Vincent Mauro, Jr. secured a seventh two-year term as the chair of New Haven’s Democratic Town Committee (DTC) Tuesday — and is ready to make his case to fellow city residents that the party must be more than just anti-Trump. Wary of the catchwords “generational change,” Mauro is also cl osely watching several hotly contested Democratic primaries across Connecticut to see which candidates prove to voters that they’re the best pick for the job because of their passion, energy, and commitment — and not just their age. In that vein, Mauro said he’s “absolutely” supporting 21-term incumbent State Rep. Patricia Dillon, 77, in her race against challengers Eli Sabin, 26, and Justin Farmer, 31, for the Democratic nomination for a state house seat that covers Westville, West River, Edgewood, and the Hill. “She absolutely still has the fire in the belly to do the job,” Mauro said about Dillon. Mauro, 52, won reelection as chair of the local party during a DTC meeting at the Betsy Ross Parish House on Kimberly Avenue Tuesday. A veteran of New Haven and Connecticut Democratic politics and a consultant with McCarter English, he’s the party’s second-longest serving chair — after his late uncle Arthur Barbieri, who spent three decades in the role. His father, the late Vincent Mauro, also served as Democratic town chair in the 1980s. Also on Tuesday night, Audrey Tyson and Scott Marks were elected as the New Haven DTC’s vice chairs, according to Mauro. In an interview with the Independent on Wednesday, Mauro said that, for the last decade, the Democratic Party nationwide has defined itself by what it’s against: Donald Trump. “That works well for elections,” Mauro said, “but it doesn’t offer people a solution to a problem. It’s an answer that doesn’t include what you mean” when you say you’re a Democrat. In New Haven, he said, the Democratic Party stands for more than just what it’s against. “It’s about affordability. It’s about partnership. It’s about working-class people, how to protect working-class neighborhoods.” People who grew up in New Haven are finding it increasingly difficult to afford buying a house or paying rent, he said. “We’re forcing people out of the city.” The Democratic Party needs to focus on addressing that affordability crisis, Mauro argued. He pointed to bill after bill backed by his former boss, New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney, as offering “a tutorial in what good progressive policies are” — from “standing for workers’ rights, fair taxation,” and advocating for New Haven to be fairly reimbursed by the state for all of its tax-exempt land and all of the services it provides for the surrounding region. Mauro said he plans to prioritize reaching out to the droves of new people who have moved into New Haven in recent years — in particular to the hundreds of new apartments that have popped up atop formerly vacant lots in and around downtown. These new residents likely haven’t yet “decided whether they’re part of the New Haven community,” he said. Many newcomers likely still vote in their home states — recognizing that, in our hyper-nationalized political culture, a vote in Pennsylvania or Ohio is more consequential every four years than a vote in Connecticut. “What we need to do here is” encourage these new city residents to “be part of the community here, join a board or commission, join not just the marches with Indivisible, but be part of the fabric of the community.” Asked about why so many ward co-chair candidates failed to secure enough signatures this year to guarantee their nominations for the neighborhood-level party roles, Mauro said that most towns “do an endorsed slate.” They don’t require ward co-chair hopefuls to get petitions and knock on doors and gather signatures. New Haven’s Democratic Party requires that extra legwork to make sure party leaders connect with people they’re hoping to represent. Mauro said he’ll be talking with neighborhood leaders and ward co-chair hopefuls in the weeks ahead to figure out who to appoint to the various wards that do not yet have co-chairs in place. As for races around the city and state he’s watching closely, Mauro said that he’s backing Dillon in the 92nd district contest — even as he praised primaries as making all candidates better. Mauro said that Sabin, a former East Rock/Downtown alder and current Yale Law School student who grew up in East Rock, has “an amazing educational pedigree.” He said that Farmer, a former Hamden Town Council member and longtime social-justice advocate, “is just a wonderful human being.” Mauro said that this primary gives Dillon “a chance for her to show people all the stuff she’s actually done and continues to do. We sometimes take for granted the amount of work that goes into the jobs they have in Hartford. “I think it’s an opportunity for her to say government also isn’t for novices. Government is sometimes about the grind and the hard work and the long hours and the compromise for the greater good. Pat has done that. She absolutely has the fire in her to continue.” In regards to other Connecticut Democratic primary contests currently playing out, Mauro described First Congressional District challenger and former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin — who’s looking to unseat incumbent Democrat John Larson — as “a brilliant individual” and someone he’s known for 20 years. He said that that Hartford district, which fellow Democrat Jillian Gilchrist is also looking to represent, would be well served if Bronin were in Congress. As for the Democratic primary race between two-term incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont and Hamden State Rep. and challenger Josh Elliott, Mauro said, “I’ll give Josh a lot of credit. He’s saying things that people want to hear. I think there’s a progressive part of this party that feels starved for some statewide attention.” If Lamont wants a third four-year term as governor, Mauro said, “you have to show people why you want that third term. It’s not about age per se. It’s about the burning desire to do the job.” The post Mauro Reelected Dem Chair, Backs Dillon In Contested Primary appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less