Incumbent Democrat Seeks 7th Term In Contested Clerk’s Race

by Thomas Breen The New Haven independent

New Haveners can now get an email heads up every time a property record is filed under their name — thanks to a fraud detection system implemented by the city clerk’s office earlier this year.

City Clerk Michael Smart, a six-term incumbent Democrat who is running for reelection on Nov. 4, pointed to that email alert system as one of the new initiatives he’s most proud of from his past two years in office.

He said it also exemplifies the type of transparency and public communication he seeks to foster in his long-time leadership of the local elected office charged with records management and absentee ballot processing.

Smart is a lifelong New Havener and former Wooster Square alder who first stepped into the role of city/town clerk 12 years ago.

He’s running for reelection to another two-year term in the general election on Nov. 4. (Early voting has already begun.)

Smart, who is both the Democratic and Working Families Party nominee, faces a challenge this year from Republican Party candidate Deborah Reyes-Quinones.

Reyes-Quinones did not respond to interview requests by the publication time of this article. Click here and here to read previous articles about Reyes-Quinones from when she ran for alder for Ward 13 in 2021 and 2023.

“Deborah Reyes Quinones is more than qualified for the City Clerk position,” Republican Town Committee Chair (and current school board candidate) John Carlson told the Independent on Friday. “Her work history is filled with administration, record keeping, working with the public, and numerous other functions needed for the City Clerk position. Her character, commitment to family, and community spirit will, no doubt, be an asset to the office and ensure the public that absentee ballots are properly handled.”

Update: On Saturday afternoon, Reyes-Quinones sent the Independent a text message comment stating that, if elected, she would make sure every New Haven resident “is treated fairly when it comes to their voting rights and their privacy.” She also said that her duty would be to make sure that “every voice is heard and everything that is presented to the mayors office has light shed on it.”

The city clerk’s office’s responsibilities include filing and maintaining key papers like claims and suits against the city; land records like mortgages, quit claims, and liens; documents related to all notaries and justices of the peace; licenses like liquor permits and trade name certificates; and alderperson legislation and city ordinances, among other documents. The clerk also prepares and distributes absentee ballots.

The office has a staff of eight. Smart spoke with pride on Friday about not just how capable his team is, but also about how his office doesn’t have any vacancies. He said that puts them in a strong position going into next year’s federal mid-term elections, when he expects more voters to be casting absentee ballots than in this year’s municipal contest.

Smart said that more than 100 people have already signed up for the fraud alert system, which sends registrants an email every time a deed is filed on the city’s land records under their name. Fortunately, he said, the system hasn’t turned up any examples of fraudulent filings yet.

“I want to continue to do great work” and prioritize “transparency” in the services the city clerk’s office provides, Smart said. That means continuing to encourage adoption of the fraud alert system and of absentee ballot voting; continuing to work closely with the Board of Alders and city staff; continuing to be present for New Haveners in the clerk’s second-floor office at 200 Orange St. to help with all city records-related matters.

Smart noted that the clerk’s office has been open the past two Saturdays — and will be open this Saturday, too, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — to help voters with their absentee ballots.