Planning & Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins has announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for mayor. Mullins filed his candidacy with Town and City Clerk Patricia Horvath on Thursday. He will now faceoff against the party’s other announced candidate, Tenth District Councilman Barry Lee Cohen when the Town Committee meets in its annual caucus.
Mullins said that he has been deeply passionate about creating positive change in the lives of all West Haven residents, regardless of where they live or their political party affiliation.
A planning & zoning commissioner since 2006, Mullins served six years as Commission Chairman or Vice Chairman.
“As mayor, I will work toward making West Haven more attentive to the needs of its citizens, including building a strong tax base, providing a civil, professional and transparent government and improving the quality of life for all residents.” Mullins said. “We have among the highest taxes in Connecticut, we lack efficient services and blight has made parts of the city look like “mini-Detroit.”
He said the current administration lacks the depth to run the city any longer.
“With all due respect, Mayor Rossi is in over her head and has proven her inability to lead the city properly.” he said. “During the entire Coronavirus pandemic, we heard regularly from mayors and first selectmen from other Connecticut communities, but only heard from Mayor Rossi a couple of times. Last summer, when protesters and police clashed at a rally where a car drove through the crowd, Mayor Rossi made no timely statement in response to the situation. That is not providing the leadership that West Haven so desperately needs.”
During the next several weeks and months, Mullins will be actively engaging residents and neighborhoods across the city to better understand their unique needs.
“As West Haven’s next mayor, my focus will be on serving communities that make up the city and solving problems and providing the leadership that has been absent for nearly a decade.” Mullins said. “We need a leader who is unafraid, who will provide solutions to our challenges and someone who will empower each and every citizen and neighborhood. I am that leader.”
Born in rural Glenwood, AL, Mullins, 46 moved to West Haven with his parents at the age of five. He has been deeply invested in the city and believes that politics as usual is not working. He has been civically and politically active for half of his childhood and his entire adulthood.
“I want to continue to serve West Haven in this time of need and bring bold, innovative solutions to the table. I want to lead us forward as we rise above our current politics. I want to see every citizen and every neighborhood in West Haven thrive,” Mullins said.
In recent months, Mullins has been an organizer and featured speaker at several rallies in support of local municipal zoning rights throughout the state of Connecticut. In addition to serving on the Planning & Zoning Commission, Mullins served as Justice of the Peace for 21 years, is a volunteer firefighter in the Allingtown District and is chairman of the West Haven Black Heritage Committee. He also served as Chairman of the finance committee of the West Haven High School Building Committee. An advocate for young people, Mullins has presented the “Commissioner Mullins Youth Leadership Awards” to numerous West Haven High School students over the years. Mullins is a Past Worshipful Master of Annawon Lodge, #115, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of West Haven and is a communicant of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in West Haven.
Mullins’ wife, a registered oncology nurse serves as Secretary of the West Haven Board of Health. Together they have a 17-year-old daughter that graduated from West Haven High School last month and a 14-year-old son, that will begin his freshman year at the school this fall.
He said being mayor will only continue a path he’s forged for decades.
“For 30 years, I have always had West Haven’s best interest at heart. I have always put West Haven first and will continue to do so as mayor,” he said.