New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Republicans look to win mayor’s seat
WEST HAVEN — The city Republican Party is heading to the 2021 election with new leadership and a tight strategy, hoping to win the mayor’s seat for the first time in 32 years, when Clem Evangeliste was elected to the top spot, serving one term before being unseated by Democrat H. Richard Borer.
“We have to work two times as hard to get elected,” said Dave Riccio, a seasoned political leader who took over in March 2020 as Republican town chairman.
“For a Republican to be successful, we have to hit every door. It’s going to take hard work, but it’s work necessary for this party to be successful.”
The RTC has not endorsed a candidate yet — and Riccio was mum on the identity of two candidates being considered — but popular Republican 10th District City Council member Barry Lee Cohen said he’s considering a
run. Many on the popular “West Haven — the Way it Is” Facebook page — Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters — as well as Cohen’s own page have implored Cohen to run. He’s known as a person who gets things done, works across party lines and responds to the details of every constituent concern.
“I owe it to them to not just consider but embrace this opportunity and sacred responsibility with the determination, enthusiasm and knowledge I strive to bring to every constituent concern and project I participate in,” Cohen said in a statement. “To do any less runs counter to my DNA and is unworthy of the office.”
Cohen said the next two years will be critical for the city to “rein in taxes, plan and execute true economic development, and improve the quality of life for every resident and business owner.”
“Our city is at a crucial crossroads to decide between status quo or positive growth,” Cohen said. “Together, we can do more united versus the factions that have divided and disillusioned voters in the past.”
Riccio, who has 40 years of experience in West Haven politics, including serving five terms on the City Council, became the Republican Town Committee leader in March
2020.
Riccio said he has organized the party and carefully crafted committees, doubling attendance at RTC meetings. Another key has been seeking and interviewing candidates for the top spot and the under ticket, to gain a solid slate.
He said a key part of the strategy is to have a unified party and avoid an expensive, divisive primary such as the one that occurred in 2019 when Steven R. Mullins, a planning and zoning commissioner, challenged the party’s endorsed candidate, Michele Pero Gregorio.
Gregorio won the primary and although Democratic Mayor Nancy R. Rossi won the election handily in a city where Democrats far outnumber other affiliations, Gregorio came closer to winning than any other Republican in recent history. Rossi received 5,071 votes to Gregorio’s 3,426, demonstrating that voters crossed party lines.
In 2017, when Riccio was the Republican candidate, he received 2,563 votes; in 2015 there was no Republican candidate; and in 2013, Bart Chadderton received 1,429 votes.
There are 27,882 registered voters in West Haven, an official in the Registrar of Voters office said, and, of those, 14,863 are Democrats, 3,449 are Republicans, 9,225 are unaffiliated and 345 are listed as “others.”
Riccio said that with all the problems the city has had for decades, voter turnout is low.
According to the registrar’s officer, there were 15,569 registered voters in the 2015 election with 5,571 voting; and in 2017, when there were 19,732 registered voters, 10,085 cast ballots. In 2019, out of 23,229 registered voters, 8,534 of them voted.
Riccio said while Democrats far outnumber Republicans in the city, unaffiliated voters can sway the election.
Mullins, who has run for mayor three times, including in last year’s primary, said in a written message that he would not be seeking the GOP nomination for mayor this year.
Mullins said there was “much division” in the party after the 2019 primary,
“All of my supporters were voted off of the Republican Town Committee,” he said, and, “I don’t have any faith in the leadership of the party nor any the potential candidates that they have for mayor.”
Mullins said he hasn’t chosen whom he will support for mayor and that he resigned from the RTC last summer after serving for 25 years and being active since he 1986 when he was in the sixth grade.
Riccio said he’s “extremely disappointed” about how Mullins feels and that Mullins “is always welcome and we appreciate his service to the community and WHRTC.” Riccio said that, as a former district chairman, Mullins understands that each district autonomously elects its their members.
Gregorio, who said she will not run this year because she is exploring other personal, nonpolitical ventures but remains active in the party, said she hopes the Republican mayoral candidate “is an agent of positive change for the city and will demonstrate how our tax burden, quality of life and economic development can vastly improve in the future.”
“I would like to wish all the candidates well since it takes a great amount of personal sacrifice to run for any office,” she said. “And to the people of West Haven, thank you for giving me the platform to express your views and concerns. Please have faith that there will still be other individuals fighting for you and for what is right and just for our beautiful city,” she said.
Riccio said the Republican Party can benefit from what he called the “splintered” Democratic Party. Rossi hasn’t announced whether she will run for a third term, but two other Democrats have announced they are running: former two term mayor Ed O’Brien and John Lewis, who served as O’Brien’s executive assistant, meaning a Democratic primary is likely.
Riccio said the GOP likely will endorse a candidate by the end of the month. He said the pandemic has presented hurdles, particularly around fundraising since events couldn’t be held in person and many people were hurting financially. He said fundraising will improve as more people are vaccinated and gain confidence; initial donations of $35 were made by RTC members.
Riccio said they went months without asking for donations, as folks were losing their jobs. “It would be heartless to ask someone to donate when their households were out of work,” he said.
The slate, including a full under ticket, is in good shape, Riccio said.
“We’re not letting this pandemic put a hold on getting this slate together,” Riccio said. “I’m very excited about our party in West Haven.”
He said the campaign will be run with a strong combination of old-school politicking, or going door to door, and new school politicking using social media.
Riccio said the party’s question for voters will be, “How has life been for you the past 30 years?” referring to the decades of Democratic rule. “When communities make change, it keeps government on their toes,” he said.
When there is “party dominance,” as with Democrats in West Haven, Riccio said, “the party expects that vote.”
“They’re not judged on their performance. They feel comfortable,” he said. “Political leaders need to be on the side of people.”
Riccio said he’s in the community often taking the pulse and many are “disgruntled,” he said. The issue of the need for economic development comes up every year during the election, but “never to fruition,” he said.
Cohen, known for his “District 10 Rocks” line, has led the Hubbard Farms Park ongoing revitalization, WHEAT food drives, and reaching across the aisle to work with state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, and Yale University to obtain $50,000 to buy Chromebooks for West Haven students.
“West Haven is a city of boundless possibilities, yet largely unrealized potential. Our city possesses incredible assets: an exceptional waterfront, home to two world-class universities, a highly coveted, strategic location with easy access to major interstates, and an awesome train station for business and leisure travel,” Cohen said in a written . “Bottom line: We can and must do better.”