Four and a half months into his first term as Morris Cove alder, Leland Moore is running for a newly open state representative seat. Moore, who represents the Cove’s Ward 18 on the Board of Alders, filed his candidacy with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) on Monday to run for the 97th District state representative seat. The seat is currently held by Al Paolillo Jr., who is running this year for the 11th District state senate seat currently held by soon-to-retire senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney. Wildaliz Bermúdez, a Fair Haven resident and former Hartford City Council member who has served as New Haven’s Fair Rent Commission director for the last four years, is also running for the 97th District seat. Both candidates have filed to run as Democrats. The New Haven Democratic Town Committee (DTC) will vote on which candidate to endorse at a meeting on Thursday evening. The party-endorsed candidate will be guaranteed a spot on the Aug. 11 Democratic primary ballot, while the other candidate will need petition signatures from at least 5 percent of registered Democrats in the district in order to participate in the primary. “The City of New Haven and its residents are facing a lot of serious challenges,” Moore said in a phone interview Monday night, especially around “affordability with gas, with rent, with housing. People are struggling. This district deserves good representation, and I have almost a decade of experience working at the Capitol, working at the state.” Moore currently works as an assistant attorney general in the state attorney general’s office. He confirmed on Monday that he would need to give that job up if elected state representative, due to the state’s “dual job ban” barring legislators from employment in the judicial or executive branches. However, Moore would hypothetically be able to serve as both an alder and a state representative at the same time. In fact, Paolillo did just that when he was first elected to state office in 2016, spending his first year as state representative doubling as an alder for the Annex’s Ward 17. “I would continue to serve as alder for the forseeable future” if elected state representative, Moore said. “I want to make sure the community is well served.” Asked why he has decided to run for state representative less than half a year after taking office as alder, Moore said, “I didn’t foresee this opportunity coming. It wasn’t on my bingo card. I ran for alder because I love serving the community … I see the state representative role as a similar role. When I found out there was this opportunity available, I decided to pursue it to help my community.” Moore, 37, grew up in Massachussetts and has resided in parts of Hamden and New Haven for the past 15 years. He has previously worked as the legislative advisor for the Board of Pardons and Paroles and as the staff attorney for the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. In his first few months as alder, Moore has started a Ward 18 newsletter and has advocated for further environmental review and constituent benefits related to Tweed Airport’s impending expansion. He recently split from a majority of his colleagues by voting against the city’s acquisition of the contaminated English Station power plant, eyed by the mayor for a park and outdoor pool. Asked if there are any specific policy proposals he would back on day one if elected to, for example, address concerns around housing and gas affordability, he said, “I think we’ve got to look at everything on the table. Part of that is bringing resources to the table.” He credited the city’s current state delegation for doing “a really good job bringing funding to the city.” Dereen Shirnekhi contributed to this report. The post New Cove Alder Enters State Rep Race appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less