t see the board president’s race that way. He said James-Evans failed to support him in his successful bids for president pro-tem and president of the Black and Hispanic Caucus. He said he does not think she is a qualified candidate for board president, so he is not supporting her. Shah said he believes Goldfield is best equipped to lead the board because of his experience.
When James-Evans found out about his commitment to Goldfield, she gave Shah a racial pitch, Shah said. She told him he’d be “setting back the African-American community 20 years” if he votes for Goldfield, who’s white, Shah said.
James-Evans said she had nothing to do with Kimber’s and Sharpton’s calls to Shah. She denied making any comment that Shah would hurt the African-American community by voting for Goldfield.
Goldfield’s letter, addressed to the writers’ colleagues on the board, is two sentences long. It declares support for Goldfield and calls for solidarity.
“We urge you to support him as well so that we can unite as a board and work together to make New Haven a great place to live,” the letter reads.
Here’s who pledged support for Goldfield:
Stephanie Bauer, Ward 14
Charles Blango, Ward 20
Bitsie Clark, Ward 7
Arlene DePino, Ward 18
Greg Dildine, Ward 25
Justin Elicker, Ward 10
Katrina Jones, Ward 21
Tom Lehtonen, Ward 27
Roland Lemar, Ward 9
Greg Morehead, Ward 22
Maureen O’Sullivan-Best, Ward 11
Marcus Paca, Ward 24
Alex Rhodeen, Ward 13
Sergio Rodriguez, Ward 26
Yusuf Ibn Shah, Ward 23
Suffice it to say, you all deserve one another.