Former New Haven economic development administrator Henry Fernandez has become the first Latino to officially enter the campaign to replace retiring New Haven Mayor John DeStefano.
Fernandez told the New Haven Register, “I believe we have a real opportunity to come together as one city and our vision for our future is how we all grow together. Our campaign will be a grass-root movement toward a bright future for all of us, especially our youth.”
According to his campaign website, Fernandez is CEO of the consulting firm Fernandez Advisors, LLC, which provides strategic and management support for non-profits, progressive causes and movements across the country. He has advised school superintendents around the nation and tackled tough issues involving crime, neighborhood development and community organizing.
Henry served on the Obama-Biden transition team at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has written extensively on civil rights issues, criminal justice, community development, immigration and education as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Fernandez, a resident of Fair Haven, said his campaign will focus on youth programs and youth centers, improving schools, reducing crime, the arts and stabilizing taxes.
“I will be committed to working to establish youth centers in every neighborhood and using the idea of the arts as part of my platform to bring us together,” Fernandez told the Register. “What benefits one neighborhood should benefit all neighborhoods.”
