EAST HAVEN

An enthusiastic crowd filled the auditorium at East Haven High School (EHHS) for the 2023 Mayoral Debate on Oct. 26, where candidates shared their visions for the town’s future. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Joseph Carfora faced his challengers, Independent candidate Anthony Camposano and Republican Samantha Parlato, in a sometimes contentious forum.

Moderator Vinnie Penn asked the candidates about their views and approaches to tackling pressing issues, including crime and public safety, education, and a controversial proposal to expand Tweed-New Haven Airport.

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Joseph Carfora touted his leadership and the collaborative work of his administration across party lines, having “navigated the challenges of the COVID pandemic, which no one had a playbook,” and having “painstakingly worked to recover from the financial mess left behind” by his predecessor, Joseph Maturo Jr.

He spoke of his administration’s creation of the first-ever information technology department at Town Hall, investment in public works and recreation, and his support for emergency services and East Haven Public School teachers as reflected in the current fiscal year budget.

Standing on the right end of the stage was independent candidate Anthony Camposano, who anchored his electability in his unaffiliated status with any political party and promised that East Haven will not be run by “political puppets” under his administration.

Camposano sympathized with the town’s working-class population, who, he said, are feeling burdened by high taxes and a perceived lack of open leadership from the current administration.

“We need responsible and transparent town government that we can trust to fulfill their fiduciary obligations,” he said. “I’m here to advocate for our community, not to become a career politician. The party system has turned into a mafia.”

The debate occasionally saw belligerent exchanges between Carfora and Camposano, the latter of whom, in an accusatory manner, again assailed the incumbent Democratic Mayor as an ineffective and a “puppet” of private investors. On the Tweed expansion, a move that each candidate is personally against due to various concerns regarding quality of life and efforts to combat crime, exchanges were especially clamorous.

“Crime is still up! You add more money from taxpayer’s dollars, and crime is still up! That is not the solution,” exclaimed Campansano. “You sit in your office, and you hide from every issue!”

Carfora said that Camposano’s outbursts were incongruent with the appropriate temperament necessary for the mayor’s office.

A calmer Parlato said that East Haven was “stagnant” and vowed to make East Haven safer and more prosperous for its families. She spoke of her involvement with and formed relationships through local civic organizations and her background in public safety and education. These experiences, along with her time on the Town Council, have informed her on what is the best path for East Haven, said Parlato.

“Over the past decade, I’ve helped to educate the children of East Haven. As a past chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce, I’ve engaged with our local businesses to address their needs,” she said. “These have made me the only candidate capable of knowing the issues and capable of having the necessary leadership and service experience to point our town in the right direction.”

The week of the debate began with a drive-by shooting on Massachusetts Avenue that saw a 3-year-old grazed by a bullet. Dovetailing this incident on one of her key issues of crime and safety in town, Parlato said she would work with the state to fight property crimes and car break-ins. She said she would work with local law enforcement to address youth crime, with ideas of construct a police substation in the Foxon “to identify areas of crime that could flow into our community” and to expand after-school programs for at-risk teens.

Schools were another focus of the debate, with each candidate supporting hands-on education to meet individual student interests. While Carfora and Parlato said that the Careers in Technical Education (CTE) programming at EHHS is essential to ensuring student success, Camposano went a step further, advocating for the integration of AI-based training into the curriculum, seeing it as critical to shaping independently-minded students.

Parlato said there should be an expansion of CTE and vocational resources because “it is our duty to ensure that our students have the opportunity to be successful upon graduation, where they go into the workforce, they go into the trades, or they go into the [armed] services.”

As the topic turned toward economic development, Carfora proudly stated that the former Seasons wedding venue at 990 Foxon Avenue would see its space filled by three major food chains—Chipotle, Starbucks, and Five Guys—along with a healthcare center. He said it should serve as a starting point for greater development in what has been a challenging area.

“Having this come in at the Foxon Country House is a major, major boost to our Route 80 corridor,” said Carfora.

On her plans for development, Parlato said, “My first order of business would be to hire a qualified, experienced economic developer and an experienced grant writer” to acquire “a multitude of grants available for public safety programs, health and welfare programs, road maintenance, and educational programs.”

Camposano said he would create a long-term strategy to maintain “a balance between business development and quality of life for residents” partly by using “rare resources that other towns do not have” given East Haven’s beaches and access to marine life and waterways.

“We can utilize them to remarket our town for all it has to offer. I believe we can make East Haven a destination as opposed to a suburb of New Haven,” said Camposano.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.