Hartford mayor-elect asks public to help build ‘dream’ of city’s future

Hartford Mayor-elect Arunan Arulampalam is asking the public to weigh in on potential appointees to his administration as he seeks to install his vision for a diverse and vibrant City Hall.

The Hartford Landbank CEO emerged as the clear winner in the Hartford mayor race, securing more than 64% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State with all precincts reporting.

Victory in hand, Arulampalam launched into the mayoral transition Wednesday, introducing Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter, Hartford Foundation of Public Giving President Jay Williams and Chief of Staff for the Office of the Connecticut State Treasurer Andréa Comer as the co-chairs of his transition team.

As Arulampalam and his transition co-chairs prepare to appoint members to the new administration, the mayor-elect encouraged Hartford residents to submit their thoughts, and even their resumes, to BelieveInHartford.com, a newly launched website dedicated to the transition.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Arulampalam said he wanted City Hall to reflect the diversity of Hartford.

Arulampalam emphasized the importance for public input, describing the transition period as “A real opportunity to have conversations and dream about what the city could look like for the next four to eight years.”

“There are a lot of people sitting up here in positions of power in the city, but that doesn’t mean that we have a monopoly on all good ideas,” Arulampalam said. “The people who have had lived experiences in the city, the people who understand what it’s like to be a resident in the city, it’s important that everyone feels bonded in that process.”

Arulampalam said that by the end of the week, he will introduce the co-chairs of policy groups, with a first meeting set for Nov. 17. He added that public hearings will occur soon after.

Along the campaign trail, Arulampalam presented a vision for Hartford rooted in economic development and cultivating positive environments for the city’s youth.

In the coming weeks, Arulampalam said he will engage in indepth conversations about what Hartford can achieve as his team identifies short term policy proposals for Arulampalam’s first year in office.

Arulampalam said he intends for the public to guide much of these discussions.

“I think it’s important that the mayor be engaged, but it’s also important that democracy is a two-way conversation — that democracy doesn’t just happen in the election, in the voting booth, (but) that it happens all year round,” Arulampalam said. “We are really engaging in conversations about what it looks like to dream about the city and be hopeful for the city. I hope that every resident in the city is hopeful for our future, and we can’t do that unless they’re actually at the table.”

Williams said that he is “certain that Arunan will be the mayor for those who supported him from the very first day of his announcement, as equally passionate as he will be the mayor for those who did not support him.”

After a highly contested race that saw six candidates on the ballot, Arulampalam, his predecessor, and his team focused on moving forward.

“For Hartford, we don’t have the luxury to fight about yesterday. We have to think about tomorrow,” Ritter said. “The people who ran, they did have ideas and just because they lost us doesn’t mean those ideas weren’t good. And so we want to give value to those ideas. That’s really what this is about.”

Mayor Luke Bronin said that now that the election is over, “the time for politics is done.”

“The time for coming together as a community and moving hard forward is now and we couldn’t have a better team leading us forward in that,” Bronin said. “Ritter, Andrea, and Jay, these are three individuals who love this city so much, who are deeply knowledgeable, who bring a range of perspective and a wealth of knowledge to his work. And our city’s fortunate that mayor-elect has assembled a team like that to help lead this transition.”

With a little more than 50 days left on the job, Bronin said he feels “optimistic and confident about this city’s future” as he prepares to pass the torch to Arulampalam on Jan. 1.

“You put heart and soul into this work for eight years,” Bronin said. “You want nothing more than to be able to hand that responsibility over to a team and to a mayor that you know is going to approach that work with the same commitment, the same love for the city, the same belief in the city, the same confidence for where we can go. And I’m so proud that Arunan will be the next mayor.”