Courtesy of Jake Siesel

Jake Siesel ’27 — a self-identified outsider in New Haven politics — is running for Ward 1 Alder, he told the News Wednesday. 

Siesel is running, he said, because of “a specific problem.” Reporting a story last April for the News, he learned about the string of vacancies and low engagement plaguing New Haven’s Civilian Review Board, a body established in 2019 to enforce and expand police accountability in the city. Siesel quit the News and applied to join the CRB, but months went by without a response from its members.

“I tried to find another way to enact change in this arena. And it seems like joining the Board of Alders is a way,” he told the News. “I want to build a justice system that delivers responsible justice to everyone.”

Advocacy for criminal justice reform and transparency, a passion of Siesel’s since his sophomore year of high school, would be his primary focus if elected.

In this, he is influenced by his parents, both public defenders. He was raised in Charlotte, NC, and grew up listening to dinner table stories of his parents fighting “tooth and nail” in court on behalf of people just a few years older than him. Siesel himself is considering a career as a public defender.

His mission, however, may not align with New Haveners’ top priorities, according to Ward 15 Alder Frank Redente Jr.

“If you were ranking issues, police reform is there, but it’s not up there with quality of life and safety. We have some beautiful neighborhoods in New Haven. It’s time to protect them,” Redente said.

Notably, unlike Kiana Flores ’25, the current Ward 1 alder, and the three who served before her, Siesel did not grow up in New Haven.

“I acknowledge that I don’t understand the intricacies of New Haven politics yet, and that in many ways I am an outsider, but in the last two years, New Haven has become my home,” Siesel remarked.

Redente said that he was unconcerned that Siesel is not an Elm City native. He considers Siesel, as a Yale student, a part of the community.

Siesel is running as a Democrat for the all-Democratic Board, but he said that he has long taken pride in engaging with a wide variety of ideologies and perspectives.

“Because I’m an outsider, because I come from distinct Cuban-Jewish heritage, I will engage individuals from across the city and meet my stakeholders, not only within Yale, but all swaths, so that we can develop a platform that works for all,” said Siesel. “There is no meeting I will not take. There is no conversation I will not hear.”

This kind of listening, Siesel said, is what is required “to bridge the schism” between Yale and New Haven.

That tension is centuries old, and the Ward 1 alder — a member of city government whose district is primarily composed of Yale property — effectively straddles the town-gown divide. Indeed, the position has long been dubbed the “Yale Alder,” though Siesel said that he “hates” that characterization.

The responsibility of bridging the divide falls on Yale students, Siesel said. Along with criminal justice reform, helping students along in that undertaking is one of his prospective goals.  

“Because we go to Yale, we see it as a step along the way, and we are somehow exempt from engaging in the community. As Ward 1 alder, I think it’s my job to not only engage with administrators and city officials, but to inspire Yale students to see New Haven as a community that they should engage with on their own independently, and something they should actually try to impact. That, I think, is a goal that some Ward 1 alders have not necessarily embodied fully.”

Speaking to the News, Siesel discussed Yalies’ lack of civic engagement. Ward 1 has long had low voter turnout — in 2023, Flores won the election, in which she ran unopposed, with just 83 votes.

Siesel acknowledged that addressing this issue is “a difficult challenge” but said that he will “not be afraid to talk about the important issues that matter to the folks and ask them the important questions.”

“One person at a time, by sparking these conversations and listening, I think we can really start improving the city. It can be led by Yale students that build a desire to engage in the community,” said Siesel.

He acknowledged that learning to navigate the Board’s complicated, often bureaucratic legislative process can be difficult.

“The vast majority of people who occupy this position only serve for two years, and by the time they finally learn the ropes, they leave,” Siesel said.

Siesel plans to speak with local officials and community leaders from now until election day in November so that he can “hit the ground running on day one.”

Being an alder, Redente said, is no easy job.

“You have to be available all the time. You have to be able to communicate. And you have to have thick skin,” he said.

While Siesel currently serves as co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, that role will end in December, the same time he could become the next alder. If elected, Siesel said, he wants the job to occupy “most, if not all” of his attention.

Siesel is likely to face competition in the Ward 1 primary, according to Redente. In both 2019 and 2023, one of the two Ward 1 co-chairs ran for and was elected alder. Currently, Norah Laughter ’26 and Rhea McTiernan Huge ’27 serve in this position, though neither has yet announced that they are running.

In his decision to run, Siesel said, he was influenced by his first year adviser Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr., a senior fellow at the Jackson School of Global Affairs. Thomas said that they discussed the successes and failures of the urban renewal efforts in New Haven by Edward J. Logue ’42 LAW ’47.

“Jake is intelligent, assertive, caring,” Thomas wrote to the News.

Redente, whom Siesel has frequently called for advice, said that Siesel “seems like a pretty smart guy.”

“He cares about the city. Anybody who is willing to step up is fine by me,” Redente said.

According to data from the 2020 Census, Ward 1 has 4,641 residents.