Public Housing Activist Launches Alder Run

Housing authority tenant advocate / street hot dog vendor / construction contractor / youth counselor Yul Watley is looking to add a new title to his civic resume: alder for an ​“isolated” neighborhood on the far east side of town.

Watley, 60, has decided to seek the Democratic nomination for Ward 12 alder. He filed papers to run on Tuesday.

That Board of Alders seat represents the Quinnipiac Meadows and Bishop Woods neighborhoods, a district bounded by Middletown Avenue to the west, the North Haven border to the north, Quinnipiac Avenue and Eastern Street to the east, and the Fargeorge Preserve to the south.

Why the run for neighborhood-level representative?

Ward 12 needs to have ​“a bigger voice” downtown, Watley said.

“We’re isolated from the rest of the city. We have our fair share of crime. A mayor hasn’t been out there in years.” Speeding on Quinnipiac Avenue and Foxon Boulevard and many of the side streets is out of control.

While campaigning and if elected, Watley said, he’d host neighborhood-level meetings to hear directly from Ward 12 residents about what they want to see from a local legislative representative at City Hall.

“Everything’s not OK” in the ward, he said. He’d like to do his part to try to make things better. ​“I’m not one to step on anyone’s toes. But the time right now is right.”

The local legislative district is currently represented by Gerald Antunes, a retired former police captain and the current chair of the Public Safety Committee who has served as the ward’s alder for a total of 12 years.

Antunes has not yet filed for reelection. During a recent phone interview with the Independent, he said he’s still undecided about a seventh run for office. ​“The seat is open to everybody,” he said. ​“You go in there and try to do your best.”

He said he plans to decide by the Democratic Town Convention on July 27 whether or not he’ll be running again.

Either way, he welcomed Watley’s pending candidacy as a salutary sign of neighborhood activism for a part of town that ​“has the largest policing district, the biggest traffic numbers on Rt. 80, the highest accident rates on Rt. 80, issues with gangs and shootings, and only three officers from North Haven to Lighthouse Park.”

This neighborhood needs someone engaged, who listens closely, who shows up, and who advocates for an often-overlooked part of town, Antunes said. That’s what he’s tried to be during his time in office.

And that’s what Watley promised to do if elected in his first aldermanic run.

Born in New Haven and raised in the former Elm Haven public housing projects in Dixwell, Watley previously served 11 years in elected office — as the president of the Tenant Resident Council (TRC) at Westville Manor.

He has also run a street hot dog vending business (Boodie Watt’s Hot Dogs), a construction company (Advanced Construction Technologies) that worked on some of the housing authority’s major west side redevelopments, and a nonprofit focused on youth counseling, homeless assistance, and marriage and relationship advice (Angel Care Foundation Inc.)

Watley has spent the past 13 years living on Palmieri Avenue, in a housing authority-owned scattered-site single-family house.

One of his east side neighbors, Riyad King, told the Independent at a recent Karen DuBois-Walton mayoral campaign event that Watley has been an invaluable civic advocate in Ward 12, counseling youth who might otherwise get in trouble and advocating for more speed bumps.

“Yul is a great human being,” he said.

What has been Watley’s favorite part of all of his many business and civic ventures over the years, from selling hot dogs to building houses to representing tenants on the TRC?

“Just meeting all the people,” he said.

The motto for his campaign for alder?

“I’m laid back, and ready to serve.”

Who Else Is Running, For What, So Far

The City Clerk’s office is keeping a running tally on its website of which candidates have filed to run for which offices in this year’s municipal elections. See below for a full list of candidates who have filed papers to run for various local posts so far. And click here to read about key upcoming dates on the municipal election calendar.

Mayor
Justin Elicker, Democrat (incumbent)
Karen DuBois-Walton, Democrat
Mayce Torres, Democrat
Elena Grewal, Democrat (exploratory committee only)

City Clerk
Michael Smart, Democrat (incumbent)

Board of Alders
Ward 1: Alex Guzhnay, Democrat
Ward 2: Frank Douglass, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 5: Kampton Singh, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 7: Eli Sabin, Democrat
Ward 8: Ellen Cupo, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 9: Charles Decker, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 11: Renee Haywood, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 11: Kurtis Kearney, Democrat
Ward 11: Robert Lee, Democrat
Ward 11: Gail Roundtree, Republican
Ward 12: Yul Watley, Democrat
Ward 13: Rosa Ferraro-Santana, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 13: Deborah Reyes, Republican
Ward 14: Sarah Miller, Democrat
Ward 18: Salvatore DeCola, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 19: Kimberly Edwards, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 20: Devin Avshalom-Smith, Democrat
Ward 20: Shirley Lawrence, Democrat
Ward 21: Steve Winter, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 22: Jeanette Morrison, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 23: Tyisha Walker-Myers, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 24: Evette Hamilton, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 25: Adam Marchand, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 26: Darryl Brackeen Jr., Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 26: Joshua Van Hoesen, Republican
Ward 27: Richard Furlow, Democrat (incumbent)
Ward 28: Shafiq Abdussabur, Democrat
Ward 30: Honda Smith, Democrat (incumbent)

Board of Education, District 1
Ed Joyner, Democrat (incumbent)