Kazis: The Yale seat, for the city
Ward 1 is often called the “Yale ward.” With only a few apartment buildings inhabited by non-students, the name is fitting; there is something different about an alderman representing Yale students than one representing any other segment of our New Haven community. All three candidates running to replace Rachel Plattus ’09 have acknowledged that this seat is a special one. But Mike Jones ’11 and Minh Tran ’09 misunderstand why Ward 1 is so special.
Mike wrote a column in the News before spring break (“Seeking the student seat,” March 5) describing his conception of the Ward 1...
do you really think that jones and tran are against jobs and public safety?
I agree totally. This isn't a YCC election; these candidates are not running for seats on student government, they are running for a real political position in a real city, with residents whose needs are greater than more convenient crosswalks.
That's not the point at all. Mike and Minh don't understand that issues like jobs and public safety for NEW HAVEN are what's needed for a strong city, which is what's best for Yale students. They think that these issues are secondary to things like giving Yale students wider sidewalks (which, by they way, they would have no power to do). Katie is the only one who really gets it.
aren't we a part of new haven? why don't the issues that confront our part of new haven matter?
according to his web site, minh's three platform issues (which have been up for a while, i believe) deal with small businesses/entrepreneurship, education/youth, and transportation/safety... so i don't see where people are getting the idea that minh is not thinking on a city-wide level.
we are a part of new haven, but if you think that better crosswalks for yale students are an issue of comparable magnitude to providing things like basic public safety and jobs, then... well, i honestly have no words.
Yeah, I agree with #6. The contrast isn't between a candidate who recognizes the importance of citywide issues and two who don't. The Ward One alderman needs to understand not just the special role, but the DUAL role of the position - it's about both focusing attention on citywide issues AND bringing Yale students into the city's political process. The person in that position has the power to make New Haven issues relevant to Yale students in a way no one else can. If he/she truly realizes that potential - as few Ward One aldermen have - then more Yale students will care as deeply about New Haven issues as Kazis does. And that will mean that in the future, we don't just have one person fighting for these citywide issues, we have a whole campus.
That's the kind of change I'd like to see in Ward One, and the candidate who can do that is the one who will have my support. (As of now I'm still undecided.)
No one outside the Yale Dems cares about this election.
Also, how many of us actually care about New Haven? Seriously.
re 9: I definitely do.
Convincing op-ed. I'd vote for her. But I'm an international student. Boo.
This is exactly right. I hope it is widely read and understood by everyone who will vote in the aldermanic election.