Lukas Flippa

Both incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker and Republican challenger Steve Orosco have zeroed in on local crime in the lead-up to Tuesday’s mayoral contest.

Since Elicker was elected in 2019, crime in three major categories — homicides, shots fired and non-fatal shootings — has decreased, according to an Aug. 10 report by the New Haven Police Department.

While crime has decreased under Elicker’s watch, Orosco said the mayor has overlooked crime in the communities that are most impacted. If crime came to East Rock, Elicker’s neighborhood, “they’d shut that shit down in a minute,” Orosco added.

“He’s worried about if his kid’s wearing his helmet on his scooter,” Orosco said. “It’s ignorance. I’m from this environment, I’m from these communities, I understand these communities.”

Raised in Newport, R.I., Orosco moved to New Haven in 2002 to pursue a master’s at Albertus Magnus College. He left the city in 2009 and returned in 2019. A Connecticut native, Elicker moved to New Haven in 2008 to attend the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, since renamed the School of the Environment.

In a phone interview with the News, Elicker characterized Orosco’s claims about crime as “a Donald Trump tactic to just make up things and create a fake narrative.” He also noted that in his years as mayor, he had “never seen Mr. Orosco do anything to help address crime in our city.”

“My opponent appears to be making up all kinds of things and putting it all over social media. I’m straight with New Haven residents,” Elicker added.

Elicker emphasized his efforts to mitigate crime, which included increasing violence interruption programs, youth jobs and support to small businesses.

“Nobody wants to work for Elicker; that’s the problem,” Orosco said, attributing an officer shortage in the city’s police department to Elicker’s handling of crime. “He’s not backed the blue.”

If elected, Orosco’s plan to reduce crime is to “fully fund the police,” he said. “We have a shortage of 100 police officers,” he said. According to Sept. 4 data shared with the News by Sgt. Paul Finch, the NHPD currently has 49 officer vacancies.

Officer Christian Bruckhart, an NHPD spokesperson, said Elicker deserves “a share of credit” for New Haven’s decrease in crime because of his cooperation with the police department.

“I don’t think anybody can claim credit or take blame for larger, macro trends that are happening in the country,” Bruckhart said in a phone interview.

“It’s fair to say that the mayor has been broadly receptive to things that might have been considered controversial,” Bruckhart said, referring to the police department’s implementation of new drone and camera technology.

In a phone interview, Elicker cited the new NHPD contract finalized in 2024 as an initiative that has contributed to crime reduction. The contract includes a nearly $20,000 increase in starting salaries for officers, as well as reduced hours, with a switch to a five days on, three days off work cycle.

Looking ahead to a potential fourth term, Elicker said he anticipated “increased challenges” with crime.

“Some of the things we’re struggling with are around a withdrawal of federal resources,” Elicker said. “When people lose those federal resources,” he said, they have to “resort to sometimes desperate measures.”

The News polled 20 New Haveners at City Hall’s early voting polls downtown last week. Six residents said they considered crime an important issue in the election.

Matthew Feiner, a founder of the local nonprofit Elm City Cycling, said he supported Elicker and that he had been personally impacted by violent crime.

“I had a friend killed by gun violence. It feels like yesterday. A friend of mine that was working for me at the time got killed,” Feiner said. “Homicides are the outcome of a bigger problem, right? Lack of education system, lack of support for kids. We are in dire times.”

Miche Palmer, 43, a forester, also cited crime as a key issue.

They said that the city should focus on the root causes of crime, such as unemployment and mental health.

“I think addressing crime aggressively with more violence and more show of force is not the way to go,” Palmer said.

Five voters said that though New Haven has a reputation for high crime, they have not been greatly affected by the issue.

According to Elicker, his administration has taken a holistic approach to crime.

“We try to learn from other cities,” he said, adding that “we’re trying to look at all different stages of someone’s involvement with the criminal justice system.”

Early voting in the mayoral race ended on Sunday.

Sasha Cabral and Anya Mahajan contributed reporting.