{news} NH Register-"Green Party leader seeks election as Alderman

[Green Party-CT]

              05/26/2007    Green Party leader seeks election as alderman     Angela Carter , Register Staff 
          NEW HAVEN — Green Party Co-Chairman Allan Brison has filed paperwork to run for alderman in East Rock?s 10th Ward against Democrat Edward Mattison, who plans to seek a fourth term. 
These two have faced off before. In 2001, Mattison won in a three-way race with 438 votes over 321 for Brison and 80 for Republican Thomas Fagan.

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    ');   }   //-->           Brison is a retired computer programmer who home-schooled his two children. Part of his platform deals with education and he is advocating for an elected Board of Education. He supported that idea during the last charter revision but it did not make it to the ballot.

Other issues he homes in on are economic development, the budget and the environment.

"I think it?s essential we work for an elected Board of Education, if only for transparency with the budget," he said. "The Board of Education is the source of patronage, and if you have an elected Board of Education, that?s going to change."

Brison also wants to build a coalition of fellow aldermen who would push for small, neighborhood schools rather than larger magnet schools and smaller class sizes, particularly in the early years. "I think that in education we need a different approach."

As to the incumbent, Brison said Mattison "has never gone against the mayor on anything." As examples, Brison said Mattison should have opposed a contract for legal services two years ago that violated the charter, and that he should have voted against tearing down the New Haven Coliseum and moving Gateway Community College downtown.

"There are definitely questionable forms of development the government has done," he said.

Mattison, who is chairman of the Community Development Committee, said he has his own opinions.

"I?m an active alderman. I know what I?m doing, and I think the people of East Rock know it," he said.

Before an item comes up for a vote, aldermen have conversations with each other and the administration, Mattison said, adding that after talking to many people he recommended a Whitney Avenue location for a new Worthington Hooker School. "City Hall deferred" to his opinion, Mattison said.

"In the end, I often vote in the direction the administration wants to but that?s because we?ve negotiated," Mattison said.

"I don?t think Allan knows how government works. The job is to get to the point where you have a majority of the aldermen to support what you want. That?s something skillful aldermen are able to do and others are not so successful."

The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday will vote on a budget for fiscal 2007-08 and a new tax rate. Mattison said he will be introducing legislation that will require the administration to present cost-saving measures long before the next budget season starts in March 2008.

"The budget process is too short term and too narrow," he said. "We can?t keep taxing everybody ever higher because people won?t be able to pay it, and we?ll see bad things happen in our city."

Brison is the only Green to announce so far in the aldermanic races. 

Ralph Ferrucci is a Green running for mayor and he is having his first fund-raiser at noon Sunday at The Cave off Springside Avenue.

  
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  Angela Carter can be reached at acarter at nhregister.com or 789-5614.   

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