On Monday, the Dems hosted a candidate forum for two candidates competing for the 96th District General Assembly seat, a seat being vacated by Cam Staples as he runs for attorney general. The candidates, 9th Ward Alderman Roland Lemar and Debra Hauser, outlined their reasons for running and then were asked questions by the students in attendance. The topics, ranged from statewide issues such as utility cost control and taxes to more local problems such as New Haven’s murder rate and homelessness.
On Monday, the Dems hosted Mary Glassman, First Selectman of Simsbury, who is currently exploring a run for governor of the state. Glassman spoke about her background as a native of Connecticut and the importance that education played in her own upbringing and success, using it as a basis for her call to improve education and opportunity in the state so as to prevent the current “brain drain” of young graduates leaving the state. She highlighted ideas such as increased transportation to Boston and New York and a Connecticut “Research Triangle” between Yale and UConn as proposals that would help to counter the current problems.
Branford’s common room was invaded this past Monday by politicians from all over Connecticut. The Dems hosted Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, introduced by Dems’ President Ben Stango as “our next Senator,” who spoke about the his plans and vision for Connecticut and the country. Beginning with his ardent support for a federal consumer protection agency, Blumenthal continued, mentioning his support for further financial reform, military tribunals, federal education reform, and reforming the rules of the filibuster in the Senate.
Following the Yale Law alum, Yale College alum Susan Bysiewicz, the current Secretary of State of Connecticut running to become the state’s next Attorney General, spoke on the state of the campaign, and the issues she would pursue most as Attorney General, such as controlling the state’s energy costs, the highest in the continental United States.
Also present at the meeting were Aldermen Mike Jones and Roland Lemar, New Haven’s state Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, and former Alderman Gerry Garcia. Lemar is seeking election as a state representative, while Garcia is running to follow Bysiewicz as the next Secretary of State.
This past Monday, Rudy Marconi, First Selectman of Ridgefield and current exploratory candidate for governor, visited the Dems and spoke about his plans to reform education, transportation, and the Connecticut economy, as well as his avid support for public financing of campaigns. The New Haven Independent was on-hand at the event (see their coverage below).
On Monday, the Dems hosted Ned Lamont, formerly the Democratic nominee for Senate and currently exploring a run for governor of Connecticut. The Yale SOM graduate spoke at length about the state of Connecticut’s economy, his plans to remedy what he called Connecticut’s “brain drain,” and how his business experience makes him uniquely qualified to create more jobs in the state. Press coverage below, as well as our own photos of the event.
This past Wednesday, the Dems held a rally to show student support for health care reform that ensures coverage for all Americans. We heard from Dr. K.J. Lee, a renowned ear, nose, and throat doctor and health care policy advisor, who urged us to fight for reform and listed some ways that our health care system can be made more efficient. After the rally, we called Sen. Joe Lieberman to tell him why it’s imperative that he support comprehensive health care reform, and why it matters to us as college students.
On Friday, April 17, 470 ward 1 residents cast ballots in the Democratic aldermanic endorsement vote. Mike Jones received 233 votes (49.2 %), beating Katie Harrison and Minh Tran, who received 176 votes (36.9 %) and 61 votes (12.8%) respectively.
Following the announcement of the results, the Ward 1 Democratic Committee officially endorsed Mike for the aldermanic seat, which was followed by the Yale College Democrats automatic endorsement.
This marks the first time that the early aldermanic endorsement vote has occured, since in 2007 Rachel Plattus was had no opponent and thus no election was held. It has been very exciting to see so many Yale students get involved in campaigns and learn about the issues that affect New Haven and Yale alike. We congratulate Katie and Minh on their hard-fought campaigns, and hope that they continue to work on the issues they care about that affect us all.
Last Saturday’s homelessness rally was a big success, bring over 80 people to City Hall on Saturday morning despite the weather and the early hour, and attracting coverage from a variety of news sources.
The rally kicked off with Ben Stango, the lobbying coordinator of the Dems, getting the crowd excited about supportive housing. Then we heard from state Rep. Ken Green, the sponsor of HB 5071 (the supportive housing bill), who urged us to contact our state legislators about it. The mayor and state Rep. Holder-Winfield then spoke about why this is such an important issue. Finally, the coordinators of ShelterNow disucssed their work, and the Dukesmen sang us a few songs to go out on a light note.
The Dems/ShelterNow homelessness rally that will happen Saturday is already getting some press. If you care about taking steps to truly end homelessness, join us Saturday at 10:45 am on the New Haven Green (or the Aldermanic Chamber in City Hall if it rains) to hear the mayor and state legislators talk about H.B. 5071, the supportive housing bill.
Much has been written about the aldermanic race since Yale returned from break. With the election 2 weeks from today (and the registration deadline 1 week from today), it’s coming down to the wire for the campaigns. Here’s the recent reporting and editorializing on the race:
