New Haven candidates clash on housing, immigration
Paul Bass | New Haven Independent Democrat Marcus Paca, left, and incumbent Mayor Toni Harp . Marcus Paca promised that if he becomes mayor, he will fight gentrification, while Mayor Toni Harp argued that the burst of market-rate housing in town doesn’t constitute gentrification. Harp promised to continue New Haven’s “sanctuary city” policies even if President Trump withholds federal grants , while Paca promised to take a closer look at the issue first to avoid losing needed dollars . Those differences between the two Democratic mayoral candidates emerged Sunday afternoon at their first debate, held before a full house in the sanctuary of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church on Dixwell Avenue. The event was billed as a “forum,” not a “debate.” But a debate it turned out to be, from the moment the two Democrats began fielding questions from a panel of three local ministers and passionately responded to each other’s positions in a fast-paced, issues-focused back and forth. Two- term incu...