Thomas Breen pre-pandemic file photo
Alder Roth: a dissenting voice.
Downtown Alder Abby Roth has decided not to run for a fourth two-year term on the Board of Alders, opening up Ward 7 for new local legislative representation come 2022.
Roth made that announcement Friday evening towards the end of her latest regular email to constituents about public meetings, community gatherings, and policy debates happening around town.
“I will share reflections on my experience of serving on the Board of Alders at the end of my term, but for now I just want to again thank you for putting your trust in me —and for caring so much about our city,” she wrote in that part of Friday’s email, reprinted in full below. “The active engagement of residents is one of New Haven’s strengths and I very much look forward to continuing to be actively engaged in my post-alder life.”
City of New Haven
Ward 7.
Roth has served a total of six years as Ward 7‘s alder.
She first rose to the position in 2014 after winning a special election to replace alder-turned-city transportation chief Doug Hausladen. She then decided not to run for reelection after her first term ended at the end of 2015, and then threw her local political hat back in the ring in 2017.
She spent the past two consecutive two-year terms serving as Ward 7’s alder, where she has earned a reputation as one of the few alders on the 30-member board to cast votes contrary to majority- and leadership-backed positions.
That has included voting against the most recent city budget on the grounds that the city should not assume that Yale will increase its annual contribution by $4 million, pushing transparency reforms to how the city restructures existing debt and to how the city discloses side agreements, and opposing tax breaks to affordable housing developers whom she’s argued can afford to pay more in taxes to the cash-strapped city.
Roth, a 1990 Yale College and 1994 Yale Law School graduate, returned to town in 2007 after serving as an attorney for the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Justice and Homeland Security. She currently works in communications for the Yale School of Medicine.
See below for Abby Roth’s email to constituents about her decision not to run for another term as alder.
Alder Decision
I want to let you know that I have decided not to run again for Alder. I am very grateful to you all for the trust you have put in me to serve as your alder for six years and look forward to continuing to do my best to represent you — and make decisions that help the entire city — for the rest of my term. I will keep working hard to respond to your concerns, keep you informed, and represent you with an independent voice.
I wanted to let you know my decision now, to give others who are interested in running plenty of time to do so, including getting out and meeting all of you and hearing your concerns and ideas. (The city’s Democratic Party “Convention” is in late July, so that deadline was also on my mind.)
When I decided I would not run again, I informed several folks living in Ward 7 who are very involved in the community, because I very much hope Ward 7 will be represented by someone who is really engaged with the community. However, none of these folks were interested in running, either because it was not the right time in their lives or because they prefer continuing to contribute to the city in other ways.
I was happy when someone I had not reached out to about running, but who knew of my decision, reached out to me saying they wanted to run for Ward 7 Alder. This person would be a really responsive, engaged, and thoughtful alder, who I would be pleased to have as my alder. They plan to officially announce soon, and of course there may be other folks who also are interested in running.
I will share reflections on my experience of serving on the Board of Alders at the end of my term, but for now I just want to again thank you for putting your trust in me —and for caring so much about our city. The active engagement of residents is one of New Haven’s strengths and I very much look forward to continuing to be actively engaged in my post-alder life.
Full disclosure: I am a fan of Abby Roth and view her future absence from the Board of Alders as a huge loss for the entire city. She and Anna Festa have consistently explained their desire to see better processes in decision making and have stood out for standing on principle. Roth's credentials brought a much needed level of sophistication to Board deliberations, but too often her recommendations were ignored.
That she lasted 6 years is remarkable.<br /> I would never suggest that only people with Roth's qualifications should serve on any Board or commission, but I do think we need to look at the complexity of City issues and ask ourselves is our Alder up to the job.<br /> In the meantime, even though I'm not in Alder Roth's district, I feel hugely appreciative of her efforts.<br /> So Alder Roth, thank you for your service.