Tim Tai, Contributing Photographer

Today is Election Day in New Haven and the polls officially close at 8 p.m. across the city. Check this page for live updates throughout the night. 

For the first time since 2007, there is a Republican challenger for mayor — public school teacher John Carlson, who has pushed for an increased police presence in the city and Board of Education reform. Incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker is looking for a second term to continue his efforts to improve New Haven’s economy, expand transportation infrastructure and address the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Democrats outnumber Republicans in New Haven by 14:1, Carlson’s campaign has gained considerable traction among grassroots donors in the city. 

Also occurring today are the Board of Alders elections, which will decide the 30 ward representatives in the city’s legislative body. The majority of these races are uncontested, including in Ward 1 and Ward 7, where Yale students Alex Guzhnay ’24 and Eli Sabin ’22, respectively, are running. However, in five wards there will be a face-off between Democrats, Republicans and one Green Party candidate — located mostly on the east side of the city. Campaigns in these wards have largely revolved around the controversial renewal of Tweed airport’s lease. 

Lastly, there is a hotly contested race for District 1’s Board of Education seat, between  Democrat incumbent Edward Joyner and Republican challenger James O’Connell. 

Elicker Election Party Concludes, 10:30 p.m.

The Elicker campaign’s election night party, which took place in the outside tent of Temple Grill, became increasingly lively throughout the evening as results rolled in. 

Present in the crowd were Board of Education representative Edward Joyner and his wife, Ward 1 Alder Eli Sabin ‘22, Ward 20 Alder-Elect Devin Avshalom-Smith and a number of campaign volunteers, along with many other community members and media personnel. 

The mayor entered with his wife and children at around 9pm to deliver a victory speech in which he reflected upon his goals for the trajectory of the city, which was met with an energetic response from the audience. Elicker spoke triumphantly about the “clean Democratic sweep” that had occurred, before cake was cut and celebrations continued into the night. 

“In times of crisis, you don’t build character — your character is revealed,” said Elicker in his speech at the event. “And if we look at these past 22 months, New Haven’s character has been revealed. You look at other places and how they have responded to the challenges and you look at how New Haven has responded to the challenges that we face. We have done so with compassion and with a commitment to our values, to work together as a community… and we will continue to do so for many, many years more.” 

Current Mayoral Race Count: 9936 Elicker (D), 1638 Carlson (R), 154 Torres (Independent)

Alex Guzhnay ‘24: Tired and Excited, 10:30 p.m.

By 6 p.m. at the 133 Elm City polling station, Guzhnay told the News that he was tired but excited. 

Born and raised in Fair Haven, Gunzhnay is running an uncontested race for Ward 1 Alder, a position traditionally held by Yale students. 

“I come from a background of working class, immigrants from Ecuador,” Gunzhnay said. “I grew up back in Fair Haven, so I have deep personal experience… My parents are originally from Ecuador, so I will be able to represent my community [Ecuadorian American]. I’m also involved in community work across the city.” 

 Guzhnay said as alder he will focus on providing affordable housing and public safety. 

“It has been a long day.” Guzhnay told the News “I’m just tired, I’ve been here since 6am. But I’m excited, [I’m] looking forward to the next stage of campaigning.”

Voters, candidates head to the polls, 10:25 p.m.

BRIAN ZHANG ’25 REPORTS: According to Valerie McKinnie, this year’s absentee ballot worker for Ward 22’s polling station at 55 Foote St., about 186 residents had casted their votes by 4:00 p.m. By late evening, the number of voters trickling into the station started to dwindle. This year’s Ward 22 lone candidate for the Board of Alders is incumbent Jeanette L. Morrison. 

McKinnie, who voted for Elicker and Morrison, said she was proud to see community members of all demographics exercise civic engagement, including voters over the age of 90.

Morrison was at the front of the polling site at around 4:30 p.m., helping direct voters to the station and reminding them to attend the upcoming Q House ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 6.

“There is still a lot of work to do, and I know that there is always going to be work to do, but while I am still strong and I have what I need to infuse change, I gotta keep on pushing and … helping my community,” said Morrison.

She told the News about three of her priorities if elected: implementing “proper” practices and policies at the soon-to-reopen Q House, establishing a Dixwell tour where locals can learn about historically significant locations and people in the neighborhood and increasing employment opportunities for residents. 

CHARLOTTE HUGHES ’25 REPORTS: At City Hall, 200 Orange Street, the polling station was quiet from 4 p.m. until a little after 5 p.m., as a few senior citizens and young adults cast their votes. Voters seemed to be overwhelmingly supporting Elicker and Sabin. 

“[Elicker] is the most hands-on mayor,” Todd Lyon told the News. “I feel like he deeply, deeply cares about the city and he’s more about the people than politics.”

Rebecca Slotkin told the News that she voted for Elicker because he “hasn’t had enough time to accomplish what he wanted during the pandemic,” and for Sabin because she had met him before. 

Eleanor Roberts YLS ’22 and Angie Liao YLS ’22, pictured above, voted for Elicker and Sabin. They emphasized their support for Sabin based on his connection to the Working Families Party. Roberts also said that both candidates were “pretty good” at addressing labor issues in the city – Liao agreed. 

“I’m a moderate depending on the issue, but much more aligned to the Democratic Party these days,” Brian Murphy told the News. 

The City Hall station traffic picked up around 5:20 p.m., and most voters seemed to be in a hurry. One woman could not talk to the News because she was rushing to her night shift, and another noted that she likes the excitement of election day. 

Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Director of the M.Arch II Program Bimal Mendis ’98, ARCH ‘02 voted for the first time since becoming a U.S. citizen this summer. He was excited to “take part in the democratic process and take ownership over decisions,” and voted for Elicker in support of his environmental policy. 

HANNAH QU ’25 REPORTS: At 133 Elm Street, less than 10 people showed up between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to vote. By 8 p.m. when the polling station closed, approximately 100 people came to vote for mayor and/or Ward 1 Alder. Alex Guzhnay ‘24 is the lone candidate for alder on the ballot. 

“I voted for Elicker.” Adam Viera ’03 told the News. “I usually follow the line of the working party’s family. For Ward 1, I voted for Alex. It wasn’t particularly motivated by anything, it was just party affiliations. And he was also the only person listed on it.” 

Viera said he thought voting is his civic duty and voted for every position he can, even if it is uncontested. 

Karyn Bell, Scott Bell ’83, and Vanessa Bell said they supported Elicker because of his policy of supporting the police and community outreach.

 

William Garcia ‘24, Guzhnay’s friend, said that his experience growing up in New Haven enables him to better understand the residents here and “adjust the issues they’re facing.” Garcia, a voter with Democratic values, agreed with Viera that voting is a crucial part of civic engagement. 

MEGAN VAZ ‘25 AND SARAH FENG ‘25 REPORT: Foot traffic at the polls slowed as voting came to a close at 8:00pm.

Senior Administrative Assistant of the Department of Economics Noel Sardalla, who says he votes every year, told the News that polls were less busy this year than in previous ones. 

Sardalla pointed out that he thinks voters “stay home because they think the incumbent will win.”

“I’m hopeful the mayor will continue to put pressure on Yale to pay greater property taxes but also to meet the quotas they’ve set in terms of hiring New Haven residents,” Rachel Warne SOM ’23 said.

Voters shared that they took concerns about the city’s pandemic response, equity and New Haven’s relationship with Yale to the polls. 

Sean Bame, who voted for Elicker, emphasized his support, calling Elicker “the most ambitious mayor [he has] ever seen” in the ten years he has lived in downtown New Haven.

Elicker Declares Victory, 9:11 p.m.

Elicker arrives at his victory party at Temple Bar and Grill on Temple Street. He declares victory in the mayoral race and calls the down ballot results “a clean democratic sweep.”

BOE Results, 8:50 p.m.

4333 Joyner (D), 1143 O’Connell (R)

These results are not final, some polling stations are still counting ballots and absentee ballots remain uncounted. You can read about the race here.

Ward 18 Comes In, More from Mayoral Race [8:39]

Ward 18: 614 DeCola (D), 401 Orosco (R)

Mayoral Race: 9172 Elicker (D), 1470 Carlson (R), 125 Torres (Independent)

First Results Come in [8:30]

Ward 26: 689 Brackeen Jr. (D), 132 Van Hoesen (R)

Ward 13: 261 Santana (D), 73 Reyes (R), TK Kane (Green Party) 

Ward 20: 344 Avshalom-Smith (D), 41 Write-in 

Ward 17: 359 Punzo (D), 87 Rivera-Barrios (R)

Mayoral Race: 8212 Elicker (D), 925 Carlson (R), 110 Torres (Independent)

Justin Elicker is expected to arrive at his victory party soon. All ward results are the final counts, excluding absentee ballots.

Contributors: Brian Zhang, Hannah Qu, Megan Vaz and Charlotte Hughes