Katie Harrison ’11 plans to announce her candidacy today for the Ward 1 seat on the Board of Aldermen.

Harrison, a member of the Undergraduate Organizing Committee and the Yale Responsible Endowment Project, will seek a spot on the ballot for the April 17 Ward 1 Democratic Endorsement vote. Currently, only one other person, Saybrook sophomore Mike Jones ’11, has announced he will run.

Harrison’s campaign will center on sustainable economic development and immigrant rights, Anna Robinson-Sweet ’11, Harrison’s campaign manager, said Wednesday afternoon.

Specifically, Robinson-Sweet said, Harrison will work to negotiate community benefits agreements with all the major developments in the city to ensure that they provide employment opportunities for local residents. Harrison will also work to expand the Elm City Resident Card program, a project that is currently “threatened” by the fact that only 7,000 New Haven residents currently have a card, Robinson-Sweet said.

“The focus of Katie’s campaign is going to be on community involvement in city government and getting the city government to be proactive in getting things done, as opposed to waiting for state aid,” Robinson-Sweet said. “The Elm City ID is a success story of the city government standing up for itself.”

Chris Magoon ’12, Jones’ communications coordinator, said their campaign welcomes the “more open forum” brought about by the challenge of Harrison entering the aldermanic race.

“The idea is that anytime there is more competition, it tends to make for more intelligent conversation,” Magoon said. “We’re glad the issues will be talked about more.”

Harrison decided that she would run for the Ward 1 aldermanic seat two weeks ago, Robinson-Sweet said. Since that time, she has been meeting with community activists and working to create a policy platform.

Robinson-Sweet maintained that Harrison’s campaign is not a reaction to Jones’ candidacy; Harrison simply wants to make sure that her ideas are heard, Robinson-Sweet said.

“I think Katie’s going to try to run a positive race,” Robinson-Sweet said. “It’s not about Mike and his faults, as much as it’s about Katie having her own ideas that she wants to put forward.”

Harrison will officially announce her candidacy tonight at a campaign kickoff event in Berkeley common room at 8 p.m. Harrison did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The registration deadline to seek the Ward 1 Democratic endorsement is Feb. 27.

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