Rodriguez Rolls
To Voters’ Doors

On the road to reelection, Alderman Sergio Rodriguez has been rolling door to door in a rented electric scooter with a vow to jump-start the city’s flagging employment rate. Meanwhile, his opponent reported in virtually from the campaign trail on his quest to take the steering wheel.

Rodriguez (pictured above), who’s 61, faces petitioning candidate 23-year-old Darryl Brackeen, Jr. in a general election Tuesday for upper Westville’s Ward 26 aldermanic seats.

Rodriguez, who’s seeking a fifth two-year term in office, dodged a bullet in the Democratic primary, where 14 City Hall-backed candidates were felled by union-backed challengers. Brackeen, a Democrat, opted to skip the primary and run in the general instead, giving Rodriguez a pass while a wave of anti-incumbent fever swept his colleagues away.

Union forces credited with overturning the status quo in September are staying out of Ward 26. Rodriguez said Mayor John DeStefano’s campaign team has offered him some help, though he has done most of his campaign work alone, knocking on voters’ doors.

Since launching a 21st century campaign in June complete with campaign videos, Brackeen has kept a lower profile in the press. He said he was too busy to be interviewed on Thursday. He landed a new job this year teaching full-time at the Lincoln-Bassett School. He provided some answers by email (seen in italics below).

Meanwhile, Thursday evening found Rodriguez shaking hands at a neighborhood event at the Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School. He showed up at the behest of his treasurer, Pam Allen, who had organized a training for the faith-based prison reentry task force.

Rodriguez put his brimmed hat on a desk and sat by the door, shaking hands with acquaintances old and new, breaking into a full-bodied smile with each new face.

Meanwhile, Brackeen typed out some replies on his Blackberry Bold after class.

Where are you?
Leaving my Lincoln Bassett 7th and 8th grade social studies classroom

What are you doing/eating right now?
General Tso’s Chicken and pork fried rice. With a limited edition super nova mountain dew on the side.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t intend to be alderman forever; he recently showed that by running against state Rep. Pat Dillon last year. But he does want to continue for at least one more term to complete some unfinished business, he said.

Jobs: #1 Issue

His top priority for next term, he said, is jobs.

The alderman said he’ll be focusing on two bills. One, called HIRE-New Haven, would offer city money to businesses that hire New Haveners. After West Rock Alderman Darnell Goldson introduced the bill, Rodriguez agreed to hold a series of public forums around town through the Human Services Committee, which he chairs.

Rodriguez said Thursday that he supports the ​“concept and the idea” of the bill, though ​“I don’t think there’s enough money for it.”

He acknowledged that with a $5 million pricetag, the bill is unlikely to pass as is. But he said the public hearings have produced an ​“eye-opening” discussion about how hard it is for city residents to get jobs. At a public hearing on the HIRE-New Haven bill last month, discontent bubbled up about the number of New Haveners landing jobs on construction projects in West Rock and in Science Park.

New Haven has a 12.9 percent unemployment rate, compared to 8.4 percent statewide, according to the latest state figures.

“We need jobs in our city,” Rodriguez declared.

Two more hearings are planned on the bill, including one Wednesday night at the Lincoln-Bassett School.

Rodriguez said he also aims to get moving next term on another jobs-related effort, the so-called DIY bill, which Rodriguez and Goldson proposed in the spring of 2010. The Development Initiative for Youth Entrepreneurship (DIY) bill calls on seven institutions and the mayor’s office to raise $1 million to help young entrepreneurs.

The bill also calls for the city to include two youth-run businesses as part of the new development planned for the Route 34 corridor, as well as a ​“micro-enterprise center.” Click here to read more.

Brackeen was asked if he supports the two local efforts Rodriguez is backing.

Do you support those bills?
I support both bills as it is important that New haven encourages businesses to hire new haven residents as well as employ citizens of New Haven.

Rodriguez went to Washington, D.C. for a briefing at the White House on the American Jobs Act. He was there in his capacity as the president of the Hispanic Local Elected Officials, a national constituency group that’s part of the National League of Cities. Rodriguez said if Congress passes the bill, New Haven could apply for much-needed money to hire teachers and first-responders. The bill also includes tax incentives for businesses, which Rodriguez said he also supports.

The alderman said he’s also seen promise in a new youth group, Elm City Dream, which held a rally this week calling for jobs for young people.

What’s your top campaign issue?
Finding financial solutions to get our city back onto it feet

Web Footprints

Brackeen made a splash in the summer by releasing campaign videos, filmed at home using a elaborate array of recording devices. One video announced his campaign. Another laid out his thoughts on the budget. (Click on the play arrow to watch.)

He posted a third video to his Youtube channel on Aug. 4 without alerting the press. It features Brackeen riding a mountain bike down Englewood Drive, with a camera rolling. The text below the video calls for the city to pave the street. (Click on the play arrow to watch.)

The video does not appear to have been widely circulated; there were 11 views when the Independent looked on Friday. No videos have been posted since then.

Besides the Youtube channel, Brackeen also has a campaign website. His last blog post on the site went up on July 30.

Is your campaign still making use of the web?
The campaign has updated the site on issues and concerns about the community on safety in our community and the financial solutions to change the economic stance of the city.

Any recent videos?
As a part of my platform the use of video’s explaining the issues and concerns of the community are vital piece to my term as Alderman. No videos have been done recently, because of the groundwork of intense door-to-door informational efforts.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez has caught up with modern technology by opening a new Facebook page and a campaign website, complete with his own style of campaign video.

Rodriguez’s style is straightforward, without the graphics, music or AV equipment Brackeen has used. Click on the play arrow to watch an Election Day appeal filmed inside the Aldermanic Chambers.

His latest entry is from Oct. 30, about a ribbon-cutting at a new park on Ray Road, which Rodrigeuz has touted as one of his biggest community-building, quality-of-life accomplishments in the last term.

While he has recently branched out on the web, Rodriguez said his main campaign strategy remains old-fashioned campaigning door to door. Doing so has been a struggle this year for health reasons. Rodriguez said he needs a total replacement of his left knee, where he suffers from arthritis. When he found out in June that he he had a young Democrat running against him, he postponed surgery and started hitting the doors.

His knee hurts so much that for the month of October, he decided he needed a new vehicle for the door-knocking path through the hilly Westville turf. He rented an electric scooter from a shop in Hartford, the seated kind that can be seen crisscrossing the Green throughout the day. He would throw it into his SUV, then pull it out on the curb for door-to-door wheeling.

While he hasn’t been as visible on the Web, Brackeen contended he has been busy on the doors.

How many doors have you knocked on?
We have tried to knock on as many doors as we could. There are well over 2,000 residents and we have tried to reach most.

How much time have you had to devote to this campaign?
Too many hours to count.

Meanwhile, the past two months have tested Rodrigeuz’s constituent services with a tropical storm and a freak snow storm. Rodriguez said he spent a lot of time fielding calls about downed trees and lost power. On the Friday after Tropical Storm Irene, he recalled spotting a United Illuminating truck in his neighborhood.

“I chased the UI truck down” in his SUV, he said. He convinced the contractor to swing back to Englewood Drive, to restore power to ​“the last house in my ward that didn’t have electricity.”

Rodriguez said as 19 to 20 new faces stand to join the Board of Aldermen, he’ll serve as a voice of experience and leadership. In his eight years, he’s served as president pro tempore and chair of the finance committee.

One acquaintance at the Barnard School sought to tap that experience Thursday. A chaplain-in-training named Judith interrupted an interview to ask if Rodriguez knew how to jumpstart a car. The battery on her hybrid Honda had died. She had the cables, but she didn’t know how to use them.

“I thought you might have some experience with this,” she said.

Rodriguez smiled and got up to help. It turned out the jumpee was not a voter or even a New Haven resident.

“If you were, would you vote for me?” Rodriguez asked.

“Yes,” came the answer he was waiting for.

As he faces ward voters Tuesday, Rodriguez said he’s not taking anything for granted.

Brackeen promised to emerge in the flesh and mount a serious effort to unseat him.

How many people do you have lined up to work for you on Election Day?
The numbers are not solidified as of yet, but there will be an all volunteer team assembled throughout the neighborhood.

What do you think your chances are of victory on Tuesday?
I believe that Ward 26 (Upper Westville) creates the chances for victory. I will leave that to the voters to decide.

Any last words?
Let the will of the people speak and let God’s will be done.