Zoe Berg

The Yalies running to represent downtown New Haven in the Board of Alders have caught the attention of classmates who aren’t eligible to vote for them. 

Three undergraduate candidates, Norah Laughter ’26, Rhea McTiernan Huge ’27 and Elias Theodore ’27, have thrown their hats in the ring to represent Ward 1 on New Haven’s Board of Alders. Earlier this month, all three candidates successfully petitioned to appear on the ballot of the Democratic primary election, which will take place Sept. 9.

Six residential colleges, Benjamin Franklin, Morse, Pauli Murray, Silliman, Ezra Stiles and Timothy Dwight, are outside the bounds of Ward 1, the district in New Haven which most encompasses Yale and is typically represented by an undergraduate. Despite this, the three Yalies running for Ward 1 alder have courted students with social media campaigns and tabling events regardless of what college they call home. 

Ward 1 encompasses eight of Yale’s 14 residential colleges and all of Old Campus, where most first-year undergraduates reside. The district also includes about half of the New Haven Green. The other six colleges are in Ward 22, which is represented by Alder Jeanette Morrison and also encompasses the Dixwell neighborhood. 

Morrison, who has represented Ward 22 for 14 years, said she has noticed heightened student engagement in this year’s Ward 1 alder race, which is unusually competitive. While she doesn’t believe the race has fundamentally changed levels of student engagement with New Haven, she said it has stimulated increased attention to local politics. 

“I wouldn’t say there’s been a major shift in how students engage,” Morrison said in a phone interview. “What I see is an onset of involvement: Students are becoming more aware that they have opportunities to participate in local politics, even if they are not directly voting in Ward 1.”

Campaigns like Laughter’s, which include both student and local volunteers, reflect the race’s ability to encourage student engagement with New Haven, Morrison said. Still, she said that the Ward 1 election has not significantly impacted levels of student engagement with Ward 22’s politics.

Morrison cultivates relationships with Yale students in her district by appointing student co-chairs to represent Ward 22 on the Democratic Town Committee and by holding meetings at the six residential colleges within her ward. She said this structure allows students to learn about local government and helps her build stronger connections between Yale and New Haven. 

While many undergraduates’ needs  — such as housing and dining — are met on campus, Morrison noted that graduate students and off-campus students tend to interact with her office more directly, particularly when navigating issues like landlord disputes or rental conditions. 

Although Zach Pan ’27, a junior in Ezra Stiles College, cannot vote in the Ward 1 election, he said he has followed the race closely, spoken with several candidates and plans to attend campaign events. He said that seat carries weight beyond Ward 1 because of its role shaping Yale’s relationship to the city. 

“Even though I live outside Ward 1, I believe the alder will have a pivotal role to play in ensuring the University properly funds New Haven,” Pan said. “That is what motivates a lot of my interest and participation in the electoral process.” 

Tajrian Khan ’27, a junior in Benjamin Franklin College, said he has been following the Ward 1 alder race closely despite not living in the ward or being able to vote in the election. 

“I’ve read the YDN and New Haven Independent features on each candidate,” Khan wrote in a text message. “I’ve been seeing Elias’s campaign all over Instagram. I’ve also seen him speaking to voters in person all over Ward 1, as well as helping new voters register.” 

Khan, who was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said his experiences studying urban planning and volunteering in New Haven have deepened his understanding of the city’s politics and made him more attentive to the race. 

Like Pan, he feels that municipal decisions made by the Board of Alders impact students across campus, regardless of where they live. While he does not plan to attend any in-person campaign events, he said he will continue following the candidates platforms closely. 

Miriam Levenson ’29, a lifelong resident of the New Haven area and a student in Silliman, said she first learned about the Ward 1 alder race through social media, where she frequently saw campaign videos, especially from Theodore. 

Though Levenson later learned that her Silliman address disqualifies her from voting in Ward 1, she said the visibility of the campaigns still motivated her to pay closer attention to local politics. 

“I was planning to vote in the election, though I hadn’t decided on my candidate,” Levenson wrote in an email to the News. “I found out that I’m not going to be directly involved in the race, but I’m still excited to know what Yale students can be involved in the city I love, and that they want to be. Every poster, table or video I see about the Ward 1 race reminds me to be involved in local politics.” 

Levenson added that she views the Ward 1 alder role as an important bridge between Yale students and New Haveners, both practically and symbolically. 

Citing issues like housing, transportation and Yale’s voluntary contributions to the city, Levenson emphasized that the alder’s influence extends beyond Ward 1 and affects the broader Yale community. 

Although she did not know her alder’s name when asked by the News, Levenson said the race has pushed her to feel “more responsible” for learning about her ward’s representation and becoming informed about local government. She added that the contest has motivated her to consider deeper civic engagement, even expressing interest in running for a city position in the future. 

The Board of Alders meets at New Haven’s City Hall, located at 165 Church St.