Hamden and New Haven’s Black communities demonstrate the results of hundreds of years of disinvestment and underinvestment. Ella’s Fund PAC supports efforts and candidates who advocate for policies that create economic development in the Black community. We believe that every resident should have access to quality employment opportunities. We support candidates who invest in economic development and business development in our community. 

 

We support candidates who advocate for:

• Workforce development opportunities in Black communities that prepare residents for the jobs of today and tomorrow

• Support for minority-owned and women-owned business entities

• Investment in infrastructure in the Black communities of Hamden and New Haven including investment in internet access 

• Investment in pipeline and entrepreneurism initiatives that support business development in Black communities

Black and Latinx persons are over-represented in lower income brackets.  Anti-racist policy is focused on addressing the ideas and policies that contribute to and continue these racial disparities.  We support candidates who advocate for a living wage and a housing wage, fight predatory lending practices, strengthen the safety net provisions in our communities and create pathways out of poverty. 

 

We support candidates who advocate for:

• Reducing unemployment and getting people into the workforce at jobs that pay a livable wage with benefits

• Creation of jobs that pay a middle-class income

• Eliminate the gender pay gap

We support candidates who work to ensure that every resident has a safe and decent place to live that they can afford. We support efforts to invest in housing stock in our neighborhoods, provide support for homeowners and renters, find alternatives to evictions, and manage property owners who neglect their properties. 

 

We support candidates who advocate for:

 

• Efforts to increase homeownership among the Black community and in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of Hamden and New Haven

• Increase in affordable housing

• Efforts to desegregate neighborhoods in Hamden and New Haven

• Efforts to support homeowners in the upkeep of their property

• Efforts to regulate poor quality property owners 

• Protections against predatory lending practices

• Protections for consumers from mortgage discrimination that makes it difficult for Black borrowers to secure loans at fair rates.

Education should never be the place where tight budgets are balanced through cuts.  We support candidates who invest in public education so that all children have access to high quality public education.  We support candidates who support education reform that best prepares our students for the careers of today.  

 

We support candidates who advocate for: 

• Promoting quality educational programs for children from birth to three 

• Increasing access to quality Pre-K 

• Increasing funding to public education 

• Increasing funding for social-emotional supports for students

• Investment to close the digital divide for our students

• Promoting early college access programs for all high school students

• Increasing teacher diversity so that all students have the opportunity to be taught by educators of under-represented racial and ethnic groups

• Increasing diversity in school curriculum to reflect the diversity of student background and experience

• Ending the school to prison pipeline for Black children

• Increasing access to post-secondary opportunities

No one should have to choose between their healthcare coverage and financial stability.  Everyone should have access to affordable health care and connection to primary care providers.  Community based behavioral health programs that provide access to mental health and addiction services, address levels of trauma and promote community well-being are essential to the health of a community.  Additionally, women’s ability to control her destiny and financial well-being are linked to her body autonomy and right to choose.

 

We support candidates who advocate for:

• Access to quality affordable health care

• Community based behavioral health services

• Trauma-informed approach to service delivery

• reproductive justice and a woman’s right to choose.

• School-based healthcare options

• Insurance coverage of doula care in government-funded health care programs.

• COVID -19 protections for disparately impacted communities including ensuring access to testing/vaccine, continued coverage of telehealth benefits and more

Instead of massive investments in criminal justice systems, we support candidates who believe in investment in people and communities.  We believe that community safety is best elevated when community members have safe housing, are well-educated, are healthy and have opportunities to earn a livable income.  We support candidates who support building community safety through these efforts, are proponents of restorative justice and resist continued over-investment in the over policing of Black communities.  

 

We support candidates who:

• Support the investment in communities impacted by mass incarceration

• Support investment in reentry initiatives

• Invest in restorative justice practices

• Invest in health, housing, jobs and entrepreneurism and decreased reliance on police for problem solving of social issues

• Invest in behavioral health services

• Invest in domestic violence and family violence prevention and intervention programs

• Advocate for police accountability and civilian oversight

We all deserve to live in a healthy environment. Everyone should have access to: clean air and drinking water; healthy and affordable homes and public spaces like parks and playgrounds; and safe and affordable transportation options for all modes, such as walking, biking, rolling and using public transit.

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Environmental justice is a key concern for African Americans and other communities of color because communities of color bear a disproportionate share of exposure to hazardous substances due to discriminatory land use, citing, and permit decisions. Environmental justice is a public health issue that needs to be addressed by policymakers in all levels of government, business and communities.

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We support candidates who:

• Support the reduction of harmful emissions, particularly greenhouse gases

• Advance energy efficiency and clean energy

• Advocate for communities to build strategies to increase energy efficiency and shrink their emissions output

• Promote transformative legislation to reduce health burdens on communities of color and low-income communities and bring justice to marginalized communities

• Support redevelopment of Brownfield Sites

• Invest in clean and diverse transportation systems and choices

• Protect clean air and water for people and wildlife

Hamden and New Haven are becoming increasingly diverse and include community members of many religions, languages, economic groups, and other cultural groups. Ella’s PAC Fund supports candidates who commit to fostering an inclusive environment.

 

We support candidates who:

• Promote diversity across all spectrums, including but not limited to race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran/military status, and age

• Support women's rights, including reproductive freedom

• Support pay equity in salary for women and men with respect to race/ethnicity

• Advocate for the recruitment of people of color to serve on state boards and commissions

Connecticut’s statewide taxation policy is a regressive tax system that places a disparate burden on lower income and middle income families and disproportionately impacts Black and Latinx families.  CT’s wealthiest families- those earning billions each year and who hold millions in assets - pay a lower tax percentage than low and middle income families.  The families least able to afford the tax burden are burdened the most.  CT families will benefit from conversion to a progressive tax system.  

 

Similarly, CT property tax system is in need of reform.  Our cities and towns with the most need are also the localities with the highest tax burden.  We support candidates who:

• Support Statewide CT tax reform to implement a Progressive Tax system that benefits lower income and middle income families

• Support local property tax reform that fully funds local PILOT and reimburses cities/towns for the Regional services that are provided

• Support the creation of new ways of generating revenue for CT cities and towns