Leo Nyberg, Contributing Photographer

The candidates competing to represent Fair Haven’s Ward 16 on the Board of Alders share similar priorities and promises for the neighborhood — but their campaign styles are polar opposites.

Magda Natal earned the Democratic nomination after ten-year incumbent Alder José Crespo dropped out in August. Rafael Fuentes Jr., a Democrat for most of his life, is running on the Independent Party’s ballot line. Early voting for this year’s municipal elections is underway, and Election Day is Tuesday.

Crespo spoke at an August press conference for Natal’s campaign. He told the News he generally supports Democrats but was not endorsing a candidate.

Both Fuentes and Natal said they want to clean up the streets, increase neighborhood engagement with politics and advocate for Fair Haven. Fuentes is a life-long Fair-Havener who owns Auto Authority, a repair shop specializing in race cars. Natal teaches English as a second language to students at Wilbur Cross High School in East Rock.

Fuentes runs an unconventional campaign

Fuentes said he is taking a relaxed approach to his campaign, relying on his knowledge of Fair Haven and the neighborhood’s familiarity with him, to carry him over the finish line.

For Fuentes, public safety in the ward is personal. The candidate said he has family members who have been killed in the city.

“I’m what they call a Fair Haven baby,” Fuentes said. “I’ve lived my whole life in this neighborhood and I will die for this neighborhood.”

While Fuentes largely aligns with the Democratic Party on issues like immigration and opposition to the Trump administration, he is highly critical of New Haven Democrats and Mayor Justin Elicker. Fuentes displays signs supporting his campaign and Republican Steve Orosco’s bid for mayor on the fence of Auto Authority. He uses expletives and derogatory language to refer to Elicker, Crespo and the Democratic and Republican Parties.

He said the Board of Alders needs significant change and a break from one-party Democratic dominance. Fuentes is running with the Independent Party but said he regrets not running on the Green Party ticket.

Fuentes described his frustration with city services. After delays from the city, Fuentes said, he picked up syringes left by a bus stop himself and put them down a manhole cover. Fuentes said he once stepped on a needle, injuring himself.

Although he supports Orosco for mayor, he disagrees with Orosco’s hardline stance on Yale. Fuentes said had back surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, which he said saved his ability to walk.

Fuentes is fighting an uphill battle in a ward where Democrats have dominated electoral politics for the past ten years.

“I don’t care if I win,” Fuentes said. “I’ve been handed a lot of injustices by this city, and the only way I can do it is just give ’em the two middle fingers and fix the city and show their incompetence.”

Natal wants to increase neighborhood engagement and clean up the streets 

Natal told the News she has been knocking on doors and campaigning throughout most of the summer and into the fall. She said her main priorities will be cleaning the streets, education and trimming trees.

Natal has support from the New Haven Federation of Teachers Local 933 and the Democratic Party.

Dave Weinreb, a teacher and Fair Haven activist, supported Natal’s primary challenge against Crespo and is continuing his support in the general election.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is absolutely one candidate in this race,” Weinreb said. “Magda Natal is the person I’m expecting to win the role of alder and is the person who has absolutely worked for it.”

Both Natal and Weinreb were critical of Crespo’s aldermanic career, citing unresponsiveness and infrequent attendance at alder meetings.

“It’s a ward that hasn’t been well represented,” Natal said in a phone interview.

Weinreb said Crespo “radiated neglect.”

Crespo disputed these accounts and said many people in Fair Haven “do not entirely share this perspective.” He listed accomplishments in crime reduction, healthcare for immigrants and services for drug addicts.

As a teacher at Wilbur Cross, New Haven’s largest high school, Natal is an employee of the Board of Education. All city employees are barred from serving as alders, with an exception for teachers.

“I would have to recuse myself for things that come up for the Board of Education, but I don’t think that’s a hindrance in any way,” Natal said. “If anything, I think I could be a voice for education, being a teacher and knowing what our needs are.”

At Wilbur Cross, Natal focuses on students who are learning English as a second language and teaches them to communicate and write more fluently.

Fair Haven has a large Latino and immigrant population.

“It’s a fine thing, and actually a really exciting thing to have someone who understands what’s happening in schools also serving in a position of leadership,” Weinreb said.

Ward 16 includes stretches of Grand Avenue and Chapel Street in Fair Haven.