Brennan Is Everything; Elicker’s Just Ken

Brennan describes himself as a “pragmatic pro- gressive,” a recurring phrase in the series of briefs posted on his website laying out his stances on major issues. This pragmatism broadly contributes to a number of his policy positions. His plan to loosen zoning laws, allowing for more infill and mixed-use housing — housing built in currently vacant lots and housing blended in with commercial, industrial, or recreational spaces — isn’t a sexy progressive legislative goal, but it would decrease New Haven’s carbon emissions and provide desperately needed affordable housing. Likewise, Brennan doesn’t plan to raise city revenue by dramatically demanding more money from Yale, like Elicker promised to do in his 2019 run, but by correctly assessing undervalued commercial properties downtown (the New Haven Independent found a $166 million difference between market price and appraisal) and forcing developers and big landlords to pay their share of property
taxes. Ultimately, Brennan mixes his progressivism with grounded, practical thinking about how to get things done.

To be clear, some of Brennan’s policy proposals are more dramatic. He wants to decriminalize drug possession in New Haven, stop making arrests for illegal gun possession, and greatly reduce the number of traffic stops — a practice in which racial profiling iscommonplace. In the place of drug arrests, Brennan plans to “shift resources towards prevention [of drug abuse], treatment, and harm reduction” and “treat addiction as the public health issue that it is, and concentrate our  resources on what works.” Even within these flashier policy proposals, you can see the pragmatist at work: Brennan believes in decriminalization because the data and his experiences as prosecutor have convinced him that it’s simply more effective. While I’m less sympathetic towards his plan to stop gun arrests — drug possession is for the most part a victimless crime; illegal gun possession can lead to crimes with plenty of victims — he does have a detailed proposal in place of arrests. Brennan plans to implement policies with a successful track record throughout the country, and to create a new position in the police force in charge of finding and seizing illegal guns in New Haven. In all, Brennan’s preferred policies would mean a sudden departure from Elickerera policing, and would mean wading into the hotly contested world of progressive prosecution. Nevertheless, I think Brennan’s qualifications in the legal system make him an ideal mayoral candidate to make that jump and take on the persistent issue of crime in New Haven.

The other day, I ran into a couple of Elicker cam- paign volunteers in Westville canvassing and passing out flyers. When I asked them about why they personally sup- ported Elicker, one emphasized that he’s “doing a good job.” While his campaign boasts of the creation of new housing units, slightly increasing the city’s education bud- get, and wringing $10 million out of Yale, the fact is that his campaign so far rests on that vague presumption that he’s “doing a good job.” At a recent UNITE HERE event in Scantlebury Park on Dixwell Ave., Elicker received praise from much of the city’s Democratic establishment for “working together” with the Board of Alders, before launching into his own speech in which he emphasized his “experience” and ability to “[get] things done.” But, per the New Haven Independent, he spoke very little about his own policy plans — and, unlike Brennan, he has no future plans posted on his campaign website. Elicker’s campaign
then comes down to his record of “getting stuff done” — but that record is more spotty than he’d like you to believe.


Brennan is running on the issues and on policy; Elicker is not. Brennan has a clear, articulated vision for the future of the city; Elicker has not publicly expressed one since he became mayor. Fundamentally, the people of New Haven deserve a leader who cares about giving them solutions to the city’s issues — not one who gives them vague platitudes about continuity and “working together.” Liam Brennan is the best choice for the Democratic nomination for mayor.