The race in Ward 22 is a little quieter this time around.
Jeanette Morrison, who defeated incumbent Greg Morehead in the September Democratic primary on a wave of support from Yale students, is facing off against challenger Cordelia Thorpe. Thus far, the Ward 22 election has shown a smaller turnout than last month’s four-way race in which Morrison, a union-backed candidate, received 355 votes to Thorpe’s four.
Morrison, who organized a Dixwell clean-up last month that tidied up the main thoroughfare of Ward 22, pinned the low turnout on the high-stakes primary and the prevalence of absentee voting.
“I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback and seen a lot of familiar faces,” Morrison said. “The primary was such a success, and people have told me that they liked the community clean up.”
Thorpe, who showed up to the primary with relatively little support, came prepared this time. Her supporters at the polls were more than double those of Morrison’s, and she sat at a table filled with campaign literature, which include a picture of Thorpe with Jesse Jackson and a letter from State Senator Tony Harp to “show that [Thorpe] is well-connected.”
Thorpe said she did not know how the race’s numbers looked, but said that she had seen a lot of her supporters come out to vote.
“Democracy is running its course,” Thorpe said. “I’m just working hard. Hopefully it will pay off.”
The polls for Ward 22 are located at Wexler/Grant Community School, with Yale Dems-sponsored shuttles for students leaving from Timothy Dwight and Silliman every hour. Polls will remain open until 8 p.m.