Hamden mayoral candidates Lauren Garrett (D) and Ron Gambardella (R) clashed over crime, economic development and each other at the first mayoral debate on Oct. 13.
The candidates began the debate by discussing their extensive histories in Hamden, before diving into taxes and economic development. Both candidates agreed that the town can benefit from plans to use green energy, like solar panels and windmills, as well as the need for more sidewalks, sewers and road paving.
They also agreed on teaming up with Quinnipiac University to create walkable communities and reinventing Hamden’s shopping malls and economic centers.
Gambardella explained his plans to conduct an operational audit and take inspiration from other municipalities, as well as implement zero-based budgeting into the budgeting process. The process would involve beginning the budget process with zero dollars allocated, and building the budget from there.
Garrett touted the benefits that cannabis dispensaries could bring to Hamden and proposed beautifying the town in order to bring more people into Hamden. Garrett also named a need for competitive contract bidding, which she alleges has not happened for some contracts in decades due to political connections.
Both candidates proposed reforms to the police union contract. Garrett wants to reduce the high costs associated with provisions of the contract, like those requiring officers drive for the majority of their patrols, while Gambardella wants to hire part-time officers to take over some of the force’s responsibilities.
Gambardella believes that having part-time officers take over routine duties for full-time officers can improve shopping in Hamden where, he claims, “people are saying they don’t feel safe.”
“Criminals are opportunistic,” Gambardella said. “They see that there’s a reduction in police presence. Then they’re going to take the opportunities to enhance their positions in the town. If you’re weak on crime it encourages more crime, not less crime.”
Garrett said she believes that the solution isn’t to increase police presence, but to increase economic development and that crime will go down after. She did agree that Hamden contractually must hire more police, and that she thinks more officers will be hired soon.
“I want them to know that I care about (crime), and I want to make them feel safe,” Garrett said. “Everybody in Hamden deserves to feel safe and over policing does not provide more safety. What provides safety is reducing crime in the first place through economic development opportunities and job creation.”
Gambardella responded by accusing Garrett of calling Hamden police “racist, biased, and support(ing) white capitalism,” which he said would discourage people joining the force. During the debate, Gambardella accused “the left” of demonizing and demoralizing the police.
In response to Gambardella’s accusations of calling Hamden’s police officers racist, Garrett told him not to misquote her.
“I can very much respond for myself,” Garrett said. “I did not say those exact words, not at all, and my words were in response to the police accountability bill. I never named Hamden police officers, but we do have a lot of racism surrounding policing.”
The candidates were asked about making the community healthier, as a report found that twice as many African Americans than whites are diabetic and suffer from hypertension. Gambardella said he would focus on education regarding proper diets, before pivoting to his plans to bring economic development and medical facilities to southern Hamden, and mentioning his plan to build an animal shelter.
Garrett replied by agreeing with Gambardella, before admitting she was “disappointed” that he was bringing up animals while talking about taking care of people in southern Hamden. Hamden’s Black population is overwhelmingly concentrated in southern Hamden, as the New Haven Independent reported in August.
“So, southern Hamden and the purpose of my discussion of the animal shelters was to show a commitment to this other thing happening,” Gambardella said. “That’s the reason why I brought it up, not for the reasons that my opponent has just stated. So, I just wanted to get that clear for the record.”
In their closing statements, Garrett praised the diversity of the Democratic ticket, while Gambardella encouraged an open dialogue and accused Garrett of viewing the residents of Hamden as “systemically racist.”
“When you view the residents of Hamden as systemically racist, which my opponent clearly does, then everything is racist. You have a low opinion of the people you’re trying to govern, and you tend to put in rules and regulations to appear as a totalitarian state,” Gambardella said. “I’m into uniting the community, not with divisive language, accusing everyone one another as being a racist.”
“We have a lot of diversity and people who genuinely just really care about the community that they’re going to represent,” Garrett said. “And representation is very important because if we’re talking about all of Hamden, that includes every single neighborhood, every single race — and I haven’t been calling people racist. So if you’re(Gambardella) feeling attacked, that might say more about you than it does about me.”
To watch a recording of the debate, visit the Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page here.