HAMDEN, CT — In 2021, Patricia C. Vener-Saavedra, then a member of the town's Charter Revision Commission, called for a change to the town's government structure that some saw as sorely needed.

Vener-Saavedra and other members felt Hamden could benefit from a town manager who could help execute the mayor's vision and take over the day-to-day duties that can quickly fill up a schedule. The role ultimately wasn't adopted out of fear that it would be too jarring to Hamdenites and weaken the mayor's authority.

New Haven Register
By Austin Mirmina
Aug 31, 2025

Now, as a Green Party candidate for mayor, Vener-Saavedra will get another chance to re-imagine Hamden's leadership configuration – a change that she says is crucial to achieving her long list of priorities, some of which are unconventional.

Although she was a late entrant, Vener-Saavedra, 72, believes she has a real shot to win Hamden's wide-open mayoral race. Her competition includes six other candidates – five Democrats and a Republican – looking to secure the seat, which comes with a new, four-year term. Incumbent Mayor Lauren Garrett, a Democrat, announced in June she wouldn't seek re-election.

A relative newcomer to politics, Vener-Saavedra said her first order of business if elected would be to hire a town manager to replace the current chief and assistant chief of staff positions. The town manager, she said, would oversee Hamden's day-to-day operations while working with the mayor to accomplish her goals based on feedback from residents.

She said many of Hamden's problems can be traced to the lack of an experienced leader who's capable of managing the town's more than 61,000 residents.

"When you go into a hospital to have an operation, don’t you want the doctor who’s actually trained in the kind of operation you’re getting," she said. "So if you’re going to manage a large town or small city, wouldn’t you want someone who knows what they are doing to help you do this? I think it’s logical."

Hamden, which uses a mayor-council form of government, considered switching to a town manager model during its 2021 charter review process. Officials opted against it, worrying residents were too accustomed to a mayor-led system. Some also feared it would strip the mayor's power, according to Vener-Saavedra.

Instead, the Charter Review Commission pushed for a "hybrid" model and the creation of a chief operating officer whose role would have resembled that of a town manager. But the proposal was rejected twice by the Legislative Council, which took issue with the job's vague duties and its financial burden on taxpayers.

Having a town manager, Vener-Saavedra said, would make Hamden more orderly and effective, especially with financial matters. She pointed to the challenges that the Legislative Council faced during this year's budget process, noting how a town manager could have helped sort through the numbers and relay important details.

"A town manager would be the person to look into this thing and maybe manage things so that they could flow more effectively," she said. "I don’t care how lovely a person you are, if you can’t do it … you don’t keep banging your head on the wall, you go get some help."

The town manager position is central to Vener-Saavedra's mayoral platform, which includes plans to address the remediation of homes built on a landfill in southern Hamden's Newhall neighborhood. She said a town manager could expedite those efforts.

A proud socialist, Vener-Saavedra also wants to expand Hamden's housing and business co-operatives, where members share ownership and responsibilities. A shift to housing co-ops, she said, would cut down on absentee landlords, give tenants more control and ensure fair rents. She cited Hamden's Meadowbrook Co-op and Brooklyn's Co-op City as successful examples.

"Have the residents be the owners and the managers and the decision makers,” she said. "If only a small amount of people are benefiting while everybody else is doing all the work ... that’s wrong.”

Vener-Saavedra said the Secretary of the State's office still needs to approve her petition to appear on the Nov. 4. ballot under the Green Party line. She hopes to be included in the town's next mayoral debate hosted by the Hamden Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 15.