Moderator Maya Gant: “It’s been a good turnout.” On one side of the curtain in the Beecher School gymnasium, kids practiced teamwork while playing basketball in phys ed. On the other side of the curtain, voters streamed in and out to vote in a ward co-chair race that modeled good sports manship. By approximately 2:15 p.m., 74 of 1,057 registered Democrats residing in Beaver Hills’ Ward 29 had cast their ballots. They chose between two pairs of candidates vying to represent the ward on the Democratic Town Committee: Alexandra Taylor and Jorge Lopes or Bryanna Wingate and Betty Alford. As the party struggled to find enough candidates in several wards, the race in Ward 29 was one of two competitive co-chair elections to unfold on Tuesday, alongside Ward 3 in the Hill. A co-chair’s responsibilities include engaging residents with the local party and its platform, picking neighborhood Democrats to serve on their respective ward committees, and casting endorsement votes for the party’s nominees for alder, mayor, and other local elected positions. It’s also often a springboard for people looking to run for alder in the future.  The Ward 29 race was notable for the spirit of good sportsmanship and mutual respect between the two slates of candidates. The candidates reflected on similar visions for civic culture in Beaver Hills beneath separate blue tents, side by side, that protected them from Tuesday’s sleet. At least one candidate per team had been outside since around 5 in the morning. Ian Dunn (pictured with Bryanna Wingate) arrives with a space heater. Wingate and Alford kept warm with the help of hand warmers and — by mid-afternoon, a portable space heater delivered by local Unite Here spokesperson Ian Dunn. (Affiliates of Unite Here were supporting Alford and Wingate, along with Ward 29 Alder Brian Wingate, who is Wingate’s father.) Taylor said her experience running for co-chair has inspired her to advocate for others to run for office. “Don’t be afraid of the outcome,” she said, “because you will always win.” In other words: the process of running and providing voters with a choice is a victory. She was echoed, unprompted, by Alford and Wingate. “We’re all winners,” said Alford. “It’s true,” agreed Wingate. Wingate said that while she was knocking on doors in the neighborhood, she witnessed neighbors “happy to see there was a race happening. They liked the democratic process.” Facing opponents in an election is “part of the job” of co-chair, as Wingate sees it. She welcomed the election, adding, “there should be more races” across the city. Alford said that most of the conversations she’s had with voters in the ward have centered around housing. “Rent is sky high. People can’t afford it,” she said. She also reported hearing calls for “more funding for the schools” and “making Yale pay their fair share.” While Wingate described encountering election enthusiasm from voters, Taylor and Lopes spoke of seeing reluctance amongst community members to participate in elections. “It’s difficult to have people come out and vote because they’ve lost hope for change,” said Taylor. “They are disillusioned with the political process. A lot of them feel left out,” added Lopes. He sought to “listen to folks that aren’t interested” in voting and to “let them know that they have a voice just like everyone else.” For most elections of the past 26 years, Lopes has worked as the Beecher School polling place moderator. “It’s strange to see you on the outside!” one voter called out to him as she walked by. Another mid-afternoon voter, 15-year neighborhood resident Harriet Acquah, said she didn’t know either of the candidates very well. She voted anyway, because she believed it was her “responsibility” to participate as a voter. “I decided to vote for the women because I want to support women” running for office, said Acquah. Harriet Acquah: Voting is a “responsibility.” Inside the school gymnasium, meanwhile, moderator Maya Gant oversaw the team of poll workers on one side of a massive curtain. The sound of kids running around and shrieking with what sounded like delight echoed from the other side of the curtain. The eighth graders playing basketball earlier in the day had been quieter, noted Gant with a smile. Around 2 p.m., it was time for the little kids to play a game that involved lots of running. “It’s been a good turnout,” reflected Gant. The race is “such a good reflection of what politics should look like in New Haven,” she added. “Both candidates have been great.” The post Co-Chair Candidates Celebrate Civic Duty appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less