Kerekes: I’m Still In

by Melissa Bailey | Sep 13, 2011 11:25 pm

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Posted to: Campaign 2011

Declaring that Tuesday’s Democratic primary showed John DeStefano has “lost control of the city,” mayoral challenger Jeffrey Kerekes vowed to make a second attempt at toppling him in November. Kerekes was the top vote-getter of three contenders who battled DeStefano in Tuesday’s primary. According to the official vote tally released Wednesday, including absentee ballots, DeStefano picked up 5,716 votes, or 44.3 percent; Kerekes 2,895 votes or 22.4 percent; Clifton Graves 2,255 votes or 17.5 percent; and Anthony Dawson 2,032 votes or 15.7 percent. Kerekes won three wards: Wooster Square’s Ward 8 and East Rock’s Wards 9 and 10. In a speech in the garage of his Lyon Street home Tuesday evening, Kerekes said he “absolutely” plans to challenge DeStefano in the general election on Nov. 13. Kerekes can do that because he already snagged a spot on the ballot as an independent. Dawson and Graves opted not to do that, so their races are over. “A new campaign starts tomorrow—I hope you’re not too tired,” Kerekes told a dozen campaign volunteers around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. He will start his new campaign with zero dollars in the campaign treasure chest. Because he was participating in the city’s clean elections Democracy Fund, he had to spend all of his public money in the primary. In brief remarks to supporters, Kerekes pointed out that about 60 percent of the city voted against DeStefano. The mayor “can’t beat his own record” of sky-high taxes and crime, he said. Judging by the upsets across town of City Hall-backed aldermanic candidates, Kerekes concluded DeStefano is done for. “He has lost control of the city and come November 8, we’ll have a new mayor.” The quick speech drew applause from the volunteers, including (from left in photo:) Edgewood’s Eliezer Greer, East Rock’s Alyson Heimer, Wooster Square’s Chris Randall, and East Rock firefighter Ray Saracco. Kerekes was asked how he expects to beat DeStefano in the general election, given that he got fewer than 3,000 votes in the primary. He noted that if he got all the votes that Graves and Dawson got, he would beat the mayor. Graves and Dawson drew heavily from African-American wards, where DeStefano has historically performed well in elections, especially against white opponents. (Kerekes is white.) “I suspect we can build up support from the other two campaigns,” as well as independents, Greens, and Republicans, Kerekes said. In Kerekes’ garage Tuesday night, Robyn Hayes said she would “absolutely” be there for the next campaign: “I’ll work till there’s nothing left.”

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posted by: christineorr on September 13, 2011 11:35pm I hope u the best because some people dont want theres no reason why john destefano is still in ...

posted by: Jonathan Weinberg on September 13, 2011 11:42pm I don’t remember Kerekes saying he would not abide by the decision of the primary or that he was not a good Democrat. Why doesn’t he have the guts to run as a Republican if he is not going to abide by the decision of the primary process? Jonathan Weinberg

posted by: Ora Jonathan if you want to talk about the primary process lets talk about our town chair who supported candidates that were not endorsed by their ward committees. Lets talk about fairness and abiding by just plain ole decency and not extorting money from employees and contractors. Some say an employee who gives $100,$200 etc. isn’t buying his job. No they aren’t because John D. gets rid of people when he feels like it and when he has no further use for them.But yet these employees think they are safe and they are so frightened of John D.. Sad. But collectively that $100 or so multiplied by many is a mighty big cash cow in itself. The residents of New Haven know it is time for change and proved it by the aldermanic board turnover that hapened tonight. I believe this is just the beginning of a new beginning for this city. You know what? I am pretty sure John D. is not gonna make it in November. If I am wrong, he lost all his punch anyway by losing his rubber stamp board. The people have spoken and will speak again in November. Independents you want change? Vote Kerekes! Republicans you fed up? vote Kerekes because now is your chance to get rid of this public parasite who has been feasting off your pocket book for 18 years and thinks he is bigger than life! And Dems it is our turn to turn over the board, the mayor and eventually the town committee! Just say no and Vote for Kerekes! Good night John D. sleep well because you are going to need it.

posted by: Go Jeff on September 14, 2011 12:26am Go for it Jeff. You have my vote and a lot of others. This time the vote won’t be split. I’m almost afraid to say it, but do I see a light at the end of the dark tunnel? How do we contact you? I want a sign on my front lawn supporting you. Sure, it may be a small thing, but it shows that people are sick of the status quo. We’ve got time to do this and take our city back. It might actually be a better thing that you are running alone against the Machine. Keep the drive going, you could actually do this!

posted by: William Kurtz on September 14, 2011 5:54am Mr. Weinberg, Mr. Kerekes has made it clear from the beginning of his campaign that he intended to run as an independent should he lose in the primary. And he absolutely should do so, in the interests of maintaining a vigorous democracy since the Democratic primary (which it’s well-known serves as the de facto election) shuts out that large number of voters affiliated with a different party, or with no party at all.

posted by: lizvitale on September 14, 2011 7:00am Go Jeffrey! I am hoping the Independents and the Republicans seal the deal for you in November. Follow the Unions lead and go after the new vote and the Yale vote. It’s shocking how low turnout was last night in some wards.

posted by: Registered independent on September 14, 2011 7:14am Congrats on a strong primary performance jeffrey. Beating DeStefano is not impossible. My advice is to go after new voters, and people who don’t normally vote. Every year DeStefano wins big, but a large majority of citizens skip the polls all together. If you can get some of these folks registered and voting for you, that could make a real difference. I would really hate to see Democracy subverted by money again, so I’m going to donate to Kerekes. If you want to support him, please follow my lead. And dont forget to Vote.

posted by: sandstorm on September 14, 2011 8:21am Community conversations are always healthy and sometimes lead to positive change and collaborations. Kerekes should be commended for the civil discourse. In the opinions of many, he is not experienced or educated in leading the administration through these difficult economic times. There are many of us who love the city but would live in a suburb should DeStefano not prevail.

posted by: John on September 14, 2011 8:30am Iks time to go Green Party and challenge King Destefano!

posted by: cedarhillresident on September 14, 2011 8:57am I am very pleased with yesterday. Jeffrey went in this fully aware that it was going to be a battle in November. It is a machine town. As many of us that read the NHI know who and what many of the issues are in the city….there are twice as many that do not get as involved like us that do not know and vote blindly. We also had a 4 way race with 3 great candidates. But that did divide the vote for those of us that really care about this city. Now it is time for all of us to work together! Lets be honest, all three campaigns did win last night, we all showed that the people are ready to take back this city!!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!

posted by: L on September 14, 2011 9:02am I am glad to hear he will do this, because I was disappointed when I turned on the news last night. The other candidates need to get behind Kerekes, so he can secure their voters. Seriously, it’s the only way he can win. It’s time for someone young and energetic to come in and reinvigorate the police force, get a new chief, and clean up the streets. The old guard is over. It’s embarrassing that we’ve had 1 mayor for so long. (Also - NHI- there’s some fuzzy math in your returns; I think it’s just a type - re-read your percentages and vote counts.)

posted by: anon on September 14, 2011 9:12am Ora and others who rejoice at the loss of the “rubber stamp” board, your naivete is telling. The Mayor is a master at building coalitions or creating rubber stamp boards (you say tomato, I say tomato). Unless the newbies have the foresight and skills to band together and vote as a block, I predict they will largely hang with the Mayor on most issues (given the field, he’s is not that bad, they will see). If they tout a progressive agenda for the benefit of the city, the Mayor will largely go along with them—even polishing it off and adopting it as his own. The Mayor no longer has a taste for dirty dog fights. At this stage of the game, where he is close to retirement, he’s all about legacy building and implementing things he’s passionate about—anything related to kids and long economic development goals and one more thing—picking his replacement so he remains relevant long after he’s gone. Rarely do you see a new alderman with a broad vision or long terms goals for the city—they just don’t have the time or their neighborhoods have needs inconsistent with that of the others. So, like their predepredecessor they could quickly be distracted by the small pickings at the table if they are not smart about their agenda. That’s my analysis….or things could just go the way of d.c. where absolutely nothing gets done!!

posted by: Jonathan Weinberg on September 14, 2011 9:18am I for one am thrilled DeStefano won. The idea that someone who is a therapist and a former volunteer fireman is somehow fit to run a large city is ridiculous. We have been done that road before—save us from well meaning amateurs and tea party rhetoric. I would consider voting for a true liberal, who has the expertise and record of administration to be mayor, but not someone whose best recommendation is he is a nice guy. I am an artist and art historian, does that mean I have the knowledge and the skill set to be a therapist like Kerekis? What if I decided I could be a fireman with no training? Finally, Kerekis should have the courage to run as an independent or a Republican, if that is what he is. I will vote for DeStefano again, because I think he has been a good mayor in tough times and he wont cut services to the bone.

posted by: streever Sandstorm:

You are already describing an incredible number of former New Haveners. The system of patronage that has led to there being 2 “Acceptable” public schools (Hooker & Nathan Hale) means that this city has “Winners and losers”, and the losers move out. At every community discussion I’ve been in since I came here I’ve heard the same dissatisfaction presented—parents do not know that their children can go to a good school because the system is neither transparent nor open—and they move to neighboring towns where they can at least be guaranteed a spot at an “in-district” school. While Elicker has made great strides toward a more open admissions, he is literally the only legislator I’ve seen do any work at all on this issue. New Haven has a brain drain, sending our talented, young, intelligent parents and families out to the suburbs. Voting DeStefano isn’t going to fix that. Voting Kerekes might. We can’t implement a single policy or change anything meaningful as long as we have a culture of corruption and patronage running prevalent in City Hall.

posted by: Wayoutsider on September 14, 2011 9:23am Congratulations to all of the new aldermen. It is quite a victory to have beaten City Hall in the races. Now, the important thing for you to do is to stick together and NEVER fall victim to City Hall tricks. They will try to woo you now….they’ll invite you to lunch, they’ll say that they want to work with you for your community…...They’ll try to bribe you. Just say, “NO”. Thanks but no thanks. They’ll trick you and even though you’re smart, the invitation may seem genuine. It’s not. These are evil people, and you can never make deals with the devil. You have to learn that the Mayor treats his friends worse than his enemies. He has no loyalty to anyone. He laughs at those, who he can trick. Don’t be a fool. Seek the advice other, experienced aldermen, who have been tricked. They’ll educate you. Please Tony Dawson, wake up. Don’t even consider supporting the Mayor. What happened to your so-called ethics? Are you one of the people, who may fall victim and compromise yourself and your supporters? Please be strong and ask for nothing in exchange for your support of him. Be ethical. Support Jeffrey. Don’t side with the devil. Please aldermen, please don’t make the biggest mistake of your lives and support George Perez for president of the BOA. ... He’s told many of you time and time again that he’s on your side. However, he lunches with the Mayor and actually has been seen skipping and laughing with him in City Hall. ... George is very, very close with ALL the Mayor’s administration… ,,, Neither the Mayor nor George ever surrounds themselves with strong men, or women. ... Good luck to all of you and again, be strong. You can really do good for New Haven. You can get the Mayor out in November. Those of you, who are Tony Dawson’s friends should read him the riot act and tell him to do the right thing. Pick a new President of the BOA. You have several ethical, honest, and responsible people from which to choose. Do it. Good luck.

posted by: davecoon on September 14, 2011 9:47am Kerekes is just rocking it New England style…independent!

posted by: VD on September 14, 2011 10:23am Make it work, Kerekes!

posted by: robn on September 14, 2011 10:28am WAYOUTSIDER, Mayor DeStefano and his city hall supporters are NOT evil. He was a decent expansion mayor who just didn’t see the recession coming and who fell out of touch with taxpayers. Even though he’s maneuvered in unsavory ways to remain in office I never doubt that he’s had the city’s best interests at heart….he’s just been blinded by an insatiable pursuit of growth untempered by the realities of tax capacity.

posted by: streever Robn

Well said! I agree completely. DeStefano lost touch with the city and the voters during his governor run, and instead of moving on, went to absurd lengths to stay in office. I honestly think he doesn’t understand how wrong his actions are.

posted by: cedarhillresident on September 14, 2011 11:15am http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyooALwfxO8

posted by: VD on September 14, 2011 11:17am Actually, I think keeping Mayo employed as Superintendent for 18 years of a school system content with maintaining its status quo of being a drop out mill, and first and foremost, an employment program for adults, throws the Mayor into the category of being a pretty cruddy dude. “Evil”? I don’t know. Does it matter?

posted by: cedarhillresident on September 14, 2011 12:14pm @robn

So if I am getting the last comment right… it is like me on a Admin. Asst. pay trying to buy a half million dollar house? It would make life better but in the end I can not afford it and it would be my demise….right?

posted by: robn on September 14, 2011 3:53pm CHR, The Mayor’s predicament is really different than personal finance. He’s managing other people’s money. Many others. His attitude toward growth, pause or contraction affect 135,000 people and beyond through ripple effect.

posted by: Claudia Bosch on September 14, 2011 4:07pm No doubt DeStefano can claim some achievements. He revived the inner-city, stabilized crime ridden neighborhoods, introduced the New Haven Promise and opened sparkling new school buildings. But overall I would say he failed in the

- area of crime.

In 18 years the numbers did not improve significantly. No, really not. New Haven is now considered the 4th most dangerous crime-ridden city in the USA.

- area of education.

A shiny building does not equal success in reading and writing. Look how much better the surrounding communities are doing. I have not heard their students complain about missing or outdated textbooks.

- area of long-term maintenance costs.

Why does a city with about 120.000 inhabitants need five indoor pools? I am sure the state paid for these when the new schools were built. But now they create a huge burden on the city’s budget while we residents have access to a SINGLE one twice a week.

- area of real estate taxes.

Do not get me started on that. Because what do we get back for paying super high taxes?

Oh - yeah: swimming at the Martinez pool on Wed. from 5-8pm and on Sat. from 10am-2pm. It is time to get this city back on track.

posted by: cedarhillresident on September 14, 2011 4:15pm :) I know robn :) I was just playing with you. I missed you at the polls…were you there?

posted by: concernedwestvilleres on September 14, 2011 4:26pm Kerekes should have chosen to either run as an independent or democrat. He chose to run in the Dem primary and he should bow out having lost. He has very little chance of winning. Graves and Dawson’s voters won’t automatically go to Kerekes- they tend to vote for DeStefano and will likely stick with him. Many voted for either Graves or Dawson in their desire to have an African-American mayor in office. I’m sure Kerekes is a nice guy, but that doesn’t qualify him to be Mayor. Being a self-appointed budget watchdog doesn’t qualify him either. Being a psychotherapist doesn’t qualify him. What has he run in his life other than a union organizing campaign. What does he know about how government works other than attending annual budget hearings- does he really know how the budget process works? Not really- he says tax increases will come up for a vote. However the city charter directs the budget be adopted by a specific date (late may or early June?). Elections are in November or September. There is no way to do a budget and bring the tax increases to the public without a special election which would be costly. He mentioned the schools didn’t hire local workers to do the work. Does he know about competitive bidding? Maybe the local contractors weren’t the best bid. Did anyone investigate what happened? As for leaks and the like I believe these are being taken care of. And for those who complain about the cost of new buildings, it benefits the students to go to school in a nice building- it helps build pride. He shows a geneeral lack of understanding regarding the Board of Ed. He talks about the bloated bureaucracy and yet I don’t see him able to point out where it is bloated and whether the positions are mandated (federal or state) and how they are paid (grants or local funds). He has made comments about the schools that leave one wondering what he is saying. As for policing, he likes to point out community policing should be restored. Most community policing was paid for by federal moneys over the years. That funding has dried up, so if you do community policing you have to find the resources elsewhere. Will that come from drug interdiction, homicide investigation, traffic control, answering emergencies? Does he know where the funds will be coming from? Kerekes should have run for Alderman and served a couple of terms to gain an understanding and then run for mayor in 4-6 years. Now, he’s woefully unqualified and would be a bad fit for the city. Too bad the Republicans haven’t fielded a good candidate.

posted by: Mike Powers on September 14, 2011 4:35pm I think the election of Scott Brown in MA to take the place of the last Kennedy and now Bob Turner in a heavily Democratic congressional district in NYC shows that Republicans stand a chance of being elected even in Democrat strongholds.

Well lets face it New York has been run by mayors who claim to be Republicans for well close to 20 years.

The question is finding the correct candidate. NH’s GOP ought to wake up and find the right man or woman, Black or white to offer real alternatives to the past 50 years of New Haven government.

Instead of having a mantra “anyone but the mayor” , the mantra ought to be positive - backing an real alternative to the Democratic failed leadership. And yes fighting crime should be a chief issue but not by cosmetic changes ,but in instituting real policy changes.

posted by: robn on September 14, 2011 4:40pm CHR Of course I was there…and following 3/5’s advice, I voted Teletubbies. :)

posted by: Brian M. on September 14, 2011 11:33pm I don’t think readers realize how hard this is going to be to pull off. It’s not nearly as simple as adding up the Graves and Dawson and Kerekes numbers to get over 50%. The mayor is going to be on the Democratic line in a Democratic town. Don’t worry about people comparing your campaign to Joe Lieberman. After all, where’s Ned Lamont these days anyway? What you need to work on, however, is conveying the idea that you can do the job and manage the city. You need high-profile endorsements, you need a pretty massive organization, and you need to be working this election all day every day for the next 8 weeks. I thought he was going to do better yesterday, to be honest. It would be nice to see a shake up, but it would be so much easier for him to position himself for this in 2 years if he won a seat on the board of aldermen. If he could have cracked 30% in a late primary I’d have a better feeling, but I don’t see how you make up that ground so quickly when you don’t have the benefit of a bunch of contested races to drive turnout. I wish he’d taken the primary a little more seriously. I know my comments were perceived to be pro-mayor, but they were meant to be comparative to other races I’ve seen up close. I hope Kerekes does well enough to stay viable down the line - he could position himself to be the next-in-line if he does well. But you need to have a vision beyond simply beating John DeStefano. He’s a guy who spent alot of time on primary day talking with a guy who endorsed an opponent; you may not like him, but he’s not a monster. And one day he won’t be on the ballot and you’re going to need an identity other than “that guy who hates DeStefano.” ...

posted by: Bill Saunders on September 15, 2011 1:08am Attorney Graves, I now beseech you to let Jeffrey where your hat during this next 6 weeks of travail. Now that would be an endorsement.