John DeStefano, Jr. records and papers

John DeStefano, Jr. was born on 11 May 1955 to John and Angeline (née Cusano) DeStefano in New Haven, Connecticut. He served as Mayor of New Haven, representing the Democratic party, from 1994-2013.

DeStefano attended Saint Bernadette Grammar School and Notre Dame High School. He was a 1977 graduate of University of Connecticut where he earned a BA in Political Science. He proceeded to study Public Administration at the University of Connecticut, graduating in 1980 with a Masters of Public Affairs. Upon graduation he began his service to the city of New Haven with a position as Management Analyst and Executive Assistant to the Controller. During the 1980s DeStefano held positions in New Haven government as Pension Administrator and Deputy Treasurer, Deputy Controller and City Budget Director, Chief Administrative Officer, and Development Administrator.

DeStefano first ran for the mayor's office in 1989. DeStefano won the endorsement of the New Haven Democratic Party, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by John Daniels. In 1990 DeStefano was appointed as the Founding Executive Director for the Tennis Foundation of Connecticut home to ATP, USTA and WTA tennis tournaments.

In the 1993 mayoral election, DeStefano ran and won election. He served ten consecutive terms as mayor. During his tenure as mayor New Haven experienced an evolution from its focus on urban renewal (1945 to 1975) and economic development (1976 to 1989) to an evolving set of initiatives reflecting New Haven’s transition from a manufacturing economy to institutional and service enterprises as Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital and related clinical and private bio-science enterprises emerged as major employers and revenue generators. Population growth was driven by a number of factors: increased immigration, the emergence of a residential downtown, employees drawn in by the new economy single person households, and empty nesters driven by emerging lifestyle choices in New Haven

A de-emphasis on built space saw the demise of several urban renewal initiatives such as the New Haven Coliseum, the Church Street ‘front block’ retail development and the abandonment of the Route 34 ROW (right-of-way). These spaces were replaced with life and bio-science enterprises, housing, and the new campus of Gateway Community College.

Some of the major initiatives during DeStefano’s tenure include:

Public Schools. These include the City Wide School Construction Program, the complete renovation, expansion or replacement of all public school buildings in New Haven. The creation of universal pre-k programming; the New Haven School Change Initiative; New Haven Promise; and the development and execution of the largest magnet school and inter-district enrollment program in Connecticut.

Community Wide Partnerships. These include the launch of the Town Green Special Services District; creation and launch of the Livable City Initiative, the City's anti-blight initiative and housing program; and the launch of Market New Haven, a joint city, Yale, and business community marketing initiative.

Human Development. These include Connecticut’s first Domestic partner benefits added to collective bargaining agreements; the Living Wage initiative; the creation of the Democracy Fund, Connecticut’s first publicly financed election program; and the Elm City Resident Card, the first identity document to be issued by a City to all residents of a municipality, documented and un-documented, in the United States.

Violence Reductions. These include Street Outreach Workers, a youth violence interruption initiative; the Prison Reentry Initiative introduced to support resident re-entry into the community; and Project Longevity, a community policing violence reduction initiative between the New Haven Police Department, the US Attorney's Office, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the University of New Haven; the creation of 10 policing districts advised by neighborhood-based management teams.

DeStefano was the Democratic nominee in 2006 for Governor of Connecticut, but was unsuccessful in challenging incumbent Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell.

In February 2013 DeStefano announced his intention to retire from office at the end of his term. In 2003 DeStefano had led the opposition to the demutualization of New Haven Savings Bank, New Haven’s largest locally owned bank. Upon approval by State Regulators of the demutualization DeStefano was the incorporating Director of New Haven Bank (nee Start Bank) in 2010. After leaving office he served as the Executive Vice President of the bank until 2021 and continues as a Member of its Board of Directors. It is anticipated that materials related to the demutualization of New Haven Savings Bank and the creation and launch of New Haven Bank will be added to the Collection.

John DeStefano married Katherine A. Kubasek in 1979. They had two children, sons Daniel and James. Since 2014 he has been an Instructor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University teaching the course New Haven and the American City.



Sources:

Information in the collection and the donor.