File photos
Newly elected alders. Clockwise from top left: Sal Punzo, Alex Guzhnay, Devin Avshalom-Smith, Sarah Miller, and Shafiq Abdussabur.
The son of Ecuadorian immigrants, a Fair Haven community organizer, a retired former principal, a state legislative aide, and a retired former police sergeant/community activist will join the Board of Alders next year, as newly elected members of the local legislature’s Class of 2022.
Those five New Haveners — all of whom are Democrats — won their respective aldermanic races during Tuesday’s municipal elections.
They represent an infusion of new blood to a 30-seat Board of Alders that saw 25 of its members — also all Democrats — reelected to new two-year terms.
The five newest members of the Board of Alders are:
• Alex Guzhnay, who won an uncontested race to replace Eli Sabin as the alder for Downtown/Yale’s Ward 1. Guzhnay is a Yale sophomore who grew up in Fair Haven and is the son of Ecuadorian immigrants. Read more about him here. (Sabin will also be staying on the board, after winning an uncontested open race to replace Abby Roth as the alder for Downtown/East Rock’s Ward 7.)
• Sarah Miller, who won an uncontested race to replace Paola Acosta as the alder for Fair Haven’s Ward 14. Miller is a Fair Haven community organizer and public school parent activist who most recently has helped lead violence-interruption initiatives on Grand Avenue and Ferry Street. Read more about her here and here.
• Sal Punzo, who defeated Republican challenger AnneMarie Rivera-Berrios 359 – 87 (not counting absentee ballots) to replace Jody Ortiz as the alder for the Annex’s Ward 17. Punzo is a retired former teacher and principal who worked for the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) for 49 years. Read more about him here and here.
• Devin Avshalom-Smith, who defeated independent challenger Addie Kimbrough 344 – 41 (not counting absentee ballots) to replace Delphine Clyburn as the alder for Newhallville’s Ward 20. (Oscar Havyarimana has spent the past few months filling in as interim alder since Clyburn resigned this summer.) Avshalom-Smith is a legislative aide for New Haven State Rep. Robyn Porter and as the clerk for the state legislature’s Labor Committee, which Porter co-chairs. Read more about him here, here and here.
• Shafiq Abdussabur, who won an uncontested race to replace Jill Marks as the alder for Beaver Hills’ Ward 28. Abdussabur is a retired former New Haven Police Department (NHPD) sergeant and Beaver Hills community organizer. Read more about him here , here, here and here.
In a contested Ward 13 race, incumbent Democrat Rosa Ferraro-Santana held onto her seat with 261 votes to 134 votes for Green Party candidate Patricia Kane and 73 votes for Republican Deborah Reyes. In Ward 18, incumbent Sal DeCola beat back Republican challenger Steven Orosco 614 – 401 (in the machine vote), and Ward 26 incumbent Darryl Brackeen Jr. defeated Republican Joshua Van Hoesen 666 – 163 on the machine vote (not counting absentee ballots).
See below for a full list of the winners of Tuesday’s aldermanic elections. All are Democrats.
Ward 1: Alex Guzhnay
Ward 2: Frank Douglass
Ward 3: Ron Hurt
Ward 4: Evelyn Rodriguez
Ward 5: Kampton Singh
Ward 6: Carmen Rodriguez
Ward 7: Eli Sabin
Ward 8: Ellen Cupo
Ward 9: Charles Decker
Ward 10: Anna Festa
Ward 11: Renee Haywood
Ward 12: Gerald Antunes
Ward 13: Rosa Ferraro-Santana
Ward 14: Sarah Miller
Ward 15: Ernie Santiago
Ward 16: Jose Crespo
Ward 17: Sal Punzo
Ward 18: Sal DeCola
Ward 19: Kimberly Edwards
Ward 20: Devin Avshalom-Smith
Ward 21: Steve Winter
Ward 22: Jeanette Morrison
Ward 23: Tyisha Walker-Myers
Ward 24: Evette Hamilton
Ward 25: Adam Marchand
Ward 26: Darryl Brackeen, Jr.
Ward 27: Richard Furlow
Ward 28: Shafiq Abdussabur
Ward 29: Brian Wingate
Ward 30: Honda Smith
Congratulations to the newly elected members of the New Haven Board of Alders. You have won your seats with the vote of the people of your Wards, and you were elected to serve the people of your Wards. And I truly expect you to do that ... serve the people, not your own special causes, pet projects or personal future political aspirations. I look forward to your bringing some much needed transparency and accountability to the Board of Alders. Many people are complaining that their alders are not responsive to their communities, are not actively participating in their community activities, not reporting to their constituents about what is going on at City Hall, in the City, and what is coming down the pikes to their neighborhood. Many say that the CMTs do not represent the people of the neighborhoods, but if the 'people' in the neighborhoods don't come out or speak up, then you go with what you got. And the Alders MUST communicate with their CMTs. Some do a great job, some ... not so much. And maybe you new Alders can get information on developments to your constituents before the contracts are written, the property sales are made, the ribbon is cut, and the ground is broken. And hopefully you can bring these plans out from behind closed 'committee' doors and onto the floor of public hearings ... if not to discuss and weigh in, at least for the PUBLIC to HEAR!!! You all are strong, willful, opinionated and responsive people. That is why people elected you ... they want... they need a change. Hold tight to your convictions, look to each other for strength and support, don't get caught up in the 'one-for-all and all-for-one' rubber stamping of items. Bring discussions back to the floors to be heard! Rep your hoods!!! Shake Up and Wake Up the sitting alders. New Haven is NOT anti-Yale. New Haven is NOT anti-Police. We are so much more, and it is time that ALL Alders represent their Wards and what is in the best interest of the city! We are watching and looking to you!