2019: Lowkey Concord Election Or School Board Fury At The Polls?

CONCORD, NH — Historically, Concord city and board of education odd year elections tend to be lowkey, sleepy affairs. Turnout barely cracks 15 percent of registered voters most years. Sometimes, it can be lower.

This, despite the importance of educating the city's children, first responders saving lives, and streets being paved; in many ways, municipal elections are more important than national elections due to these factors.

Most years, few people run. This year, eight of the 10 wards are uncontested. Some councilors have said in the past that they aren't challenged because voters think they are doing a good job. And sometimes, that's true. Other times, it is disinterest by the candidates and, therefore, the voters, too.

But in 2019, despite only two competitive ward seats, there are other competitive races including candidates running for mayor, at large city council, and three district school board races, meaning there is no excuse for any voter in the city of Concord not to participate.

Upsets At The Polls? It's All About Turnout

Will there be an upset at the polls Tuesday or will incumbents sweep back into office, like they have so many times before, in essentially what has become a popularity contest of volunteers?

Outgoing At Large Concord City Councilor Mark Coen said it truly is all about cracking that magic number 15. Anything more than 15 percent, and there could be upsets, he said.

"Tomorrow's election is really about turnout," Coen said, "and it will be interesting to see if there are enough voters in Concord so upset with the school board that they will go out and vote."

Allan Herschlag, another outgoing Concord city councilor, agreed with Coen that turnout was everything and the school board might drive the election.

"I was also disappointed that the council didn't come out with a much stronger statement concerning the school district," he added.

Both Coen and Herschlag are also eyeing the Ward 1 race between Brent Todd and Kevin Miller as a bellwether ward to measure turnout. It will be whether or not "people that shout from the windows" come out and actually vote instead of just complaining, Coen said. Herschlag noted that Ward 1 and his ward, 2, often have pretty low turnout.

Ward 8 is another middle-to-low turnout ward but also has a competitive race between incumbent Gail Matson and challenger Dennis Soucy. If turnout is higher than normal, there might be an upset there, too.

Furious With The School Board

Not since the elementary school consolidation project proposed knocking down perfectly sound historic buildings a decade ago has the public been so upset with SAU 8, the Concord School District, as they have been today in the wake of the Primo "Howie" Leung teacher-student rape case and the noncredentialled administrators' scandal (see the Schools section of Concord NH Patch for dozens of stories about the case). It is a major unknown for Tuesday's vote though: Does the public, furious with the board, punish two school incumbents up for reelection or even bother to show up to elect new members?

At contentious meeting after contentious meeting, parents, students, and the public have swarmed the school board, calling for administrators to be fired and information to be released to the public. The board, last week, ended a five-week negotiating period with former School Superintendent Terri Forsten, who was terminated in a nonpublic session in late September, with her resigning. Another unknown, 12 hours before the voting begins, is whether or not this action was enough to calm the masses.

Both District A, Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, where Jim Richards is being challenged by Patrice Myers, and District C, Wards 8, 9, and 10, where Pam Wicks is being challenged by Gina Cannon, are contested. Voters in District B, which covers Wards 5, 6, and 7, also have a reason to show up since two candidates, David Parker and Max Schultz, are seeking the open seat.

At least one incumbent, Wicks, has been shaken up by the fury of the public.

At board meeting last week, she expressed dismay that she and Richards were bearing the brunt of the frustration of the public criticism – especially after spending so much time trying to improve the schools and outcomes for students.

"I take it very seriously," she said. "I'm feeling the pressure more than other people on the board right now as we come upon Tuesday."

At a candidate forum at Concord High School last week, Wicks highlighted her work getting full-day kindergarten approved and volunteering in the schools. Richards also said he felt duped by some administrators in the district when it was revealed recently that Concord High School Principal Tom Sica, who was supposed to be on paid leave, was actually working remotely to help the school get through the summer and ramp up for the new school year.

Coen said Wicks' presentation struck him as odd; not because she was passionate about her time on the board but because she didn't seem to understand the fiduciary duty of the board.

"When she explained that when everything hit the fan, the board was caught like deer in the headlights, and that wasn't what she signed up for, it made me pause," he said. "The board is the same thing as the city council; it's a multi-million-dollar organization with hundreds of employees. (Her comments) came across as if board members were completely unprepared to deal with managerial issues."

Coen added it didn't mean city councilors were "brilliant about everything; but you need someone to step up and take a leadership role as something as serious as a criminal case" like a teacher-student rape investigation. He also wondered whether or not city residents furious with the Concord School District, Leung case, and the chaos and fallout that followed, would motivate voters.

Other politicos in the city, Charlie Russell, an attorney in the city, also wonders if the ongoing school issues "raise the turnout."

"It will be interesting to see," he said in an email.

Should City Council Have Oversight Of Schools?

The enviable question in the wake of school board chaos and bubbling up in nearly every conversation about this municipal election cycle is whether or not the city council should have some sort of oversight over the school board.

Concord is one of the only communities in the state, and possible the region, where the school district is autonomous, raises its own taxes, and property taxpayers, parents, and voters, are powerless to do anything. They can just vote the members of the advisory board on or off that board. Compare this to Penacook residents who, as members of the Merrimack Valley School District, can show up to town meeting and vote budgets, union contracts, and facilities, up or down. All of the city's neighboring towns also have the ability to reject budgets or approve new buildings by vote, too.

At a recent campaign forum, mayoral and city council candidates rejected the idea of the city having oversight of the school system's budget.

However, Herschlag, in the wake of the Leung situation, said the city might want to think twice about the idea.

It might be difficult with two school districts but "it is resolvable," he said.

During the next redistricting after the 2020 Census, all of the Merrimack Valley households could be redistricted into Ward 1. There would be charter changes that would need to occur at both the city and school level but a new charter commission election is expected to occur for SAU 8 in 2021 – not long after redistricting in the wake of the Census is completed.

"Is it a good idea? If you look at all other communities, there is oversight by the municipal government body or town meeting," Herschlag said, adding that there are negatives and positives.

If the city council had oversight, it could play favorites or manipulate spending. But there could also be more reasonable rates and both bodies could be working together to have a much better balance of expenses and revenues.

Herschlag added he was a fan of beginning the discussion about a larger change: The city's current strong city manager/weak mayor system versus a strong mayor system. The charter, again, would need to be opened up, but the council needs to be more transparent.

"The city employee contract change is not even a baby step," he said. "The consent agenda only allows residents a few full days to respond to (proposals) and there is no guarantee the public would be made aware of that prior to the meeting. Unless a city councilor pulls the agenda item to discuss it, there will be no discussion on that item, and no public discussion at all."

Russell, an attorney who was involved in the fight to create a strong city manager system and a former candidate for the school district's last charter commission, thinks switching back should be considered, too. He added that raising the pay of councilors and school board members should be considered while new elected officials receive better training like the sessions that occur for new state representatives, concerning their new responsibilities.

Money Doesn't Often Drive Turnout

An audit of all available financial reports from the past five municipal elections as well as a citywide special election earlier this year showed that money spent to promote campaigns, something nearly every political expert says a candidate needs, while helpful, didn't appear to influence turnout.

As an example, during the recent special election in March, more than $21,000, was spent, the most money spent of any recent municipal election in a decade. Four candidates ran for one at large seat and two candidates ran for the Ward 10 seat – a ward that consistently has one of the highest turnouts in the city. And yet, turnout was less than 8 percent, about 2,500 voters. While the candidate who spent the most money, Byron Champlin, won the at large seat race by a two-to-one margin, he spent close to $10,000.

Major issues and sometimes, more competitive races or new candidates, appear to influence the turnout sometimes more than money, mailers, and signs.

During the 2013 municipal election, as an example, the year the Concord City Council approved of the purchase of a Bearcat armored police vehicle, many new candidates emerged to take on incumbents. Three ward seats became open seats and there was also a competitive race in a fourth ward. That year, two ward councilors ran for at large seats while two at large candidates ran for ward seats, and nearly $13,000 was spent by all of the candidates.

But even with all that spending, and 3,000 new voter registrations during the previous two years, turnout only inched up by 400 votes when compared to the previous election and actually dropped, as a percentage, by 0.05 percent. Incumbents also won all their seats back.

Financial Filings

Spending on the board of education races is unknown because candidates are not required to file financial forms.

But last week, city council candidates were required to file their donations and expenditures. Another filing is required after the election.

Nathan Fennessy, a former school board member who is looking to grab one of the two at large city council seats, raised and spent the most money this cycle, about $2,200 raised with more than $2,700 spent. Champlin, another at large candidate, raised a little more than $1,200 and spent about $720. Edith Chiasson, a third candidate seeking one of the two seats, had spent $228 so far on her race.

Kevin Miller and Brent Todd in Ward 1 and Gail Matson and Dennis Soucy in Ward 8, all spent under $500, so far, on their races.

Outside Influences? Not Much This Year

While it is rare, in past municipal elections, special interest groups have dipped their toes in the water of city politics in an effort to push their agendas.

The most recent foray was by Save The Children Action Network which spent money and actively worked to oust three district school board candidates who chose not to vote for property tax increases of 9 percent that would have included full-day kindergarten and instead, voted for 6 percent increases and spent money to retrofit school buildings with natural gas in the wake of the Concord Steam bankruptcy.

A lobbyist for the organization, Lindsay Hanson, as reported by Patch at the time, openly promoted the campaigns of full-day K candidates before the organization even saw the questionnaires submitted by the candidates.

The hyper-politicization of the race as well as activists door-knocking and spending money on mailers for what has historically been nonpartisan, volunteer, low money affairs, caught some in Concord off guard and led to one candidate, Barbara Higgins, being ousted from her District B seat by Liza Poinier by around 250 votes.

Tom Croteau, from District A, had two pro-full-day K challengers, Danielle Smith and Liza Dube, and held onto his seat by 100 votes.

Both Higgins and Smith were elected a year later to citywide school board seats.

City Democrats have also been active, in the past, in municipal elections, including helping to push Zandra Rice Hawkins into the Ward 10 seat in the special election in March, the most conservative ward in the city, over Joe Shoemaker, a city Republican, by 102 votes.

This year, however, the Democrats did not recruit or endorse anyone, according to Brian Hawkins of the Concord City Dems.

"Candidates in Concord filed for office of their own accord," he said in an email.

Hawkins did not return an email requesting information as to why city Democrats decided to sit the election out this November despite eight uncontested ward seats.

PREVIOUS PATCH COVERAGE:

• Concord Mayoral Candidate: Change In The City Starts At The Top
• Taxes, Teacher Rape Case Prompts Retiree To Run For School Board
• Concord School Board Candidate Richards Focuses On The Future
• Ward 1's Miller Says Penacook Needs A Fresh Face On City Council
• Herschlag: Thoughts On Tuesday's Election, Before You Vote
• Ward 1 Candidate Todd Says Penacook On The Cusp Of Improvement
• Former School Board Member Fennessy Seeks Concord City Council Seat
• Long-Time Concord Educator Parker Gives Board Of Education Run A Shot
• Cannon: Concord Board Of Education Run About Rebuilding Trust
• Chiasson Says Council Run Is About Preserving Concord's Identity
• Herschlag: Is It Time For New Faces On The City Council?
• Soucy Tries One More Time For Ward 8 Concord City Council Seat
• School Board Candidate Wicks Focuses On New Rundlett School Project
• For Champlin, Council Role Is About Helping Concord Grow
• Concord School Board Candidate Schultz Says Leadership Is Key
• Ward 8 Concord City Councilor Matson Seeks Another Term
• Concord Mayor Gets A Challenger In 2019
• After Meeting With Concord School Board, Candidates File To Run
• Soucy Seeks 3rd Rematch With Matson In Ward 8 City Council Race
• Concord Councilors Vote To Put Keno, Sports Betting On The Ballot
• Bouley Seeks Historic 7th Term As Concord Mayor: Election 2019
• Mayor, City Council, School Board Filings Start Friday In Concord
• Concord School District - filing for election to school board
• Ward 2 Concord City Councilor Herschlag Won't Seek Re-Election In November
• Concord Board Of Education Election Signups Begin Sept. 6
• At Large Concord City Councilor Coen Won't Run For Re-Election
• Hatfield Wins Sleepy Concord City Council Special Election
• Attorney Wants To Eye Transportation, Other Issues On The Council
• Is Third Time The Charm For Concord City Council Candidate Cook?
• Chiasson Hopes Years Of Experience Will Elect Her To City Council
• Concord Special Election After Shurtleff, St. Hilaire Departures

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