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. Career 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. 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. DeStefano closed the aging New Haven Coliseum in 2002, and started demolition on it three years later (finishing the demolition in 2007). In 2006 Destefano ran for governor. On August 8, 2006, DeStefano defeated Stamford mayor Dannel Malloy in the Democratic Primary for governor, thereby becoming the Democratic Party's nominee, with running Lieutenant Governor running mate Mary Messina Glassman. DeStefano and Glassman were defeated by the very popular incumbent governor Jodi Rell and her runningmate Michael Fedele in the general election by one of the largest majorities in state history and conceded that night. Following his defeat by Rell, DeStefano focused his attention on a controversial plan to issue official city ID cards to city residents, including undocumented immigrants. Proponents called the