On Tuesday — election day — New Haven will most likely vote in John DeStefano Jr. to a record-breaking ninth term as mayor.

And voters should: DeStefano is clearly the only one in this race who can run the city. For years, he's been the only choice. There haven't been any viable options at the polling stations since state Sen. Martin Looney lost the Democratic primary back in 2001.

And this year, DeStefano's three challengers don't pose any real threat — they're more like protest vote opportunities for grumblers.

(See below for excerpts of an interview with two of DeStefano's three challengers — one skipped the interview.)

Even so, DeStefano's been out campaigning this year, and raised nearly $150,000 through the end of September, while all of his challengers collected less than $1,000.

Since the real mayoral election isn't terribly exciting — and let's be honest, it hasn't been exciting in a while — we've whipped up a fantasy election full of promising candidates. They're activists, organizers and big thinkers. They're cops, preachers and teachers.

There's even a few real-life politicians on our list. One, briefly, was a real candidate for mayor. But Bill Dyson, who recently retired from his 30-year career as a state representative, says politics is "no longer my bag."

That's besides the point. This fantasy election is meant to be an exercise in democracy. It's meant to get New Haveners, and those with an interest and a stake in the city, to think about who can and who should take on the daunting job of becoming New Haven's next mayor.

DeStefano won't hold the job forever. Some observers go as far as to suggest that this may be his last election.

We came up with these names by polling trusted, in-the-know folks on their ideal candidates. The fantasy candidates you see here were all suggested by at least two people as potential leaders of the Elm City.

None, however, claim to want the job.

Here's what New Haven might look like under their leadership:

Kevin Ewing, community organizer

Age: 48

Occupation: Reverend; president of the West River Neighborhood Services Corporation.

On how he'd institute school reform: I'd get rid of [Superintendant Dr. Reginald] Mayo. I like him; it's not personal. He's just been there too long. We need term limits, and I'm talking across the board — the Board of Aldermen, the mayor, etc. Once you're seated for so long in a powerful role, you tend to get stuck in a way of doing things.

On crime: I was a cop for several years in St. Louis. It's about jobs and opportunity and engaging people. Right now, I see a lack of hope. ... We're not doing community policing right now. Other than Lt. [Ray] Hassett, I have no idea who the West River officers are and they don't know me. They don't get out of their cars.

Roland Lemar, East Rock alderman and environmentalist

Age: 33

Occupation: communications consultant.

First step as mayor: I'd throw out the zoning code. And I'd immediately go to every block watch and neighborhood management meeting and school and church to talk about what they think the future of their neighborhood and the city should be. What is New Haven going to be in 2020? We should have a vision for that and a core group of people committed to that.

I think the new mayor needs to get the city engaged to think about what the city should be and look like. We know our old manufacturing base is not coming back. We know the state isn't interested in property tax reform. We know our transportation infrastructure isn't well thought out and up to date. We need to get excited about what we have and what our opportunities are.

On the biggest issues facing his neighborhood and how to fix them: Job growth and schools. I think you fix it by improving schools' outcomes and quality and the opportunities for kids once they graduate. That leads to job growth.

That's why I'm excited that the mayor jumped onto the school reform band wagon. More than anything that will lead to safer neighborhoods and better jobs.

Shafiq Abudssabur, activist cop

Age: 42

Occupation: cop, author, executive director of nonprofit youth group CTRIBAT (children and teens' retreat), and founder of a Muslim boys' school set to open this winter.

On the Supreme Court's decision in the New Haven 20 firefighters' lawsuit (Ricci v. DeStefano) about what role race should play in hiring decisions: In the Ricci case, you had a civil service exam and those exist so the average hardworking person could have a shot. When you move race into the equation, the mission of a civil service exam gets lost. So, I'm a believer in going down the list [of highest test scorers]. Don't deny the people who studied, who worked hard, made sacrifices and dreamed of this.

On the Elm City ID card, available to all residents, including undocumented immigrants: I was an early supporter of the ID card. You don't move a city forward by ignoring a segment of the population, because the rest of the country hasn't caught up. And, American-born people use it, too. I told my 15-year-old son he needs one so that he has an ID.

Mary Lou Aleskie, arts leader

Age: "The renaissance, can't you tell?"

Occupation: director of New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

What she'd change in New Haven: I'd eliminate the word 'No.' I like to foster the idea that we are a city of possibility rather than limitations. So I'd reword all the parking signs: You can park here from this time to this time.

On how to improve Wooster Square, her neighborhood: I want the conditions of the sidewalk and foot traffic appeal to be better. We walk to the train station a lot — that's gotten better — and we walk to Fair Haven, but there's still a lot of broken glass and overgrown grass there. I tend to think that if you work on making a community look nice, people behave better. Otherwise, it can make you feel unsafe even if you're not.

Kica Matos, social justice activist

Age: 43

Occupation: Head of U.S. Reconciliation and Human Rights at Atlantic Philanthropies, in New York City; former Community Services Administrator for the City of New Haven.

First step as mayor: I'd assemble a really strong staff. And, I hate to sound too much like Hillary Clinton, but I would go on a listening tour to the neighborhoods to talk about people's aspirations and concerns and how to become an active resident of the city. All mayors should find ways to engage citizens. It can't just fall on city officials and public employees to run the city. We all need to do that.

On the issues facing her neighborhood, Fair Haven, and how to fix them: Drugs, prostitution and poverty. I can't say how terrifying it is for me to walk with my 4-year-old son to the park and encounter prostitutes and drug dealers shamelessly selling their wares out in the open.

You find ways to give people opportunity so that they don't feel like they have to sell drugs and women don't think selling their bodies is their only recourse. Also, through vigorous law enforcement. But the problem with only doing law enforcement is that you create a vicious cycle by throwing everybody into jail. So you need to get at the root cause.

Janna Wagner, early education advocate

Age: 36

Occupation: co-founder and co-director of All Our Kin, a nonprofit that focuses on high-quality early-care education.

On DeStefano's $1.5 billion school construction program: I would continue it. I taught in a decrepit, leaky building in the Bronx and it matters. It sends a message to the community that you value students, teachers and families. All our students deserve a 21st-century building and technology.

On crime: We need to increase community policing. Having an officer assigned to a neighborhood where they walk and develop a relationship with kids and neighbors matters. Whenever we engage, as [the] Wooster Square [neighborhood], with the police the response is always a lack of police manpower. So we need more police and more police should be city residents. If you don't live in New Haven, it's just a job.

We also need more opportunities for kids — kids need good things to do in school and after school. It doesn't have to be a teen center or a neighborhood center. There are organizations doing this work already. They just need more resources.

Former State Rep. Bill Dyson

Age: 69

Occupation: teaches a class on policy at Central Connecticut State University; also sits on the state's Judicial Selection Board.

On what he'd change in New Haven: I want people to believe they can help in making a difference. We need all the ideas and suggestions that can be made. Everyone's suggestion is worth looking into and investigating.

First step as mayor: I'd give the people a sense of what we are confronted with. And, I'd make a pitch to them: I need your help because I can't do this by myself. We need a healthy environment for young people and you can help by getting involved with as many young people as possible — be a resource to kids, and not just your own. The issue is: What do we do for young people?

(Add your own suggestions in the comments below.) 

The Real Candidates

Democrat Angela Watley and Green party member Ralph Ferrucci sat down for an informal interview with the Advocate. (Democrat Henri Sumner was invited, but didn't show.) Here are a few excerpts from the chat.

Why are you running?

Ralph Ferrucci: I was talking to somebody in City Hall and I was arguing the fact that they were asking for concessions from union members and laying others off, and yet the department heads were getting raises, and he argued with me that it was the cost of living. I said, 'How do you justify a cost of living raise to someone who makes over $100,000, while asking for those who make $30,000 to $50,000 to make less money, stay the same or lose their jobs?' And it's because the way City Hall thinks, everything is backwards.

And we need a new way of looking at things. It's the working people who make the city what it is, not the department heads.

Angela Watley: What motivated me to run is just sitting around hearing that no one else was gonna run. And knowing that DeStefano was just going to waltz back in here without any problem. And, there was an article in your paper. It said in New Haven people vote for DeStefano, or they don't. And in New Haven they don't. His response was he doesn't care about the turnout, he just cares abut the outcome. And that to me was so bad. I said he really doesn't care. He knows that if nobody votes, just two votes will put him in. And I was so stunned with that, and I said you know what, I'm gonna run.

Its been really tough, but I'm gonna stick it out.

How would you deal with New Haven's homeless population?

AW: If it's not gonna raise my taxes, I would like to see the homeless have a place to go. I deal with that every night [in her job as a police dispatcher]. Every night there's some guy who calls in and they're calling because they need a place to lay their head. I do a lot of good talking up to [shelters] Columbus House and Immanuel Baptist. So, I really see a need to ask for donations. Ask for contributions from the neighborhood and community organizations — at least it would help and everybody could say I'm doing something instead of complaining: oh, this homeless person here. Well, give him a hand. Donate to the shelter. And let's keep it open so they can have someplace to go.

I'm sure there's something in that [city] budget that can be cut to pay for that shelter.

RF: We have more than enough money to give to Tweed [New Haven airport], which in my opinion is pointless. It works for Yale. Yale wants it, they can pay for it, and we can pay for the homeless.

I'm a former member of Food Not Bombs, which feeds the homeless every Sunday. And in a poor economy, we're going to see more and more people losing their homes with nowhere to go. And $300,000 [the amount cut from the city's budget for the homeless shelters] is not going to be enough, because it will be worse this year than the year before. So we need to increase funding, not cut it.

What's the biggest issue in your neighborhood and how would you fix it?

RF: Fair Haven Heights. My neighborhood is all homeowners, so the biggest issue is gonna be taxes. I'd look at how we can lower taxes so people can afford to stay in their homes. The house I bought the guy was going into foreclosure and I bought it right before he went into foreclosure, so I was able to buy it and he kept some money.

AW: I'm in Dixwell. For the most part its crime. The [police] officers have to be more visible. They do. They need to be more visible, and we need places for our youth to play and to go.

First move as mayor

RF: I would sit down with [Yale president Richard] Levin and discuss what Yale can do for New Haven, because they should be making a bigger contribution than what they are. Their voluntary payments are around $4 million.

AW: My first step is to trim the mayor's office.

Advocate: What do you mean by that?

AW: Reduce some of the salaries

Advocate: For everybody? Even people making $30, $40 k?

AW: There's people making $30,000 in the mayor's office? No, of course not. Everybody over $100,000. Let's be real. They struggle like I struggle.

How would you have handled the Ricci case?

RF: First off, you can't tell somebody we're gonna give you a promotion if you pass this test and then refuse to promote them because the test is considered racist. You can fix the test after, but you should promote those 20. They should be promoted, fix the test if you need to fix it. Keep in mind one person that took the test was dyslexic and he passed the test. Meaning the test was probably hard, but it was passable. If it needs to be fixed you can't do it after you promised promotions.

AW: He's right. That was my take from the beginning. If you gave the test, there shouldn't been a reason to not promote the people, because you did give the test.

That issue is so ... I don't know. Like I said, if you administered the test and everybody took the test, I don't see why there was a reason to pull it in mid stream. The people who took the test and passed the test, promote them. But we're behind the times. There need to be assessments [of a person's aptitude at their job]. People need to be assessed for their performance. Some people are very good test takers, but can you climb a ladder and go up there and not get paranoid? I mean, we're taking about fire. If they passed the test and get in there, they should be able to do the job.

And while their on the job, they should have had time to observe them. Assessment's the way to go.

People got the idea that it was racist, and no blacks passed. But they did. They just didn't score as high.

How would you make the city more bike friendly?

RF: Increase more bike lanes, and I would also include pedestrian friendly on that because New Haven is not pedestrian friendly. We need more of those yellow pedestrian in-road signs. That was an issue I talked about two years ago when I ran against the mayor. And this year he put them out. Danbury uses them, and the difference is in Danbury you walk out into a crosswalk and they stop. New Haven? No.

I go to Western [Connecticut State University] for a speaking event and people stop like they're supposed to.

I think there should be more and people should recognize them and stop for them.

Advocate: How do you make people do that?

RF: Probably start pulling people over for not doing it. Run an ad in the paper that people not stopping in ped zones will be pulled over and ticketed and people not obeying bicycle's right to the road will also be ticketed.

AF: it's the same thing. I got yelled at by a bicyclist because he was coming behind me. I can't see behind me, but trying to go around and you know you're gonna dip a bit and he started yelling at me. But he had a bike lane. We just have to learn how to get along. That's all. We do have a lot of bike lanes. Sherman Avenue has one. We have the route [canal trial] over by me.

The sad part that I witness is that children like my kid can't ride his bike because he's too small, and if he's like in the street cars are not friendly so I cant take that chance w my baby, and for him to ride a bike lane by himself, its too close. I think we need to arrange that space we have more parking and that lane. They have to share that space.

How would you curb youth violence?

AF: It's sad to say, I mean they have nothing. Absolutely nothing to look forward to. I grew up in New Haven in the projects on Ashmun street and my mother brought up four boys. None went through the system. We had the Q house. We had soul stations. We had all kinds of places to enjoy ourselves. And Goffe Street Park - the lights didn't turn off at nighttime. Soon as it gets dust the lights are cut and you gotta go. Why? In the summer time people wanna play ball, let ‘em play. I saw an event this summer, and the young boys who couldn't play in the leagues were out there with their balls and they wanted to play. And the cops was clearing them outta there.

And the sad part for me is I didn't get out of the car because I didn't want to argue that my kid can't play basketball because evidently somebody told you to do this.

But there's nothing for them to do and that doesn't excuse the crime. But they need something.

RF: Community centers to give people a place to go. More after school programs and more community policing. There's a lot of break-in. My car has been broken into five times in three years. Someone stole the stereo from my ‘72 Beetle, and it's not in pretty shape.

AF: And that's bad. The other thing is there's a lot of crime downtown that nobody hears about. There's a whole lotta stuff going on downtown. It happens in my neighborhood, but it happens everywhere. And in downtown, I'd like to know who's doing the crime. We open this town to a lot of people - people can bounce right in and do whatever and bounce right back out.

Would you give UI tax breaks to not leave New Haven?

AF: Yes, I would. I would offer whatever I could to make them stay in New Haven. Why would you let somebody take 400 and some jobs our of New Haven? And actually, if they go to Orange or West Haven, wherever they want to go, that town is gonna gain even more than that. New Haven is a good, like I said this is a hub, Bridgeport's a hub, Hartford's a hub. And of course I'd have to talk to the Governor because if these towns fall, Connecticut falls, because we attract people to Connecticut.

I would give them whatever they need to keep the jobs here.

RF: I would have to sit down and see what we can work out first. And if need be, tax breaks would be possible to keep them here. I'd be more worried they'd be like Southern Connecticut Gas and be stationed in Maine, and not in Orange. There's nothing to say they have to have an office in Connecticut or in New Haven.

AW: If we have them here, wouldn't you rather have them in New Haven?

RF: if they were gong to move far away, I'd try to keep the jobs in New Haven.