Yale Daily News

Minh Tran's tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

Minh Tran does not sleep. He waits.

When Minh Tran jumps in a lake, he doesn't get wet; the water gets MINH TRAN.

...

Oh, sorry, did I take the tone of this hero-worship piece a bit too far? (Minh Tran doesn't get overworked; overwork gets MINH TRAN'd!)

Sad to see this come from a freshman. I'm sure he means everything he says, but I'd like to hear from someone like the teacher who spoke at Minh's announcement. Every one of Minh's friends is willing to vouch for him; let's hear it from someone else.

if minh is so committed to living in ward 1 next semester, why hasn't he secured housing? he needs to put his money where his mouth is on this one.

Would the real Minh Tran please stand up? Because then he would prove that he actually doesn't stand up; rather, he pushes the earth down.

It is absurd that this editorial's primary answer for how Minh Tran plans to devote enough time to both Teach for America and the Adermanic Board is solely based upon Minh's energy, drive, and passion. As confident as I am of Minh's "legendary" prowess, I feel that the very nature of devoting your time to Teach for America, which requires a weekly commitment of 65+ hours will detract from anyone; yes, even Minh Tran. If he does do both, he will have to shortchange one for the other; were he to devote more time to the Aldermanic Board, he would be neglecting the inner city children that he had originally pledged to help. If he does his JOB and fulfills the commitment that he has already pledged, then he will not be serving the community to which he has newly pledged his time and efforts.

I like the fact that you highlighted how much the real Minh Tran was being lost, simply because people seem to be making personal attacks. No one is making personal attacks at Minh Tran, people are simply saying echoing the logical statement that the fewer other commitments that you have, the better you can focus on the city. In your rush to criticize the personal attacks against Minh, you have instead gone the other way and solely sought to bolster Minh's personal image. Well, just as personal attacks don't take into account Minh's prowess, personal anecdotes of character don't address the question of how he logistically could argue that he will be able to devote enough time to both.

As an alum with no stake in this race, I found it interesting to observe some trends in terms of the kinds of students who support the various candidates for Alderman. In particular, it's interesting how Yalies who were deeply involved in New Haven or Yale community affairs almost unanimously support Tran, while more apolitical types who don't particularly care about New Haven politics strongly support Jones because they see him as a cool, laid-back guy to hang out with.

in response to number 3, the article said he HAS secured housing in Ward 1.

many aldermen work more than 65 hours per week at their regular jobs. there's no reason minh couldn't as well. it just requires a bit of personal sacrifice and hard work. being a good alderman is hard work no matter who you are.

i would like to see the candidtates be more specific about their plans for safe streets though, it seems like the city has no funding to put in segregated bike lanes like NYC or better crosswalks .

That is simply not the case. Jones has been endorsed by New Haven Action, a group of Yalies dedicated to working on community issues. He also has the support of many in the Yale College Democrats, who are very active in city and state politics.

And I am usually hesitant to be overly PC and cry "racism" when none may exist, but your assertion that people are only voting for Mike because he is a "cool, laid-back guy" is ridiculous. You seem to assume that because Mike is a good guy who is active in Yale life with a lot of friends, he can't possibly have knowledge of New Haven issues. You are wrong. And maybe you don't mean it this way, but to me, by using the terms "cool" and "laid-back," you undermine the substance of Mike's campaign (which is considerable) and instead attribute his success to qualities that are stereotypically associated with African-Americans. Maybe your comment isn't racist, but it's certainly woefully uninformed.

Wow, I have to be honest and say that the downright mean-spirited responses of some of these commenters are making the opponents of Minh Tran look kinda bad. It turns my stomach a little to hear their attacks of what seems like a perfectly sincere op-ed. I think the vehemence also strikes me a bit odd since I can't really envision any undecided voter reacting to this kind of op-ed article so meanly, but who knows. I really hope Mike Jones and/or Katie Harrison aren't running smear campaigns.

at #5.

That is not true. People deepy involved in New Haven communities almost unanimously support Harrison. Yale communities are more Minhs thing.

In response to #5, you're an idiot.

In response to #5, you are completely wrong. That is not true in the least. Come back and see.

Don't blame the alum who hasn't been around, credit the candidates' media strategies and image campaigns.

As an apolitical person who doesn't particularly care about New Haven politics, you're very wrong, #5: I actually don't care about this election in the least, and therefore don't support *any* candidate.

I would totally have a beer with Mike Jones though.

To those campaign operatives who spend all their free time commenting on these articles: one of the rules of politics is to ignore the secondary sources and become your own source for information in controlling your message. Sniping in the little-read YDN online comments section is like preaching to the choir. Please, resist the temptation to comment. Rise above it.

They don't it this way in the real world, and the last time I checked, the Board of Aldermen was in the real world.

Mike Jones is in the race to satisfy his ego; Harrison and Tran are in it cause they actually care.

Unfortunately Mike seems to be the most popular; much of--if not most of--the student body is not politically active within New Haven and since Mike is the best "politician/" is the most social, he'll probably get it. I was talking to someone in Branford and they said, "I don't really care who wins. Every time I hear Minh of Katie talk I just want to shut them up. I'm voting for Mike. I really don't care." Sadly, this seems like the majority.

#16 you are right.

Minh and Katie are sincere. Please, those of you who can vote, vote for one of them.

I am also worried about the rudeness of what seems to be Mike Jones supporters on these comment boards. It's scary and I hope people realize what kind of supporters he has.