For these students, politics is local

Candidates, left to right: Laughter, Theodore, and McTiernan Huge. View full image

It is a curiosity of New Haven politics: One seat on the city’s 30-member Board of Alders is nearly always occupied by a Yale student or recent alum. That’s because the boundaries of Ward 1 include much of the population of Yale College—the Old Campus and eight residential colleges. This year, the race is unusually competitive; three students are vying for the Democratic nomination (and almost certain victory in November) in the September 9 primary. Two of them, Rhea McTiernan Huge ’27 and Elias Theodore ’27, are New Haven natives and graduates of Wilbur Cross High School. The third, Norah Laughter ’26, comes from rural Kentucky. The Ward 1 Democratic committee unofficially chose Laughter as their preferred candidate, but all three will appear on the primary ballot.