CARFORA: Why He Won't Debate Opponent

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Go to the Project hotline right now. Welcome to the show,
East Haven Mayor Joe carfora Joe, it's been wid last
time I saw you, Good lord, Joe. I think the
last time I saw you was John and Mary. It
was outside Pete on in October night two years ago, right,
that's two years ago.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, that was about two years ago. Vin, I think
you walked in on one of my fundraisers back then.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, that's and also moderated the last the last two
I've seen you in moderating action before. I've seen you
debate this this very guy with Composano before us. So
I you did, what's the hold up this time?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Why not? Why holding out this time? Joe?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
You know, when I took office in twenty nineteen, I
wanted to get this community, you know, back on a
positive track and get it out of the newspaper for
negativity and stuff like that. And that and that debate,
you know, you were most certainly there. It turned into
a total mockery. I mean, the you know, the gentleman

(01:09):
was was screaming and yelling and just you know, just
totally out of control. And then once again our town,
our town made the headlines and you know, when I ran,
like I said, when I ran in twenty nineteen, I
got a bunch of people on my ticket who wanted
to elevate this town. I got twenty six people with

(01:32):
the same vision as I have, and we really elevated
this town. We did great things, and and I just
felt like, you know, why would I go up there
and have it all turn into another mockery. And it's
going to turn into another mockery because of the way
they're acting on social media and out in the public.

(01:53):
And I hear everything then and I'm just I'm just
not going to drag this town. I love this town.
I was born in raised there. Everybody on my staff,
most of them were all born and raised there, and
I'm just not gonna let this happen to this town again.
I mean, I don't have to stand up on that
stage and debate my record. I've done monumental things for

(02:18):
this town. I've increased our public safety staff the first
time in thirty five years a mayor has put more
police on the street, have put more firefighters on the street.
I put more public works employees on the street. I

(02:39):
equipped all of them with all the tools that they need,
and I don't have to go up there to get
be rated by someone who to this day, right now
does not have a platform. All they're doing is trash talking,
and I'm just not gonna put the town through there. Then,
you know me for quite a while, I'm a competitor.

(03:02):
I'm a competitor. I'm not going to back down from
anybody for a debate. But I'm also you know, I'm
also not going to let this talent get dragged to
the mud. I debated Steve Tracy. Steve was professional. I
debated Samantha Parlato, She was professional. This guy two years

(03:22):
ago made a complete mockery of that whole event, so
bad that there were girl Scout girl scouts in that
audience who came to learn about, you know, municipal government,
and the girl Scout leader had to leave thirty minutes
into the debate because, you know, two or three girls

(03:43):
started getting upset. They started crying. I don't want this
from my community.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
There's so much I can I want to say to that. Joe,
first and foremost, I hope you know that this all
began with me being same old Innie Penn. I had
no idea you could say, no, I thought it was
part of the process, like you gotta like you have
to have a debate. So I legitimately began just asking

(04:10):
the question of what do you mean, how can you
just say no like.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
You have to It's but I didn't realize that was
an option.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Then I read the lie no, no, no, you don't
have to have it. Yeah, yeah, I did. That's one
night ran Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
No, I'm surprised to hear that too.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
And then of course I go from that to I'm
just so you know, you know the trail that I
took that got us here today. My first was, you know,
why would you how can you say no? Then it
became why would you say no to a debate? When
I watched you debate this guy before and you won

(04:47):
the election, and it struck me as not something Joe
Carfour would say no to. I even said to Compasano
on Friday, I'm like, I bet you if you ran
into him somewhere and say, come on, you know what,
because you are a competitor, you would do it. It
felt like your campaign manager got in the middle there.
I read his letter. His letter was the hardball letter,
and I was.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
Just like, that's kind of rough. But then over the weekend.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
I will say, Joe, I paid close attention to social media,
and I did see a lot of the antagonism from
both sides. You know, your team and your supporters moreover
giving you love, supporting you and taking potshots and vice versa.
I'm like, oh, this is a contentious race here. I

(05:31):
missed a lot of this social media kind of back
and forth. And to your point about that last debate,
I had forgotten how chaotic it got. He actually apologized
to me for it at an event when Alan West
came to East having a couple of weeks back. I'm
sure you heard all about that and did his speaking engagement.
He came up to me, he goes, I apologize for

(05:52):
last time I saw it. I really didn't remember, he goes,
you know I lost it at that debate. I remember
that debate was wildly attended, and but I don't remember
it as as he does, and as you just described
right there. I mean, it's valid to just be like,

(06:14):
because I'm getting the sense you're spending a lot of
time defending yourself, maybe even on personal fronts. It's it's
getting personal and ugly, it seems like to me and
like you and like it has nothing to do with
the actual race itself. It's very personal and you might
lose your cool.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
It's it is getting personal, vin I mean, social media
changed the whole political platform in a bad way. Everybody
in a bad way. I mean they're they're you know, uh,
there's members in his uh you know, in his party
and on his way. Is a matter of fact that

(06:54):
all they do all day long. I don't know why
these guys do it. I mean know, I'm wanting these
guys have jobs because they're on social media all day long,
and and they're and they're just trash talking and all
of it, all of it, quite frankly, is just a
punch of lives. It's a bunch of lies, and it's
and it's and it's. Oh, it's very disheartening, very very

(07:18):
disheartening that people in this town can act like that.
You know, I went to the town Green last night
for a little bon Jovi, for a little bon Jovi,
great band, and your boy brought him in, Eddie Sad
brought him in.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Well that's when I'm available and right up to Shadn't
know why he got that gig.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
But that's another conversation for another time. He doesn't know
bon Jovi.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Past.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
Uh, the Green concerts have surely been a success, and
the astaven Fest, I mean, I see it. You know,
I'm good friends with the gang from pat NEOs from
the rib House and that's big Steve right there. But
I mean business is thriving on main Street and the
events at the Green have been huge, more successful. I've

(08:03):
seen more foot traffic than I've seen in decades at those.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Well, the town Green was one of my six years ago,
was one of my campaign promises, and I think I delivered.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
Yeah, well that's beautiful.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, I mean, it's so it's so beautiful. We just
got a letter the other day from you know, from
the a DA. They want to start having functions there.
They want to start having all kinds of charitable events there.
They want to donate to the town and they said
it's one of the most beautifulest greens in New England,
which which I'm proud of that, you know, I'm really

(08:40):
proud of that. You know, that was one of, you know,
one of my visions to redo that whole town green
over and I caught hell for that too. Then I
caught hell for that, you know, also from.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
Them for beautifying the green because I felt, uh, you know,
I I'm I'm all over the wasteful spending too, but
it needed it, It needed the over It didn't look
like it was a major overall, and it looked great
when it was done too.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Yeah, it was a complete you know, it was a
complete disaster. It was you know, also all the other
infrastructure that was that was lumped inside of the infrastructure issue,
our skating rink. You know, we had to spend five
million dollars to redo the skating rink because a lack
of maintenance. I don't have to stand there and defend

(09:27):
my record and then have him drag it down, you
know where the town, you know, makes the headlines again.
I then I told you I'm a competitor. I'll go
against the best of them. I don't care. But you know,
I'm not gonna do this because it's me. You know,
it's only gonna hurt the town.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
Well, and that's why I hope you know that. That's
why I kept saying I don't get it, like Joe
wouldn't say Joe wouldn't say no to this. He thrived
in the debating setting. I mean, as best as someone can.
It can be a little awkward at times, but I
mean you succeed. I moderated two debates that you emerge
victorious from. I don't get it. I just kept saying,
that's that's how I got started all this. Now, hearing

(10:11):
you this morning, you sound ticked off by that, and like,
go ahead and try to win this without a debate.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
I don't have to debate you. I'll make it.

Speaker 1 (10:19):
Considerably harder on you by not with your little cartoons.
I did talk to the gentleman who's big on those cartoons,
and it sounds to me like a couple of them
did tick you off. And I said to him, you know,
do you think that's helping it? All this funny content
on social media? You know, maybe it's it's it's gonna

(10:43):
cost you know who you're behind, right, Oh, it's just
good comedy. It's just good kind of You're obviously not
taking it that way. He included your lady in one
of the memes.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
I saw that.

Speaker 1 (10:55):
I feel like that was an approach. I'd feel that
was a personal affront too, But I don't. I don't
know how you're containing yourself though and restraining maybe because
you know it'll be conduct unbecoming, I'll look ugly.

Speaker 3 (11:08):
I'll lose it, you know.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
First of all, then I'm gonna tell you something. I'm
gonna say it again. I'm a big boy. You know
you want to make cartoon sat tires about me, so
be it. I'll just brush it off. But when it
comes down to coming after my kids, coming after my fiance,
and also putting putting a picture of my house with

(11:30):
my address on social media, crossing the line, crossing the line.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
I didn't know that.

Speaker 1 (11:37):
When I saw the one with your fiance, who I'm
new for, I knew her.

Speaker 3 (11:41):
She's how I met you. I thought, you know, he's
not going to respond well to this one. Man, I
just did you know that. That's when I knew. But
I still thought that he would debate him.

Speaker 1 (11:55):
I did not realize involving kids, I could see going
the rout of all right, you want to play this way,
See how well you do you campaign? I don't have
to dignify with a debate. See how well you do
run your campaign. You got a platform, do what you do,
and I've got my record, and you know, we'll see
how election day goes.

Speaker 3 (12:14):
I mean, it makes sense.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
Well, that's just hadn't been. He doesn't have a platform.
To this day, all they're doing on social media is
blasting the mayor. Doesn't want to debate. The mayor doesn't
want to debate. Where's your platform? You've got no platform.
Why would I go on stage again and defend my
record when you're you know, when you're standing there with

(12:36):
no platform. He wants to defund the police department. Then,
in these times, I was the only mayor in forty
years that increased the personnel for the police Department and
the fire department. Like I said earlier, he wants to
defund them. He wants to cut back on all the

(12:59):
talent and employees on the public works employees, the police,
the fire Tell me how he's going to do this
with the unions. First of all, I'm a big union guy.
Then I got endorsed by the union. I got endorsed
by the police and fire department unions. I got endorsed

(13:19):
by the you know, Connecticut building trades, the New Haven
building Trades. Tell me how you're going to do this.
This to me is just strictly inexperience, just throwing stuff
against the wall and see what's ficks. That's all it is.

Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
I uh, it's interesting to run on the Republican ticket
and want to defund the police. That didn't come up
when we spoke. It's not usually a Republican's approach. I'm
curious about that.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, yeah, he said. He said it in this campaign
of you know issues, his campaign flyers that he wants
to cut back on expenses, he wants to cut back
all that stuff. I mean, I took six years to
build that up and still keep the taxes at a
reasonable rate for him, you know, for the taxpayers, and

(14:14):
I increased all these services. That's why I'm saying, I'm
not gonna go up there and waste my time and
get berated for someone who's just throwing stuff against the
wall and seeing what's sick. That's it, you know. And
getting back to Eddie Zad, getting back to Eddie Chad,

(14:34):
you know, because I didn't listen to the you know,
to your interview with him Friday, I went back and
listened to it. Yeah, nothing gets out at all without
going across my desk. Eddie Sad is as much of
a competitor as I am. Okay, you know Eddie for

(14:57):
one hundred years, and that's why that the letter, Like
I heard Eddie's voice when I read that letter, and
there was like one paragraph that I felt like I
had a red line in that paragraph, that.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
This paragraph is extraneous and unnecessary and ed, You've already
made your point. But he's standing by it. He was
fired up Friday. He's standing by every word that he
wrote in there. They you know, to me, it seemed
a little, uh, a little harsh. But he seems agitated too.

Speaker 3 (15:28):
I did you know.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
I didn't realize, you know, home addresses were being shown
although they're known.

Speaker 3 (15:33):
It's a small town. But I hear you, Yeah, I
hear what you're saying.

Speaker 1 (15:36):
Social media has changed the game and people, some people's
lines are in wildly different places than other people's, right,
But Mayor jocofora I appreciate you coming on. We'll see
how this plays out. It's a contentious race, to say
the least. But there you have it. For those of
you who wanted to hear both sides, you got both sides.

(15:58):
Now will make sure they sit alongside each other on
my page. So just go to nine sixty WLI dot
Com News Radio fourteen ten page either one, click on
Venue Penn, click on podcasts, and you could listen to both,
and basically you'll have your debate right in this virtual
day and age.

Speaker 3 (16:18):
You'll have your debate right there,