New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Toni Harp for mayor of New Haven
The New Haven Democratic mayoral primary has voters in an enviable position. Challenger Justin Elicker has proven a strong contender, and has pushed Mayor Toni Harp into her toughest election fight since she took office in 2013. He has generated excitement around the city, with strong ideas and sound plans that deserve consideration regardless of the election’s outcome.
But Harp has some ideas of her own, as well as a long list of accomplishments. She has guided New Haven to a new status as the envy of Connecticut cities and has overseen policies that promise even greater things in the future.
Harp is a trailblazer, the first woman elected mayor of New Haven and one of the few black women to lead any Connecticut municipality. She has strong legislative experience after her time in the state Senate, and understands the interplay between state and city government better than anyone. Though New Haven is in a better position today than it was when she took office, it still depends to a large extent on state aid to balance its budget, as will be true no matter who is in office.
Though her time in office has not been free of mistakes and missteps, she has guided the city in the right direction and continues to make progress in improving the lives of its residents, new and old. On the most important measures, Harp has proven a strong mayor and one who has shown herself worthy of voter’s faith over the past three twoyear terms.
The challenger
Elicker is well regarded in the city and has picked up endorsements from surprising quarters. He has worked hard in the neighborhoods, winning support from people who have previously supported Harp. His 2013 campaign proved surprisingly strong, and six years later he has come back more focused and with sharper criticism, putting Harp’s administration on the defensive about its policy and personnel decisions.
His fundamental critique is one that’s common in any successful or upandcoming city. Elicker talks of two New Havens — one that has seen success brought by downtown growth, and another in the neighborhoods that have largely seen prosperity pass them by.
It’s not unfair, but it’s also not unique to New Haven. Improving fortunes never hit everywhere equally, and it’s true that too many people are being left behind by improving conditions. But the criticism also ignores that there have been real gains. New Haven, despite its purported advantages, was as devoid of hope as any Connecticut city in the notdistant past, and its current status as the focus of the state’s economic future is something worth celebrating.
Elicker has also made a major issue of Harp’s personnel choices, and here again there is legitimate grounds for criticism. The mayor is loyal to people who have supported her, sometimes to a fault. In her next term, she must do a better job of cutting people loose when they prove to be liabilities. Whether her personnel decisions warrant voting for a new mayor is a separate question. She needs to do better, and should have the opportunity to do so.
Harp’s record
New Haven is in an enviable position. With the state looking to its cities to lead its next chapter of economic growth, New Haven is considered the bestpositioned to take on a more important role in Connecticut’s future. That would not be possible without the gains in employment, development and quality of life in the city over the past six years.
It’s reasonable to ask whether Harp deserves all the credit for those gains. A mayor can only do so much, and the nationwide gain for urban areas is far outside the purview of any one leader. Similarly, the city’s decline in crime is without question worth celebrating, but it’s also reasonable to ask how much is a local phenomenon is how much is the result of nationwide trends. New Haven’s crime rate is by some measures near historic lows, but so is New York City’s and much of America’s.
Still, in comparison with other Connecticut cities, New Haven shines. Unemployment is an imperfect statistic, but New Haven’s is lower than Bridgeport, Hartford or Waterbury. There are more jobs in the city, and more people are finding them available in their neighborhoods. With the state’s new economic focus, that picture looks likely to improve in coming years.
Another gain under Harp’s tenure has been in the public schools. Graduation rates are up, while expulsions and suspensions are down. New Haven’s hybrid school board has worked well in some cases, though it has not eliminated the kind of tension that can characterize allelected boards in other cities. Still, despite persistent funding challenges, New Haven schools have shown real improvement. And while tax rates are high, as they are for any Connecticut city, they compare favorably with neighboring towns.
New Haven’s great advantage over comparable cities is Yale University, where both Harp and Elicker have personal ties and from which both have said they plan to seek more aid. Yale’s contributions to New Haven’s gains in the past generation can’t be overstated, but they are to the university’s benefit. It needs to have a city where students and professors want to be, and its work to make that happen has been mutually beneficial. Still, both candidates are right to say that, given the level of need and Yale’s means, more could be done.
The choice
Harp’s tenure has not been perfect, but she has proven an able steward to a city on the rise. With new development and programs that reach far beyond downtown, the opportunity is there for all New Haven residents to gain from renewed prosperity.
Elicker is a strong candidate, and he has pushed Harp to defend her record. His continued public service in New Haven and beyond will only benefit the city.
But Harp is the right choice to serve another term as mayor. For leading a city to new heights and changing its reputation from an afterthought to one of Connecticut’s brightest hopes, Toni Harp earns the New Haven Register’s endorsement for another term as mayor.