Dear Elm City Cycling members, allies, and friends:

This summer, Elm City Cycling compiled and distributed a questionnaire to 2013 New Haven Mayoral Primary Candidates, in order to consolidate information about the candidates for the general public. Candidates were asked to reply to the questionnaire by August 18th, 2013.

Elm City Cycling received two responses as of Sept 5th, from candidates Justin Elicker who replied on August 16th (attached) and Henry Fernandez, who replied on September 4th (attached). Please note that Elm City Cycling is a non-profit and does not advocate for any candidate or political party.

What we did:

Elm City Cycling is pleased to see a healthy conversation about transportation policy, particularly cycling infrastructure, springing up during the run-up to this fall’s mayoral election. New Haven has witnessed a dramatic increase in walking and cycling, and corresponding public interest in improving the accessibility of streets for children and elderly residents alike. US Census data from 2011 show that nearly two out of ten New Haven residents walk or bike to work every day, and another one out of ten takes the public transit system.

Questions were developed and approved by the Elm City Cycling Board of Directors based on the Elm City Cycling 2013 Bike and Pedestrian Plan (link to PDF), the City of New Haven Complete Streets Manual (adopted unanimously by the Board of Aldermen in 2010), and the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) Bicycle Friendly Community program.

All ballot-qualified candidates were contacted by email and phone, and receipt of the questionnaire was confirmed by the Carolina, Elicker, Fernandez, and Harp campaigns.

What we got back:

Candidate Justin Elicker responded to the questionnaire on August 16th. Candidate Henry Fernandez responded on September 4th.

We have held these responses in the hopes that all other campaigns would follow through as indicated. We planned to present all responses to the public at the same time. We have waited as long as we could, but we need to be fair to those who put in the time and effort to reach out and inform the Elm City Cycling community.

We are committed to posting responses from every candidate who submits one as soon as they are received. If you support a candidate who has not completed a response, we urge you to contact that candidate’s campaign and request s/he complete the questionnaire.

Moving forward:

Elm City Cycling is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that aims to make New Haven a better place to get around by bicycle by both advocating for better bicycling conditions and organizing fun events. ECC has proven to be effective at the policy level in New Haven. The communication channels ECC has built with New Haven’s Departments of Transportation, Traffic and Parking; Engineering; and City Plan have been very fruitful. ECC’s information-based policy positions are very well received.

Elm City Cycling will continue forward with its plans to advocate for policy matters as illustrated in its 2013 Bike and Pedestrian Plan and to add new organizational members. While ECC will not endorse any candidates, we intend to show our strength through events, policy advocacy, and non-partisan candidate inquiries, in a way that ensures that the needs of persons who walk, bike and take transit in our city are heard during election season and afterwards.

2013 New Haven Mayoral Campaign Contacts

Kermit Carolina: (203) 736-3320

Justin Elicker: (203) 562-1468 or (203) 500-2969, kyle@elicker2013.com

Henry Fernandez: (203) 887-7507, info@fernandezformayor.com info@fernandezformayor.com

Toni Harp: (203) 389-2122, info@toniharp2013.com info@toniharp2013.com

Sincerely,

Elm City Cycling Board of Directors

The ECC Board of Directors may be contacted at elmcitycycling@gmail.com