Fear Lost

by Paul Bass | Sep 11, 2019 4:32 pm

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Posted to: Politics, WNHH Radio, Campaign 2019, Dateline New Haven

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posted by: alex on September 11, 2019 4:58pm Fear of Elicker lost. I saw plenty of fear in Elicker’s mailers. They seem to have worked.

posted by: ConcernedCitizen23 on September 11, 2019 5:06pm Excited to see what Elicker can do!

posted by: EPDP on September 11, 2019 5:39pm Why doesn’t Paul Bass talk about the majority of registered voters who stay home in every election. Voters are smart enough to know that the Mayor’s hands are tied with a budget that is always teetering on bankruptcy, while the budgets of surrounding suburbs, whose citizens commute to New Haven for work every day, and whose citizens dump their drug addict children, poor and homeless on New Haven’s doorsteps, those suburbs are flush with cash in their gated communities to be able to afford police protection to keep out the New Haven element. Unless the stupid voters of New Haven realize that they are expected to exist on a budget that isn’t enough to cover the potholes, and getting the shaft on the State and Federal level, nothing will ever change. Lamont recently abandoned his idea of cost sharing and regional government. There is no hope for the future of New Haven, you might as well put Mickey Mouse, the Queen of England or Larry Noodles in the Mayor’s Office.

posted by: Elmer's Glue on September 11, 2019 5:46pm We’re living in a time when traditional authority figures - mayors, ministers, union heads, cops, ‘experts’ whatever - can no longer rely on their say-so to get things done and move the community. Harp thought she could stitch together a winning coaltion out of an assortment of local hollowed-out hierarchies, but obviously that didn’t happen. She even tried the old Clinton playbook - ‘listen’ to people and ‘hear their pain’ before announcing a policy that was baked-in from the start. But in this day and age, you can’t tell people what to do, and people don’t want to be patronized or feel like they’ve been tricked. Elicker is much more in touch with the desire for collaboration that a lot of people in this city possess. He’ll have to work even harder than Harp did to stay in office, and it’s just a matter of time before someone from the African-American, Latino, or other local communities emerges who can combine a collaborative approach with a big personality. So I don’t think he’ll be mayor for too long. But I’m glad he’s in, and would encourage him to give 110% every day, and do things right, even if it’s harder that way.

posted by: Conscience on September 11, 2019 6:13pm Great title for the article. I hope the new headline is justice and fairness wins, We have to overcome our biases and past grievances if we are going to save our country and our communities. We have too much to lose for ourselves and our children. Sacrifice, service, and continuous struggle to make real the promise of America for all people, should be our marching orders. We can do this. Much love for Alex and all the other commenters. We have to come together as a community as we are in a critical crossroads of indecision and infighting. We MUST embrace the values in our theological and political traditions—one God, one humanity. If you do not believe in God, then one LOVE.

posted by: Thomas Alfred Paine on September 11, 2019 6:13pm @alex

Could this writer publicly defend his position with evidence. What Elicker ad scared him and any other people? Which Elicker ads were lies? If the truth scares anyone, that may be a personal problem.

Alex has proven to be a ‘Smart-Alex’ who has constantly made sarcastic jabs, charges and counter charges to attack and criticize Elicker and his supporters, but I don’t want his word alone. I need documentation. I need proof. Show us the Elicker mailers that are lies, personal attacker, or appeals to fear and anxiety to black people or any other group.

The Harp campaign was a fear mongering campaign that appealed to race and class division.

Toni Harp never rejected her campaign staff’s pathetic, racist, classist strategies, so her silence is considered CONSENT.

Harp could have had a John McCain moment, and would have been a profile in courage, if she rejected the racist appeals of her campaign and address the exacerbated racial strife and contention in the community, and said THIS MUST STOP. THIS IS NOT NEW HAVEN. WE MUST BE ONE PEOPLE. WE MUST NOT BE DIVIDED BY CLASS AND RACE. THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOT ABOUT RACE, AND I WILL NOT LET MY CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGE SUCH DIVISION.

She could have started by firing some people on her campaign!

None of this was done. It was a missed moment in time. An opportunity to promote healing and unity in the community that was sadly lost.

posted by: Conscience on September 11, 2019 6:18pm This is a great poem and lesson for us all.

The Cold Within

James Patrick Kinney i Six humans trapped by happenstance in black and bitter cold,

Each possessed a stick of wood, or so the story’s told.

Their dying fire in need of logs, the first woman held hers back

For on the faces around the fire she noticed one was black.

The next man looking ‘cross the way saw one not of his church

And couldn’t bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes; he gave his coat a hitch,

Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,

And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man’s face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight,

For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.

And the last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain;

Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.

The logs held tight in death’s stilled hands was proof of human sin,

They didn’t die from the cold without, They died from the cold within.

posted by: Elmmy on September 11, 2019 6:46pm @ Conscience ....Wow….that is a powerful poem. Powerful message. Thank you for sharing it.

posted by: Where there’s smoke on September 11, 2019 6:55pm I don’t know what’s more pathetic, Paul Bass’ inability to call Harps campaign a racist, purposely false, failure or Rev. Ross-Les’s characterization of Elickers as one. There is a FBI probe into Harps administration and it does focus on corruption. That’s a fact, not a racist attack. On the other hand Harps mailings portraying Elicker as a Mayor who wants to use drones to peek in your windows in certain neighborhoods and asserting some conspiracy between Trump, Elickers wife and Vin Mauro of having the feds come down on her is nothing more than a desperate, racist lie. Paul did the guy from Morris cove say he wasn’t voting for Harp because she was black? You may want to reclassify his comments. Ignorant, from my view of the particular issues that he mentions but in your stretch to undermine the reasons why Harp lost you compromise whatever journalistic integrity you have. The racial divide, however you employ that phrase, is caused by politicians like Toni Harp to use it to divide and conquer for their own gain. Harp and her Tran ran a racist campaign that lied to the people. She also assumed, because she is so disconnected from the black community, thought that we would walk blindly into the polls and vote for her. Well guess what Toni, your low and presumptuous expectations of our community sent you packing. We care about our tax dollars, especially when they’re used to buy you lunch everyday. Our schools, that on day one was a cluster f%#k. The lead paint that can harm our children and people who you think highly of like Birks and Bartlett, which tell a lot about your character.

Harp Lost!!! She did such a bad job that not even Scott Marks and the Yale unions could save her. She was a terrible candidate who ran a terrible campaign. Didn’t reach out to folks and took peoples vote for granted. Maybe if you went out to the people, like Justin did you wouldn’t have lost as bad. Take your race politics that are toxic to this City and go home!

posted by: LookOut on September 11, 2019 8:24pm Assuming that he wins in November, Justin has a lot on his plate. If he doesn’t get City Hall corruption and runaway taxes under control quickly, he will be a one term mayor.

posted by: storm on September 11, 2019 9:36pm Bullied and reduced to tears for supporting Elicker1? I hadn’t heard that one. Educate me, please!

posted by: 1644 on September 12, 2019 3:32am In Paul’s world, a voter who opposes Harp because she supports racial discrimination in employment is racist, while the voters who supported Harp because of he race are not. [Paul: Thank you for your comment. I disagree with your suggestion that Harp in any way supports racial discrimination in hiring. People of all backgrounds involved in education agree that it would be better to recruit more teachers of color in school systems that are overwhelmingly black and Latino and yet have mostly white teachers. That doesn’t mean denying white teachers job opportunities. It doesn’t mean one believes a teacher’s merit is based on skin color. It means that it’s better to offer more diverse world and cultural experiences on which students can draw for their education and relate to. It means finding ways to open up more opportunities for people who aren’t white. I recognize this is a complicated issue, that people have differing views about how affirmative action (from Bakke through today’s court challenges) is best carried out and what effects it has, and whether it should even be pursued at all. We can discuss that complicated issue without suggesting that someone who wants to open more opportunities “supports racial discrimination in hiring.” My daughters attended Wilbur Cross High School a decade ago. They are white. Most of the school’s students were black and Latino. Almost all their teachers were white; however there was no difference in quality among white and black and Latino teachers. My daughters were in AP courses; the majority of the students in those courses were white. With one big exception: One of their AP teachers was Latina. She was a great teacher. And she had the most diverse AP class of students. She had more success in inspiring students of color to take AP classes, even though all the teachers cared a lot about this issue. And her students succeeded on the AP tests. [The quotation you’re referring to came in the story from a white voter who said he supports Elicker partly because Harp supports sanctuary city policies (a position Elicker shares!). This voter’s explanation is he doesn’t want to “pay for every animal who comes here?” OK. I’ll admit it. I think that’s racist. Pure and simple. Immigration is a complicated subject. That sentiment is not. If we can’t admit that that’s racist, then there’s no such thing as racism.]

posted by: Perspective on September 12, 2019 9:02am Bottom line is Harps campaign relied on voters who look like her to vote for her, instead these voters decided to vote for someone who has similar interests.

posted by: Xavier on September 12, 2019 9:49am After dissecting Toni Harp’s campaign and tenure as mayor, I hope we can thank her for her long service to New Haven and to the state. Who ever convinced her to initially run for mayor or how she came to that conclusion is beyond our knowledge. Being mayor at this time in the history of New Haven, was not her time. She is a transition from DeStefano to Elicker. The charter reform and the hybrid school board with the chaotic and destructive egos of Joyner and Goldson unfortunately just overwhelmed Harp. The selection of Birks increased the toxicity of the environment of the NHPS. Our schools need to be our priority and containment of the infections that are causing so many educators and administrators to flee, physically and emotionally, must be treated. Let’s give Toni Harp the opportunity for a gracious exit from public life, with gratitude for the work she did in the General Assembly, the board of alders, and as mayor.

posted by: beyonddiscussion on September 12, 2019 10:36am Great, spot-on analysis. New Haven is wonderfully diverse in fact, and in spirit. Sad that Harp chose to go there. But change was coming, and it’s an exciting new chapter for New Haven!

posted by: alex on September 13, 2019 5:15pm I’m sorry but the more I think about it, the more I realize this is the most absurd analysis. The drone mailer had nothing to do with the result. It’s one mailer. No one mailer makes a difference, but especially a ‘backlash’ difference. It had no impact at all. We received ten times as many mailers from Justin. The white baby that needs to be saved from lead. Justin the friend of people of color who didn’t give permission to be on the mailer. “Harp’s overdoses on the Green.” Those may have had an impact. This election was about taxes, the issues at the Board of Ed, and mayyybe things like lead paint to the extent they made activist types and Democratic die-hards hesitant to support the incumbent. The drone mailer and “fear lost” is Justin Elicker hagiography. He was nobody’s victim in this campaign and the city did not come to his defense.

posted by: AverageTaxpayer on September 13, 2019 5:51pm Incompetence loss. Her campaign team was pathetic. They can’t even handle conceding…

posted by: The Cause on September 13, 2019 8:15pm Can somebody tell me who Elicker is,, did he grow up in Fairfield or New Cannon?

Is he for or against the Airport expansion?

What s his plan to fight Crime?

What is his Plan to Lower Taxes?

What is his Plan for funding the Pension?

Who will he pick for School Superintendent ? Can he lower the cost of education, right now its about $28,000.00 per student.

Does he support our New Police Chief? The list goes on, all he did was trash Mayor Harp but he was not vetted. New Haven Needs a Two Party System , The Democratic machine has ruled New Haven since 1958,

People are voting in Connecticut. They are voting to leave.

I am here to fight for the cause… we need a fair debate of the issues and a check and balance.

The Dem’s cannot rule New Haven and CT alone, they are ruining it.

Mayor Harp was their Fall guy, (woman).

Yale needs to pay its fair share, why should we support them when they are worth billions.

CT needs a county Tax not tolls. Okay I’m done I am retiring from politics for Now. What do I know I’m a NY Jet fan :(( lol

posted by: Thomas Alfred Paine on September 14, 2019 11:46am @The Cause

You have listed several questions for Justin Elicker. If you will contact him, I am sure he will answer those questions.

In regards to The Rev. Ross-Lee’s commentary, truth is a defense against his charges against Elicker of corruption and racism in his campaign.

Toni Harp’s Trump ads and drone ads were equivalent to the race-baiting WILLIE HORTON ad of Republican candidate George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential campaign. These ads all played to the racist fears of people!

Elicker made no racist appeals in opposition to Harp and her policies. Bring up actual corruption allegations and an FBI investigation of Harp’s administration is not racist or racialized. It is a charge based on fact.

One finds is peculiar that a minister would attempt to justify, excuse or condone the lies of the Harp campaign by saying ““a lot of people have done” campaign ads like Harp’s.”

If the race-baiting ads of Toni Harp were not racist, there is no such thing as racism, and we all owe George H.W. Bush an apology for focusing his campaign strategy on a Black man to scare White people from voting for a Democratic candidate.

Surely, the Harp campaign ads attempted to scare Black people about a white man named Justin Elicker.

The bottom line is whose ads were factual and whose ads were false? Whose ads appealed to racial fears, and whose appealed to established facts?

posted by: The Cause on September 15, 2019 2:19pm Mr. Paine, I don’t disagree with you on why Mr. Elicker one and probably why Mayor Harp lost. Though you did ignore most of my comment. New Haven needs a two party system. I should not have to call Elicker for my questions, he would be on the Record through a vetting system. As far a George W, here we had a US President a native of New Haven, It was the democratic party that would not acknowledge him and even took down Highway signs that named him as our native son. New Haven can insult the Orange man all they want but because of him the country is thriving. Once again New Haven is missing out because opportunity is going to areas where his policy can adapted to its region. Mayor Harp is out Justin is in. Just like in the past, the single party system since 1958 will still be run by big party bosses, there still will be corruption, lead paint etc. If Harp had run it might have given us a check and balance of two party choices. As it stand a quarter of the Democratic party picks our mayor. I will stay n New Haven and fight for The Cause!

posted by: THREEFIFTHS on September 15, 2019 7:45pm posted by: The Cause on September 15, 2019 2:19pm Mr. Paine, I don’t disagree with you on why Mr. Elicker one and probably why Mayor Harp lost. Though you did ignore most of my comment. New Haven needs a two party system. I should not have to call Elicker for my questions, he would be on the Record through a vetting system. No do not need a two party system.We need the system of Proportional representation.

posted by: Bill Saunders on September 15, 2019 8:46pm I am still unclear as to what this ‘cause’ is about!