Allan Appel Photo
Elicker greets fellow bike commuter on first morning.
Paul Bass Photo
Elicker with Chief of Staff Sean Matteson Chief Administrative Officer Scott Jackson, at first department-heads meeting.
Building Official Jim Turcio, Fire Chief John Alston Jr., acting equal-opportunities chief Angel Fernandez-Chavero get marching orders.
A neighbor waved to Elicker as he adjusted his helmet.
“It’s a new day,” the neighbor yelled as Elicker headed for City Hall.
Elicker biked down Orange Street from Canner picking up a volunteer entourage of two, old biking friends and Elm City Biking movers and shakers, Augustine Filomena and Rob Rocke (pictured above).
Elicker said that as an environmentalist and a believer in the high seriousness of climate change, he seeks to set an example as a bicycle commuter. He said he hopes as many of his staff as possible will use bikes or their feet or other forms of public transportation to get to work.
Setting a good pace down Orange, the mayor and his small group stayed in the bike lane — well, pretty much of the time. They also obeyed the traffic rules stopping for lights at Edwards and then at Trumbull
Without being specific, Elicker said he is exploring ideas accelerating more use of non-vehicular transportation. “I want to encourage incentives,” he said.
The mayor decided not to take the shortcut at Court Street across a pedestrian plaza toward the back of City Hall. Rather he led the group all the way down to Chapel where, after waiting for the light, they turned right on Chapel Street for a long block and then north onto Church.
He cruised in for a stop at the bike rack on the south side of City Hall, where he locked up the Avalanche and headed inside.
Filomena and Rocke said that escorting the mayor was planned as a way to honor and celebrate the day.
However, they added, it was “no big deal.”
Why? Since Elicker is a longtime part of the New Haven biking community, his biking to work is really “a continuation. It would be a big deal if he didn’t ride,” Rocke said.
Elicker was asked if he might start earlier and ride his daughter to school in Fair Haven before heading in to work.
The mayor demurred.
Frankly, he said, “I’m scared of New Haven traffic.”
Then he walked briskly into City Hall for his first full day on the job.
Welcome In
Paul Bass Photo
Elicker with Chief of Staff Sean Matteson Chief Administrative Officer Scott Jackson, at first department-heads meeting.
At 9:45 a.m., after a private confab in the mayor’s office with top coordinators, Elicker convened his first staff meeting with department heads. Twenty-seven aides joined him in the second-floor City Hall public meeting rooms — along with representatives of four news outlets.
Elicker said he invited the press to send a signal that he plans to run a more open government.
(You can watch the meeting in the above video, but you’ll need to turn the volume up high; sorry.)
During the 21-minute meeting, Elicker spoke of keeping the public up to date on city government’s accomplishments, challenges, plans, and day-to-day operations like street sweeping through a weekly email newsletter. “I want people to read these emails. They shouldn’t be propaganda emails.” He encouraged (but didn’t require) department heads to attend an informal public open house at City Hall this Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., which is taking the place of the traditional black-tie mayoral inaugural ball.
Elicker said he’ll hold a private weekly Monday 9 a.m. meetings with his top coordinators, chief of staff, corporation counsel, and press spokesman to set the week’s agenda, then make those plans public.
Building Official Jim Turcio, Fire Chief John Alston Jr., acting equal-opportunities chief Angel Fernandez-Chavero get marching orders.
His mayoral transition team has completed its report on suggested changes for city government. Elicker said he’ll release the report next week, then ask department heads to analyze the recommendations that affect them with an eye for how to implement the suggestions.
Simultaneously, Elicker noted, he needs to get moving on crafting an agenda for the upcoming three-month state legislative session and on crafting a budget for the coming fiscal year.
“I need to submit a budget by March first,” he noted. “Which is not a lot of time.”
Any requests for new positions in that budget must come with projections for how new revenue would be created, he said.
Assessor Alex Pullen, fair rent chief Otis Johnson, human resources chief Steve Librandi, disability services director Michelle Duprey.
At Thursday morning’s session, Elicker announced that he plans to conduct performance reviews for department heads within 90 days, a second round within six months, and a third a year out. He said he aims for “two-way conversation,” including feedback on how “we can support you more.”
In general, Elicker urged the room — which included at least three department heads with “acting” in their titles, meaning they might not still have their jobs after the conclusion of the review process — to speak candidly with him and his top coordinators. “Please do not tell me things that you think I want to hear,” he said. “One person does not have all the ideas.”
“All of you are doing good work,” Elicker said at one point. “I look forward to supporting you.”
Thursday’s session was a one-off: Elicker said he does not plan to continue opening up department head meetings to the public.
New Corporation Counsel Patricia King and labor relations chief Cathleen Simpson.
Indeed, with the media present, attendees hesitated to raise tough or critical questions that more customarily arise behind closed doors.
City Controller Daryl Jones did point out a missing element of the meeting.
“The schools are not here,” Jones noted, meaning that no attendees came from the Board of Education.
“First day,” Elicker responded.
Acting health director Roslyn Hamilton with Elicker after the meeting.
New communications director Gage Frank with Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.
Politics is such a funny business.
A lot of bitter, racist statements, were publicly made about Justin Elicker during the campaign. Apparently some of these Harp supporters who are City employees were so confident that she would win re-election that they publicly let their internal racist views flow out out their mouths.
Others were more reserved, discrete or slick.
But not one.
Photographed among the various department heads at their first meeting with the new mayor is a person who made the following comments in October about the mayoral race:
"If we are going to be true to our roots, we should continue the struggle, the movement, to make New Haven a better place."
"This is about race. This is about class. This is about justice."
"The press gave Justin a free pass because he is a tall, red-haired white guy."
The person who said this later made this oxymoronic statement about his racist comments: "But this was done respectfully."
There is no such thing as respectful racism!
One would assume it is quite awkward that some of these Harp supporters, like this person, now must work for or with Mayor Elicker!
What is so disturbing is that these comments directly conflict with the responsibilities of the department this particular person holds!
It is not clear that this department head has ever publicly apologized to Elicker for the unfortunate comments. The person should do so, if it has not been done.
To err is human. To forgive divine.
It would take a person of great character and forgiveness to keep a person in a position of public service who made such a racist personal attack.
Abraham Lincoln is famously known for assembling a team of his political rivals to serve in his administration and cabinet, in order to provide for the national good.
Elicker may prove to be Lincolnesque in that regard.
Surely most residents of this city want to unite & move forward from the racially bitter & divisive campaign.
But some have some unfinished racial healing to attend to.