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John DeStefano Jr. (born May 11, 1955) is an American
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as the 49th mayor of
New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, from 1994 until 2014. He was the Democratic nominee in 2006 for
Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...
, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell. He was also the named defendant in the landmark 2009
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
case of '' Ricci v. DeStefano''. DeStefano is the son of a New Haven police officer. DeStefano and his wife Kathy met at the University of Connecticut as undergraduates, where he also earned a Masters in Public Administration. Kathy DeStefano is a first-grade teacher in
West Haven West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584. Hi ...
, Connecticut, and they are the parents of two adult sons.


Career

A high-level aide under mayor Biagio DiLieto, DeStefano first ran for the mayor's office in 1989, after DiLieto announced he would not seek re-election. DeStefano won the endorsement of the New Haven Democratic Party, but was defeated in a Democratic
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
by John Daniels. DeStefano successfully ran again in 1993. He served ten consecutive terms, (posting his tenth mayoral election victory in November 2011) during which his efforts included a massive overhaul of New Haven's public schools, based principally on the
magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally, a student will attend an elementary school, and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they mo ...
model, and New Haven's selection as a federal "Empowerment Zone". DeStefano was New Haven's longest-serving mayor; after 10 terms in office, he announced that he would not seek an 11th term. DeStefano was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
and Boston mayor
Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...
. He had to deal with public perceptions that violent crime was on the rise in New Haven. DeStefano closed the aging
New Haven Coliseum New Haven Coliseum, formally known as New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Construction began in 1968 and was completed in 1972. The Coliseum was officially closed o ...
in 2002, and started demolition on it three years later (finishing the demolition in 2007). In 2006 DeStefano ran for governor. On August 8, 2006, DeStefano defeated Stamford mayor
Dannel Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. In Ju ...
in the Democratic primary, with Mary Messina Glassman as his running mate. DeStefano and Glassman were defeated by the very popular incumbent governor
Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn Rell (née Reavis; June 16, 1946 – November 20, 2024), known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant gove ...
and her running mate Michael Fedele in the general election by one of the largest majorities in state history and conceded that night. Following his defeat by Rell, DeStefano focused his attention on a controversial plan to issue official city ID cards to city residents, including
undocumented immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
. Proponents called the cards a way for undocumented aliens to gain access to city services and bank accounts (reducing undocumented immigrants' potential to avoid bank fees and interest, while also providing that they don't have to hold large amounts of cash, which made them and people who looked to criminals like undocumented immigrants targets for theft), while critics considered the cards an encouragement to illegal immigration. Proponents pointed out that the undocumented immigrants are already living in the city, and are the responsibility of the federal government, and that these cards would serve to bring people out of the shadows and under a small degree of government supervision. The city began issuing the cards, dubbed the " Elm City Resident Card", on July 24, 2007. DeStefano focused his tenure as mayor on improving education and public safety in New Haven, as well as on economic development. Notable initiatives included the Livable City Initiative, begun in 1996, which promoted homeownership and removed blight, and the Citywide Youth Initiative. In 1995, DeStefano launched a 15-year, $1.5 billion School Construction Program, already half finished, to replace or renovate every New Haven public school. DeStefano was President of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and President of the National League of Cities. In 2008, DeStefano announced massive budget cuts to balance the city's $456 million budget, including the potential closures of an elementary school, police substations, and senior centers. In 2009, the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
ruled against DeStefano in the discrimination case of '' Ricci v. DeStefano''. The city had been under a court order to promote 20 firefighters, 19 white and one Hispanic, who had been denied promotions on the basis that the civil service test they took had been biased. Justice
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Samuel Alito Supreme Court ...
's concurring opinion suggested that DeStefano had been motivated by improper political considerations in denying the promotions. DeStefano currently teaches an undergraduate seminar, entitled "Making Public Choices in New Haven", at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
.


See also

* Connecticut gubernatorial election, 2006


References


External links


New Haven Mayor's OfficeJohn DeStefano for Connecticut
– official campaign website
Mayors Against Illegal Guns homepage
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Destefano, John Jr. 1955 births 20th-century mayors of places in Connecticut 21st-century mayors of places in Connecticut American people of Italian descent Connecticut Democrats Living people Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni