The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Roth to run again for alder in Ward 7
Sets up Democratic primary against incumbent Alberta Witherspoon
NEW HAVEN >> In the end, it was the election of Donald Trump as president that finally solidified Abbe Roth’s decision to again run for office.
“...part of the reason Donald Trump won is people being completely disillusioned with government. I think it starts at the local level, when you don’t get responses from government, when you don’t think it is there to help you,” Roth said.
More than 60 people crammed into the back room at Koffee? on Audubon Street Saturday afternoon to cheer on Roth’s decision to seek the Democratic nomination for downtown’s 7th Ward aldermanic seat.
She said she takes constituent services very seriously, as well as the policy decisions that will have to be made in New Haven on the budget, with resources drying up at the state level and on the environment and immigration with new pressures from the federal level.
“There are a lot of serious issues and we need a board with people who are ready to work hard, who are deep thinkers, ask probing questions and collaborate to address the issues. I feel my background, my passion for it, is just a good fit,” Roth said.
Roth, special assistant to the dean at the Yale School of Management, spent the last two years continuing to be involved in the city through multiple volunteer positions, but realized how much she missed work as an alder.
She said many of her former constituents also encouraged her to run again.
The incumbent, Alberta Witherspoon, said she will seek re-election, which sets up a fight at the ward level and then at a Democratic primary in Sept. 12.
Witherspoon, who is also the co-chairwoman of the ward committee, said she was disappointed that Roth decided to challenge her, “but that’s her choice.”
Going forward, Witherspoon said she wants more sidewalks fixed and generally clean up the streets in the ward.
Roth became an alder from the 7th Ward in 2014 in a special election to replace Douglas Hausladen when he took the position as director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking in the new administration of Mayor Toni Harp.
She said she thought it was the responsible thing to not seek re-election in 2015 as she was getting married and, depending on the housing market, wasn’t sure where she would be living.
She did move in August, but continues to be in Ward 7, a sprawling district that extends from the Dwight Street area to Wooster Square and to SoHu, defined as south of Humphrey Street at the edge of the East Rock neighborhood.
A graduate of Yale College and the Yale Law School, Roth worked in Washington, D.C. with Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on gun control and other issue and then with Homeland Security before moving back to New Haven.
Roth said the city has many crucial changes before it, including the appointment of a new superintendent and police chief. She said budget decisions will continue to be important with taxes a burden on residents and businesses.
Roth said she would have to study the issue of taxing hospital property more before taking a position, a topic before state lawmakers.
Roth said she was happy
“There are a lot of serious issues and we need a board with people who are ready to work hard, who are deep thinkers, ask probing questions and collaborate to address the issues. Ifeelmy background, my passion for it,isjustagood fit.” —AbbeRoth
with the work she helped do in her first term on safe streets, and development projects, balanced with the needs of residents.
She said her letter criticizing then-Police Chief Dean Esserman for his disrespectful treatment of some citizens is an example of her leadership ability.
Roth said the behavior “risked harming trust in the police, which is critical to a well-functioning police force. It was especially problematic since he shoud be a role model.”
There have been fights in aldermanic elections between candidates who have the blessing of the Yale University unions and those that don’t.
Roth said when she was an alder, she felt all sides wanted the same thing in terms of jobs for residents and good education for young people.
“I’m here for Ward 7. I’m not some union person ... some Yale person. Maybe it is naive,” Roth said.
Cordalie Benoit said she will help her friend win because, among other things, Roth was active as part of the Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team.
“She took notes, she addressed the issues, she was accessible. She undertook initiatives,” Benoit said.
Lydia Bornick, who lives at University Towers at 100 York St., reiterated Roth’s observation that it is important to be engaged in the local level of government, “bottom up and top down.”
She said she wants to have more say in the large amount of development that is taking place near her. “We want to have a ward that has a voice. We want ward meetings. We want to be part of the downtown committee,” Bornick said.
It is also a diverse community racially that needs to engage everyone in the campaign, Bornick said.
Lisa Siedlarz, block watch captain and community organizer at SoHu, said she was impressed with the job Roth did in her first term and wants her back in that seat.
Alder Anna Festa, D-10, said Roth has the passion needed to be an alder, as well as the ability to ask honest and deliberate questions.