John Carlson issued a plea to New Haveners who don’t vote or don’t get involved in elections: Please do! Even if you don’t sign up with our party. Carlson is the long-suffering town chair of the tiny but never-say-die Republican Party in deep-blue New Haven. He made his pitch during a conv ersation Thursday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” about his efforts to grow the local party in order to bring diverse views and accountability to a one-party city. He argued that everyone benefits from having more choices at the ballot box. “Get involved,” Carlson urged listeners. “You can contact the Green Party if you want. Contact your local Democrat ward chair. Contact anybody. … “Make people explain to you what their plans are and what they’ve done while in office. Chances are, these alders, they can’t because they don’t even know what they’re doing. Most of them, they do what the mayor says, and a lot of them don’t return calls. They need to be replaced. When you just let people get voted in time after time just because they have a D before their name, it’s ridiculous, and they’re not held accountable.” As you can guess by the end of that pitch, Carlson does prefer that people start getting involved with his party. What does it mean to be a New Haven Republican? Carlson ticked off a list of principles and positions: • Hold off on further expansion of Tweed New Haven Airport due to its impact on the environment and on neighbors’ quality of life. • Hold the public schools accountable for poor financial performance and deterioration of school buildings.  • Hire a lot more cops. • Lower taxes. • Tax big nonprofits like Yale to pay for all that. • Institute term limits. • Promote school choice. (You can hear him discuss some of the issues at length by clicking on the video of the interview at the bottom of this story.) Carlson, 57, grew up in the Hill’s City Point area, as did his Democratic Party-supporting parents, a Prince Street School custodian and Kimberly School lunch lady. He teaches fourth grade at Bridgeport’s Winthrop Elementary School. (He took a job there because at the time he began his career, New Haven Public Schools didn’t offer teachers family health benefits.) He’s had conservative views since the Reagan administration, but didn’t get involved in the local GOP until the mid-2010s, when then Town Chair Jonathan Wharton  put out a call for candidates. Carlson responded by suggesting a neighbor to run for alder in City Point. Carlson ended up mounting his own quixotic alder, state representative, and mayoral campaigns. Along the way, thanks to his penchant for organization and community ties, he accepted the thankless job of town chair for a party that last elected a candidate to a contested elected post in New Haven (municipal or state legislative) in 2009. The party last elected a mayor in 1951. All 30 alders and all state legislators from the city are Democrats. Registered Democratic voters outnumber registered Republicans 12-1 (38,582 to 3,197). according to the registrar of voters’ office. Carlson has recruited as many candidates as possible with the pitch that a one-party city suffers from a lack of accountability and challenge to orthdoxy. This coming November the state party will be supporting two local candidates in addition to the statewide GOP ticket: Anthony Acri, who’s seeking the 97th General Assembly District state representative seat against Democrat Wildliz Bermudez and Green Paul Garlinghouse; and Christopher Lancia, who’s taking on U.S. Rosa DeLauro. Despite his efforts, Carlson did not line up candidates for the other five New Haven state rep seats or for the two state senator slots. He said that, unlike in aldermanic races, he needs to make sure a candidate has the energy and ability to qualify for public financing in order to mount serious bids for state legislative seats. Hang In There! Carlson admits that sometimes it can get discouraging, it can get tiring, to keep scurrying to field candidates who get 15 or 20 percent of the vote. But he’ll keep doing it in hopes of attracting more supporters over time and eventually winning elections again. We figuratively put Carlson on the couch during the interview to work through that challenge: Carlson: We’re putting up a fight. But … WNHH: … you haven’t convinced people to vote for you. Carlson: Not yet. WNHH: But you will. Carlson: No, I probably will not. I’m probably done running [myself]. WNHH: You’re giving up? Don’t give up. Carlson: No, I’m not giving up. … If you’re out there and you want positive change in New Haven, contact us. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, NewHavenRepublicans.com. We need change. Come and be a part of the change. Every politician needs to be challenged. The Board of Alders, the mayor, everyone needs to have to step up, explain what they’re doing, why they did it, how it’s helping, and stand by their record. Click on the below video to watch the full conversation with New Haven Republican Town Chair John Carlson. Click here to subscribe or here to listen to other episodes of “Dateline New Haven. The post Carlson Hunts For Democracy Rescuers appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less