Former Mayor Eyes Another Run In West Haven

WEST HAVEN, CT — Former West Haven Mayor Ed O’Brien announced Friday that he has filed paperwork to form an exploratory committee for another run at the city’s top spot.

“As I look at the field of potential candidates for Mayor, I do not see a candidate that has the necessary traits that are needed to lead our city out of the tremendous mess that it has become under the current city leadership,” O’Brien said.

O'Brien, who served two terms as mayor as a Democrat, planned to run as a third-party candidate in 2021 to challenge incumbent Democratic Mayor Nancy Rossi. However, his campaign missed a deadline with the Secretary of the State’s office to file paperwork as the Action & Accountability party and wasn’t on the ballot.

O’Brien lost to Rossi in the 2017 and 2019 Democratic primary elections. He also lost to Rossi as a write-in candidate in the 2017 municipal election.

The New Haven Register reports former Republican Planning and Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins also filed paperwork for another run for mayor.

Republican Paige Weinstein, a city business owner, previously filed paperwork as a candidate for mayor, according to the Register.

Read O’Brien’s full statement below:

As I begin this journey, I want to make sure all candidates for the office of Mayor have the true vision and experience needed to lead our great city of West Haven out of the tremendous financial burden and considerable negative image that has been cast upon us. We must consider and expect an individual that can cultivate a true working relationship with the State of Connecticut and begin to establish and build a solid foundation for the finances for the City of West Haven.

Our future depends on smart and logical economic development that encompasses our city’s assets and environmental strengths, but at the same time we must be diligent in protecting our neighborhoods and lifestyle.

The next Mayor of West Haven must be an individual who can articulate and understand the needs and wants of the citizens of West Haven and begin to truly look over our horizon and develop a future plan and vision for where West Haven can and needs to be in the years ahead.

We will require the next Mayor to be proactive in all aspects of guiding and leading our city and to look after our needs, be it public safety, education, culture, and entertainment and to be a true steward of our environment while, at the same time, be a protector of our quality of life that the residents of West Haven deserve.

Read more at the New Haven Register here.