University of New Haven is well-represented in West Haven’s mayoral candidates, as both are graduates of the school.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7 in Connecticut and the city of West Haven will vote for a new mayor. The two candidates are Dorinda Borer, a Democratic state representative and Barry Lee Cohen, a former city councilman running as an Independent and Republican.
Borer, a West Haven native, earned her master’s degree from the University of New Haven in 1992. Through her career, she has worked as a national marketing director for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 100 company where she gained experience with bank auditing.
She serves as a four-term state representative for West Haven’s 115th assembly district. In this position, she has led the Veteran’s Legislative Committee, Conn.’s environmental committee and Chair of the Bonding where she managed a $2 billion bond bill for Conn. Borer was also appointed deputy speaker for the state legislators.
Cohen, another West Haven native, graduated from West Haven High School and earned a master’s degree from the University of New Haven. Cohen served on the board of directors for the West Haven Community House and the Ward-Heitmann House Museum.
While a city councilman, Cohen was the co-minority leader where he worked on the West Haven economic development task force and West Haven planning and zoning commission.
Both candidates say they want to revitalize the city through economic development and to clean up Boston Post Road so more businesses will be inclined to move in. Borer said she will seek public and private partnerships to change the purpose and look of downtown West Haven. Cohen said he plans to propose a special district spanning from Campbell Avenue to Main Street and Wagoner Place to assist business and property owners in maintaining and enhancing their facilities.
Public safety is part of Borer’s campaign. From her campaign website: “A top priority is improving the quality of life for our residents and visitors. One important aspect of that is for you to feel safe and be safe in your homes and throughout West Haven.”
She also said she plans to improve quality of life by attracting and keeping police officers in West Haven through a first-time home buyer program. Another initiative is to complete the Security Camera Boardwalk project and directly communicate with the police about other areas that need more police presence.
Borer said he would also like to create a Council for Mental Healthcare along with a Youth Mental Health Coalition to increase availability of resources for the people of West Haven.
Cohen said he hopes to change the culture of City Hall, since the current administration “has become renowned for its lack of communication and follow-up to constituents’ requests,” according to Cohen’s campaign website. Cohen’s communication team will include a point person and keep people informed.
He plans to work with the Board of Education to improve relationships between universities, colleges and technical schools. Specifically, Cohen wants to focus on funding for students so teachers do not have to pay out of pocket for supplies.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7. These are the polling places to cast a vote in each district.
1st District: City Hall 355 Main Street
2nd District: Savin Rock School 50 Park Street
3rd District: Savin Rock School 50 Park Street
4th District: UNH Hall 898 First Avenue
5th District: Carrigan School 2 Tetlow Street
6th District: Forest School 95 Burwell Road
7th District: Molloy School 225 Meloy Road
8th District: Mackrille School 806 Jones Hill Road
9th District: Seth Haley School 148 South Street
10th District: Pagels School 26 Benham Hill
To find your designated polling placement, visit https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/lookup.aspx.