Henry Liu, Contributing Photographer

With dollar-sign socks on, fighter-turned-mayoral candidate Steve Orosco was “ready to rumble” with Manu Anpalagan ’26 and five other members of the Yale College Republicans at a public conversation Wednesday night about his bid for mayor against incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker.

In one of his last chances to appeal to voters at Yale before election day on Tuesday, the Republican nominee spoke about many of the issues facing the city, including crime, public education and affordability. He criticized Elicker, while emphasizing his working class roots. Early voting in the election began last week.

“I love disruption,” Orosco told the audience.

He vowed to push for “genuinely affordable housing” — not just market rate units — and promised to “fund the police” to address crime in the city.

Orosco also highlighted the need for transparency within the Board of Education in New Haven, citing the low testing rates of New Haven public school students.

He emphasized the discrepancy between the literacy of public school students in the city and the prestigious reputation of Yale.

Orosco also personally attacked Elicker, especially regarding the differences in their upbringing. Orosco grew up in a poor neighborhood of Newport, R.I., he said. 

“Elicker is too scared to walk the streets by himself,” Orosco said. “If you’re going to be a leader of a place, you can’t be scared of your residents.”

In a debate between the two candidates earlier this month, Elicker defended his record and criticized what he described as Orosco’s lack of engagement with the New Haven community.

“I’ve gone to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of meetings, and I have seen Mr. Orosco once in over a decade of heavy involvement in the city,” Elicker said at the debate. “We need someone that doesn’t just run for office all the time. We need someone that does, and that’s what I am.”

Orosco’s platform of disruption resonated with Diego Victoria ’27, a member of the Yale College Republicans. Growing up Republican in a blue city, he said he affirmed the importance of holding contrarian opinions.

“It’s always nice to have a dissenting voice,” he said. “New Haven is a city that needs a lot of change, and the only way to do that is to go away from the orthodoxy.”

At the close of his third term as mayor, Elicker’s support runs deep in New Haven. Many residents trust his ability to tackle the hard issues.

Wooster Square freelance journalist Frank Rizzo praised Elicker after voting early on Tuesday at City Hall. 

“The statistics have gone down dramatically,” he said of crime in the city. “He also listens. My husband and I reached out to him for a number of matters, and he got right back to us personally.”

Other voters share approval of the incumbent mayor’s vision for the city. “New Haven is becoming very vibrant,” East Rock resident Andrea Connachi said after voting early on Tuesday. “You’re seeing all the energy, whether it’s the restaurants or building new structures so people have places to live.”

Anpalagan said he appreciated Orosco coming to Yale despite the small size of the Yale College Republicans, attributing Orosco’s visit to his respect and genuine belief in his own policy proposals. 

“It’s not just about winning an election,” Anpalagan said. “For him, he actually believes in things he says, and he’s genuine. He’s true to himself and to the people that he speaks with.” 

Victoria emphasized the importance of his coming to campus to inform Yale students about local issues.

“A lot of Yale students, myself included, are not from the local area, let alone know the issues or things that are happening outside of campus,” Victoria said. 

Anpalagan said that events like this foster ongoing dialogue, encourage students to speak their minds and help connect national political issues to local concerns that Yalies can engage with. 

“Even at a place like Yale, which is obviously not like a big southern state school where a Turning Point USA chapter or a College Republicans chapter would have like 200 people, it’s important to go everywhere and have these conversations,” he said.

Yale College Republicans has been active since January 2024, according to Anpalagan.