School a Lesson in How City Works

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School a Lesson in How City Works

Andy Bromage, New Haven Register May 03, 2006

NEW HAVEN - They come from East Rock and Westville, Beaver Hills and City Point.

They are black, brown and white, fresh out of college, and on the verge of retirement. And they have called New Haven home for two months or two decades.
The Democracy School class of 2006 is nothing if not eclectic.

"People ask me what this class is like," said Kate McAdams, a mayoral aide who runs Democracy School, a six-week civics course that amounts to "New Haven Government: 101." "It's diverse in age, diverse in race, diverse in neighborhood."

In its third year, Democracy School offers residents a crash course in city government taught by the people who run it. The free program aims to groom future community leaders, and Tuesday?s opening session drew 48 eager pupils. A parade of city and community leaders explained their duties and answered questions in City Hall's aldermanic chambers.

First up was Mayor John DeStefano Jr.

"Democracy School is meant to be a road map," the mayor said. "If you want something to change, if you want something to get better, you show up and you speak your mind."

Next, Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Susan Voigt extolled the virtues of voting.

"Voting is how we make decisions; it's how the mayor got to be standing here tonight," Voigt said. "I think the fabric of life in this city really starts with our participation. It's not just who you cast a ballot for - although I do have my preferences - it's that you do cast a ballot."

Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude Jr. explained the ins and outs of representing a big city government and fielded questions about how his office is organized, who's responsible for maintaining sidewalks, and whether he serves the mayor or the government as a whole.

Resident John Sawyer has lived in Beaver Hills for 26 years and joined Democracy School after his wife, Pamela Stanton, came home raving about it last year. Sawyer is retiring as a Sikorsky Aircraft data analyst in two years and wants to join a city board or commission when that day comes.

"It's a good launching pad for getting involved," Sawyer said. "No matter how long you live in a city, no matter how active you are, there are still things you don't know."

Helen C. Powell-King has worked for 17 years in the Democratic Registrar of Voters office and said she still has a lot to learn about city government. So she enrolled in Democracy School.

"There are a lot of departments," Powell-King said. "I see people, but I don't always know what they do."

Later, Aldermanic President Carl Goldfield, D-29, outlined the workings of New Haven's "mini-Congress," the 30-member Board of Aldermen, and the backroom deal-making that is often required to pass laws.

"It's all about compromise," Goldfield said. "You don't get purity in politics. You don't want to see how legislation is made. It's like sausage-making."