John DeStefano Jr.

In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against DeStefano in the discrimination case of Ricci v. DeStefano. The city had been under a court order to promote 20 white and Hispanic firefighters who had been denied promotions on the basis that the civil service test they took had been biased. Justice Samuel Alito's concurring opinion suggested that DeStefano had been motivated by improper political considerations in denying the promotions.

In 2008, DeStefano announced massive budget cuts to balance the city's $456 million budget, including the potential closures of an elementary school, police substations, and senior centers.

Proponents pointed out that the undocumented immigrants are already living in the city, and are the responsibility of the federal government, and that these cards would serve to bring people out of the shadows and under a small degree of government supervision. The city began issuing the cards on July 24, 2007.

On August 8, 2006, John DeStefano defeated Mayor Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) in the Connecticut Democratic Primary for Governor, becoming the Democratic Party's official candidate, with running Lieutenant Governor running mate Mary Messina Glassman. DeStefano and Glassman were defeated by the very popular Rell in the general election by one of the largest majorities in state history and conceded that night.

DeStefano focused his tenure as mayor on improving education and public safety in New Haven, as well as on economic development. Notable initiatives included the Livable City Initiative, begun in 1996, which promoted homeownership and removed blight, and the Citywide Youth Initiative. In 1995, DeStefano launched a 15-year, $1.5 billion School Construction Program, already half finished, to replace or renovate every New Haven public school. DeStefano was President of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and President of the National League of Cities.

DeStefano successfully ran again in 1993. He served ten consecutive terms, (posting his tenth mayoral election victory in November 2011) during which his efforts included a massive overhaul of New Haven's public schools, based principally on the magnet school model, and New Haven's selection as a federal "Empowerment Zone". DeStefano was New Haven's longest-serving mayor; after 10 terms in office, he announced that he would not seek an 11th term. DeStefano was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. He had to deal with public perceptions that violent crime was on the rise in New Haven.

A high-level aide under mayor Biagio DiLieto, DeStefano first ran for the mayor's office in 1989, after DiLieto announced he would not seek re-election. DeStefano won the endorsement of the New Haven Democratic Party, but was defeated in a Democratic primary by John Daniels.

John DeStefano Jr. (born May 11, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 49th mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, from 1994 until 2014. He was the Democratic nominee in 2006 for Governor of Connecticut, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell. He was also the named defendant in the landmark 2009 U.S. Supreme Court case of Ricci v. DeStefano. John DeStefano is the son of a New Haven police officer. John and his wife Kathy DeStefano met at the University of Connecticut as undergraduates, where he also earned a Masters in Public Administration. Kathy DeStefano is a first grade teacher in West Haven, Connecticut, and they are the parents of two adult sons.