Ward 24 Dem Committee Co-Chair Mareika Phillips: “All [three] candidates are going to be on the ballot.” City Clerk Mike Smart (right) collects ballots, including from ward committee member Joelle Fishman. Edgewood’s Democratic ward committee voted 6 to 1 on Sunday to endorse Randall Fu rlow, the committee’s co-chair, in a three-way race to fill the neighborhood’s newly open alder seat. The endorsement vote means that Furlow — a pastor and a cousin of Board of Alders Majority Leader Richard Furlow — is guaranteed a spot on the Nov. 10 ballot in the special election for Ward 24 alder. Fellow Democrats Lindsey Tengatenga (aka Lindsey Eichler) and Jennifer Tillman are also vying for that empty alder seat, which 15-year incumbent Evette Hamilton stepped down from last week. Per an election calendar recently handed down by state election officials, the final date for political parties to nominate a candidate in this race is Monday. Thus the rush by the Democratic Ward Committee to hold an endorsement vote on Sunday. Meanwhile, in order to petition onto the Nov. 10 ballot, challengers like Tengatenga and Tillman have to collect signatures from six registered Ward 24 voters by 4 p.m. on Monday. Furlow received Sunday’s endorsement at the end of an hourlong meeting of the Ward 24 Democratic Ward Committee at the police substation at 332 Whalley Ave. The meeting was run by Furlow’s Ward 24 co-chair colleague, Mareika Phillips. It saw Furlow, Tengatenga, and Tillman each make pitches to the roughly two dozen people present as to why they’re running for alder. In the end, only eight people in the room — including Furlow, but not Tengatenga and Tillman — were eligible to participate in the endorsement vote. As Phillips explained, voting was limited to ward committee members who were included on the most recently filed Ward 24 Democratic Ward Committee list, which covered the years 2024 and 2025. She said that the committee had not yet filed an updated list for the 2026-27 term, and that she did not want to submit a new list right before the endorsement vote so as not to give off the impression that she was “stacking” the committee in support of one candidate or another. In the end, Furlow won six votes, Tengatenga won one, and one voter abstained. (Asked if he was the voter who abstained, Furlow declined to say.) “I’m not entering into this work unfamiliar with New Haven politics or municipal leadership,” Furlow said during his five-minute address to the crowd before Sunday’s vote took place. “I didn’t start meeting people two weeks ago. I know members of the Board of Alders. We have relationships.” If elected, he pledged to answer calls, return messages, communicate with city department heads, advocate for the Edgewood neighborhood, and represent Ward 24 with integrity. He also spoke about the “elephant in the room” — “the lack of ward committee actions” over the past two years. (Furlow has served as a Ward 24 co-chair for 12 years.) Furlow said that his family has experienced a tremendous amount of loss in recent years — including the passing of his mom, the death of a cousin in a double homicide, the death of another cousin in a car crash, and the deaths of two close friends. Furlow said he found himself “in a very dark cave” after all this loss, asking himself: “Will I live or will I die?” He said he chose to live — and is determined to define his life not just by loss but also by “what’s next.” During her five-minute speech to the room, Tengatenga said that she has lived in Ward 24 for 12 years. She said her “international family, with blended cultures and backgrounds,” settled in Edgewood because it is a community “where people care about one another and differences are welcomed.” Tengatenga said that her parents — a father who served in the military in Vietnam and a mother who dedicated her life to public education — instilled in her a commitment to public service. “I believe it is the rent we pay to be here.” She spoke about running a statewide nonprofit “cultivating leaders that are committed to advancing racial equity.” And she said that her work has kept her focused on concerns that are motivating her run for alder: “affordable access to healthy food, stronger civic participation, safer streets and sidewalks, support for immigrant families, youth empowerment, economic opportunity,” and making sure every resident feels that their voice is heard. Tillman introduced herself as a lifelong resident of New Haven who has lived in Ward 24 for 23 years. A realtor, social worker, and active member of Varick Church, she said that she routinely asks residents in the neighborhood what they feel the community needs. “People feel the resources are disappearing,” Tillman said. “We no longer have a local pharmacy or a bank, and residents do not want to see more smoke shops or liquor stores. They want to see useful businesses and services that strengthen our community.” She spoke about improving trash pickup, increasing police presence, and holding absentee landlords accountable. “My vision is to help restore, revitalize, and reinvest in Ward 24,” she said. Phillips stressed that Sunday’s meeting was not the only opportunity for all three alder candidates to address voters before the Nov. 10 special election. The Ward 24 Democratic Ward Committee also plans to host a candidate forum in the coming weeks — with location and date still to be determined. Lauren Anderson, a Ward 24 resident and the owner of the Possible Futures bookstore on Edgewood Avenue, raised concerns with the committee endorsement process before the candidates made their pitches and before the eight eligible attendees cast their votes. Anderson pointed out that the committee hadn’t met in more than a year and that Furlow had already sent out an email to the ward committee stating that he has the support of Phillips, the co-chair, and Hamilton, the former alder, among other elected officials and community leaders. “That just doesn’t sit right,” Anderson said. (Hamilton later phoned into Sunday’s meeting and said that she hasn’t actually made any endorsements in the race, leading Furlow to issue a retraction.) Fellow meeting attendee Florita Gillespie, the chair of the Dwight Community Management Team, replied on Sunday that, ultimately, “the people will decide” who to elect as alder. They’ll do so at the ballot box during the special election. Phillips also noted that, regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s endorsement vote, “all [three] candidates are going to be on the ballot.” Whoever wins the Nov. 10 election will fill out the rest of Hamilton’s two-year term, which runs through the end of 2027. Click on the videos below to watch each Ward 24 alder candidate’s address at Sunday’s committee meeting. Smart with New Haven Rising’s Jamie Myers-McPhail. Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans: Early voting in this alder election begins Nov. 5. Steve Nelson (in red) helping brainstorm how to turn out voters for the alder special election on Nov. 10, which will take place a week after the general election on Nov. 3. Smart, Sandy Shaner, and Phillips count the votes. The post Furlow Wins Ward 24 Endorsement appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less