Elicker Endorses Bermúdez

by Laura Glesby

Bermúdez points out an internet antenna at Bella Vista, where some tenants are facing high utility costs.

Bermúdez and her daughter, Aveline, have “skin in the game” when it comes to the school system.

“We need someone with skin in the game,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, as he endorsed Wildaliz Bermúdez for state representative of the 97th District.

He announced the endorsement alongside 45 of Bermúdez’s supporters at a press conference at Bella Vista on Sunday afternoon, breaking from Democratic Party leadership and fellow incumbents in a state representative race for the second time this summer.

Bermúdez has served as the executive director of the city’s Fair Rent Commission since Elicker appointed her to the role in 2022. She is now running against first-term Morris Cove Alder Leland Moore, an assistant state attorney general, to represent the 97th State House district.

The district covers the east side of New Haven — from Quinnipiac Meadows to Lighthouse Point Park, including some slivers of Fair Haven. The area’s incumbent state representative, Al Paolillo, is running to replace retiring State Sen. Martin Looney.

Early voting begins on Monday. The Democratic primary election itself is on Aug. 11.

Elicker has split from the Democratic Town Committee, a majority of state legislators and alders, and labor unions in both active state representative primaries in New Haven — endorsing Eli Sabin over incumbent Pat Dillon in the 92nd District, in addition to supporting Bermúdez over Moore.

Asked about these choices later, Elicker wrote, “I support the candidate I’m most excited about and think will do the best job.”

He added, “In the 97th there are two solid candidates. Given Wildaliz’s experience and values, I enthusiastically support her.”

On Sunday, Elicker recalled appointing Bermúdez to take over the Fair Rent Commission at a time when “we weren’t doing so good as a city with the Fair Rent Commission.”

He described Bermúdez’s work to immediately raise awareness across the city about the Fair Rent Commission, leading to increased utilization, as well as to improve the commission’s data and organization. Bermúdez also worked with over 40 municipalities to build a statewide Fair Rent Commission Network.

As director of the Fair Rent Commission, Bermúdez is not a commissioner herself; she doesn’t vote on decisions about whether a rent increase is excessive, whether housing conditions are sufficiently unsafe, or whether a landlord has retaliated against a tenant. Her role is to operate the system behind the commission — from mediating landlord-tenant conflicts prior to public hearings, to fact-finding and investigating so that commissioners are informed, to educating tenants across the city about their rights.

“And now, the Fair Rent Commission is rocking it,” said Elicker. “And that is not just because Wildaliz is a very organized person… She is an unbelievably hard-working person. But most importantly, she deeply cares about people that are vulnerable in our community. And because she cares, she’s not gonna stop at some speed hump in the way.”

Elicker additionally expressed support for Bermúdez as someone who will “fight to protect our immigrant communities” and “for education funding.”

He noted that by enrolling her daughter Aveline in New Haven Public Schools, Bermúdez has a personal stake in the quality of local public education.

“I think it’s important at this time, in particular, that there’s someone that is focused on the issues that are challenging cities like ours today. And that has a track record of showing what they can do,” Elicker said. “They can point to examples that they have accomplished in their past to show the type of people they are.”

Fair Rent Commissioners Hope Vaughn and Dondré Roberts.

Elicker was joined in endorsing Bermúdez by Fair Haven Alder Frank Redente, Health Director Maritza Bond, and Fair Rent Commissioners Hope Vaughn and Dondré Roberts.

“I’ve found her to always be fair and always advocate for what’s right,” said Roberts. Bermúdez has “done a good job of mediating things,” he said.

Vaughn recalled seeing Bermúdez balance conviction and respect while standing up for constituents at Fair Rent hearings. For instance, when a landlord’s lawyer kept interrupting a tenant, Bermúdez was “forceful but classy” while ensuring that the tenant had the ability to continue, Vaughn said.

Utility Aid, Community Rooms, Elevator Upgrades

Bella Vista residents including Dee Wiley, Philomena Meyer, and Ednora Guimares spoke of roaches, elevator breakdowns.

Bermúdez intentionally held the press conference at “the biggest apartment complex in the entire city of New Haven” — Bella Vista, a privately-owned set of five high-rise apartment buildings with over 1,400 apartments, predominantly home to elderly tenants.

Bermúdez noted that residents of Bella Vista were not represented in the Democratic Town Committee (DTC)’s endorsement of Moore, since no one ran to be a DTC co-chair from Ward 11.

She said she hopes to generally be an advocate paying attention and listening to the needs of Bella Vista residents.

She described hearing from residents on fixed incomes about the rising cost of living, about the need for more community events at the apartment complex and continual concerns about broken elevators.

Bermúdez also said she would like to secure state funding for more community activities at the housing complex and for structural improvements of the buildings. She said she hopes to advocate for communal spaces, such as community rooms and libraries, to re-open for residents’ use in the apartment complex. According to Bermúdez and a number of tenants, those areas have been closed, possibly since the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to some Bella Vista tenants, such improvements are sorely needed.

Bella Vista residents Ednora Guimares, Philomena Meyer, and Dee Wiley all attended the event in support of Bermúdez.

They all said that elevators in the apartment complex frequently break down, which can lead to long wait times for any of the elevators that are still working. “God forbid an ambulance has to come,” said Meyer.

Guimares was recently stuck in an elevator for about half an hour, and she panicked to the point of needing to go to the hospital afterwards. Now, she said, “I’m scared to go up by myself.” One of her friends always rides the elevator with her.

The tenants also said that the apartment complex has a problem with cockroaches — or, as Guimares called them, “crunchy friends.”

“You don’t pay rent here, you can’t live here!” she said of the cockroaches with a laugh.

Peter Davis, a Bella Vista resident who works part time clearing debris for the Parks Department, had two other priorities for Bermúdez. “I’m really concerned about the homeless,” he said. And he hopes to see “buses running more often and to more neighborhoods.”

While there used to be a bus line (a variation of the 212 route) directly connecting Bella Vista to Downtown, that bus hasn’t been operating since 2020. Instead, CT Transit has created a bus route connecting Bella Vista to Walmart on Route 80, where residents can transfer to a number of other bus routes.

Bermúdez also cited the cost of utilities, including internet costs, as a significant concern for many of the Bella Vista residents she’s spoken with.

She has previously expressed support for more utility regulation and more publicly-owned energy infrastructure, and she said on Sunday that she believes that elderly residents should receive a discount or subsidy for internet bills.

“When I become state rep, I will not be afraid to take on those utility companies… I don’t answer to them,” she said. “I answer to you, the people. I answer to you, because your stories are worth fighting for.”