Last week the YDN endorsed Mike Jones, a sophomore, for the Democratic nomination for Ward 1 alderman, the seat for the Yale-dominated district in the New Haven Board of Aldermen. While I shouldn’t explain my specific role in the endorsement decision or writing because of necessary confidentiality, I organized the endorsement process and played an active role in making our paper’s endorsement happen.

So, although Minh Tran, one of the candidates defeated, is a friend of mine and although I have great admiration for Katie Harrison, the other candidate defeated, I took pride in the fact that the vote on Friday aligned nearly with the strength of support I felt the endorsement gave each candidate. No one can know how much the endorsement mattered, but I’m proud that the vote indicated some may have followed its arguments to the polls.