There were few voters today at the Ward 22 polling place at the Wexler-Grant School in Dixwell, but traffic will likely pick up between 5 and 8 p.m., Ward 22 incumbent Alderman Greg Morehead forecasted. Morehead arrived at the polls at 6 a.m. in order to greet constituents and thank them for coming out to vote. Many of those at the poll were on a first-name basis with Morehead.
Donna Turner, a Yale Custodian who has worked at Payne Whitney Gym described Morehead as a strong role model and said that she knew little about the other candidate, Cordelia Thorpe.
“[Greg Morehead] is a good alderman. I don’t know [Cordelia Thorpe]. I’ve never met her. I could tell you what she looks like because when I first moved here, she came by. That’s all I know about her,” Turner said. “Greg spends a lot of time with the youth and we need a lot of help with the youth around here. I live five or six houses down from him. I see how he is bringing up his kids.”
Morehead said this afternoon that he had heard from his campaign staffers that “a lot of my supporters are coming out and I’m doing a good job getting them out and keeping their support so I think it is going to be a good race.”
Thorpe, the other Democrat on the ballot, said she does not expect to win tonight, but she maintained that she has the experience necessary for the job because she is about ten years older than Morehead and her other opponent, write-in candidate Lisa Hopkins.
“I support the haves and have-nots, and the diverse population that is Ward 22. I am a community worker. I also want to be a friend of the students,” Thorpe said. “I’m going to run until I get it.”
And though Thorpe did not canvass on Yale’s campus, she explained that she still wants to “build our future together with Yale.”
“I did not put a huge effort to canvass at Yale, since the Yale Democrats had already made their decision to support Mr. Morehead.”