{news} Eric Brown in the New Haven Advocate

[David Bedell]

(This is not very flattering of either candidate, but better than no 
publicity)

http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:124159

New Haven Advocate

The Also-Rans

Gary Jenkins and Eric Brown Jr. each thinks he has what it takes to be the 
next mayor of New Haven. We look inside their respective candidacies.

by Ryan Kearney - September 1, 2005

Mayoral candidate Gary Jenkins is standing outside his Dixwell Ave. campaign 
headquarters, about to make what his wife and campaign manager, Marcella, 
calls a "major announcement."

First, though, he coaxes friends and family members to pack in behind him, 
thereby filling the frame of the Channel 8 camera. But when Jenkins, a 
registered Democrat, proclaims that he has gathered enough signatures to 
land on the ballot as an independent in the Nov. 8 general election, there's 
no one in front of him to applaud. The panning Channel 8 camera captures a 
couple of reporters, a still photographer and a campaign videographer.

Jenkins is the first to admit that the time and day--11 a.m. on a recent 
Saturday--aren't ideal for assembling a crowd of supporters. But maybe it 
was intentional. Jenkins, 54, was a Channel 8 news anchor for three years in 
the 1980s and in recent years was a public information officer for various 
city departments. He did one year in the office of the man he wants to 
unseat: Mayor John DeStefano.

Jenkins, in other words, is comfortable at the intersection of politics and 
the press. He knows exactly what he's doing. A paltry pack of sign-holders, 
perhaps more than no crowd at all, would have highlighted his slim chance 
against DeStefano. Instead, the "major announcement" can be billed, in 
retrospect, as a press conference.

As such, it was uneventful--until the end.

Speaking over the roar of city buses, tricked-out Hondas and wheelie-ing 
motorcycles, Jenkins laid out his plan to cap property and motor vehicle 
taxes, allow full anonymity for those who report crimes, provide teachers 
with more books and materials, create more jobs and affordable housing, 
collect taxes "more humanely," and repeal the rental inspections ordinance 
amendment.

At least that's more or less how the Register tells it. But Jenkins, 
founding pastor of the Sword and the Spirit Ministries on East Street, 
couldn't stop himself. Several times the rookie candidate seemed ready to 
wrap up his speech, only to have another idea occur to him. Then he'd 
continue enunciating in his commanding voice and, when particularly excited, 
push himself up on the balls of his feet.

It was during one of these "Oh yeah, I forgot!" moments that he called for 
the resignation of every department head in the city. The way he 
nonchalantly threw it out there, like it was just another initiative, it's 
understandable that the Register missed it.

So was he serious? The resignation of every department head?

Sort of. Several days later, Jenkins said, "I'm going to ask every 
department head to turn in a letter of resignation. Then I will go over 
every one of those and decide who should stay and who should be replaced."

And then he added, "I'm not going to fire anybody."

Hmm. Firing vs. replacing. Jenkins, the veteran PIO, knows as well as anyone 
that the difference between those two is merely semantic.

Jenkins claims he never wanted to be a politician. This may be true, but 
there's no question he would be comfortable as one.

The same can't be said for Eric Brown, Jr., the Green Party's nominee. When 
he insists, "I'm very surprised I'm doing this, because I'm not a 
politician," you believe him. Unlike Jenkins, he is neither animated nor 
particularly gregarious. Rather, he's a contemplative man who, by his own 
admission, speaks "not a lot of words."

Having accumulated the necessary signatures for the November election, Brown 
attended last week's Green Party nominating "convention"--a gathering of a 
dozen local Greens in the living room of co-chair Charlie Pillsbury's 
elegant home--hoping to secure their endorsement. Which he did, though not 
unanimously.

Wearing a dark, pinstriped suit and narrow glasses, Brown, who is black, was 
surrounded by an entirely white audience, some in Teva sandals and tie-dyed 
T-shirts. Needless to say, the towering 47-year-old--he's 
six-foot-six--didn't exactly blend in.

But that may be part of his appeal. In a pre-vote discussion, with Brown in 
another room, longtime Green David Eliscu said, "This is an 
African-American. The Green Party has often been accused of being a white 
party." While Brown could help lessen that image, which is not entirely 
inaccurate, Eliscu also thinks Brown "stands a chance of registering voters 
and getting people to vote who otherwise wouldn't"--minorities, in other 
words.

A couple of other Greens, however, expressed concern about Brown's 
inexperience--a customer service manager at Stop & Shop in Hamden, he's 
never run for office before--and even said, in Robin Schafer's words, "I 
think we should nominate someone who is from our party."

Pillsbury took issue with that thought. "'He's not one of us'--that's what 
I'm hearing from you," he said. "This is not a club. This is a political 
party."

That said, Brown's platform is indeed shaky. He talks about transparency, 
honesty, doing "the right thing," but doesn't offer much in the way of 
specifics. When he does offer details, he's not always accurate--like when 
he said, "Violence is at an all-time high." And when asked about maintaining 
economic stability in the face of skyrocketing oil prices, he talked about 
manufacturing more... but then lapsed:

"What do they call these electric battery cars?" he asked.

"Hybrids," answered his campaign manager, Ralph Ferrucci.

Okay, so maybe Brown's not the most polished candidate, but he deserves 
credit for admitting it.

"I may not have the brightest mind," he said, "but I know some of the 
brightest people."

Hey, worked for George W. Bush.