By: Zachary Lange

Voters in the City of West Haven elected Ed O’Brien last month in what was a very close election. He beat four-term incumbent, John Picard by 80 votes.

Mayor O’Brien’s platform when he was running for mayor was to work closely with the University of New Haven, as the university is a critical component to the city. He also wants to make investments to UNH, along with Yale University as well. He also plans to boost economic development as the city faces a budget deficit and is about $160 million in debt as of Sept.

O’Brien was sworn in as mayor on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013, and in his speech he said, “The Boston Post Road and transit hubs are a big time economic driver in towns and cities from Maine to Florida. And it will be West Haven again.” He added that development needs to be increased around the train station.

In order to attract shoppers downtown and to other parts of the city, he will institute a city cleanliness program. He also vowed to make sure the parks, municipal buildings, and streets are better maintained. He is going to be working with West Haven Police to make sure the streets are safer, which is also an attempt to attract residents back to downtown.