After more than 20 years representing New Haven in the state legislature, mayor elect Toni Harp said she's excited to get started.
Harp knows voters in the state's second largest city will be looking at her again two years from now. She said she hopes they'll see a city that's better off because of her time in office.
"Hopefully, they'll see that we've been able to generate more jobs for New Haven residents, that my administration has gone farther to eliminate the achievement gap that we have in the city, and our streets will be safer," she said.
Current mayor John DeStefano has prepared three binders of transition materials, Harp said, and by the end of this week she hopes to have a transition team in place.
Harp said she wants to look over the structure of city government and decide who to appoint to run the departments. She'll take office New Year's Day.
Even though she won election after election in the 10th state senate district, Harp said the city-wide campaign for mayor was a learning experience.
"It helped deepen my appreciation for our city," Harp said. "I got to see different parts of the city and also gave me an understanding of what kinds of things need to be fixed, sidewalks being one of the most important ones across the town."
Local
Harp beat out Independent candidate Justin Elicker, who conceded Tuesday night.
