Westville Ward 25 Democrats Debate Democracy Before 92nd District Vote
Westville Ward 25 Democrats spent Sunday debating democracy at Edgewood Park’s Coogan Pavilion, where Janis Underwood and Adam Marchand said there would not be a binding vote before Thursday’s New Haven Democratic Town Committee endorsement meeting for the 92nd District state representative race.
About 40 people attended the meeting, which was called to hear from Democratic candidates for elected office and decide how the ward’s voices would reach the city endorsement meeting. The three Democrats seeking the nomination are incumbent State Rep. Patricia Dillon, Eli Sabin, and Justin Farmer, and all three live in Ward 25.
Ward 25’s voting practice
Ward 25 has used a binding committee vote in six elections since 2013, with all committee members voting and the co-chairs casting endorsement ballots based on that result. In 2013, a Ward 25 co-chair cast a vote at a local convention that differed from his personal preference because of the ward committee vote.
Nicholas Neeley argued for keeping that approach, saying, “We were the only one in the city that did that. It was a point of pride that we did it that way.” Ward 7’s Democratic committee has also adopted the practice of a binding vote, but Underwood said the formal vote was not a “tradition” and said there was not enough time to plan a vote this year.
Sabin supporters press the point
Sabin supporters called for a binding vote to preserve what they described as the ward’s democratic tradition. Ina Silverman, a former Alder and Sabin supporter, brought Marchand a bag containing three pieces of paper and three pens so the co-chairs could conduct a vote.
Marchand declined. “I won’t do that,” he said, ending the exchange without a tally.
Thursday in New Haven
The dispute matters because Ward 25 usually turns out more voters than any of New Haven’s other 29 wards, and the 92nd District race is the city’s most contested state legislative race this year. The district includes parts of Amity, Westville, Edgewood, Dwight, West River, and the Hill, making the ward’s endorsement process a direct part of how the citywide Democratic vote will be shaped.
The city endorsement meeting was scheduled for Thursday, and the ward’s decision leaves Underwood and Marchand to carry the committee’s position into that meeting without a binding ballot from Sunday’s gathering.
