Byron Champlin, Mayor Of Concord Candidate

Byron Champlin

Age (as of Election Day)

73

Position sought (including district number if applicable)

Mayor

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

My wife Susan and I and our two adult daughters are all residents of Concord.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

I'm a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a bachelors degree in English and Boston University with a masters degree in Journalism.

Occupation

I'm retired after 27 years with Lincoln Financial Group and its predecessor companies in Concord. I previously served three years as public relations officer for Colby-Sawyer College and seven years as public information officer for the N.H. House of Representatives.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I've served the past four-and-a-half years as an at-large city councilor, representing the entire city. Prior to that I represented Ward 4 for five-and-a-half years.

Campaign website

None

Why are you seeking elective office?

During my 40 years in the city, I've seen Concord move from a "city in a coma" to a city on the rise. I'm proud of my service on City Council the past 10 years and the role I've played in making these changes possible. I would like to lead City Council as we continue this upward trajectory, building on the momentum of the past two decades.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The lack of affordable housing for working people and families challenges both our economic development initiatives and our efforts to address homelessness. Business can't locate and expand in Concord if their employees can't find an affordable place to live. Social service agencies can't move unhoused people into permanent housing if the units and willing landlords aren't available. The city can partner with private and nonprofit developers to facilitate more construction of projects like Caleb Development's Penacoook Landing, Dakota Partners' Rail Yard project and CATCH Neighborhood Housing's various developments. As mayor, I'd also be looking at identifying impediments to "missing middle" and multi-unit projects.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

In a word, experience. Besides my decade working on City Council, I have served on or chaired a number of nonprofit boards in the city and the state. These include the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, the Capitol Center for the Arts, the city's Creative Economy Task Force, Creative Concord, CATCH Neighborhood Housing, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, Leadership New Hampshire and others. In my role as a city councilor, I've chaired the Parking Committee, the Steering Committee on Concord's Plan to End Homelessness, the ad hoc Gasholder Committee, the ad hoc Fee Committee and the ad hoc Street Tree Committee. I've also served on Planning Board, the Fiscal Policy Advisory Board, the Economic Development Advisory Commission, the Community Development Advisory Committee, the Transportation Policy Advisory Committee and the Concord Energy and Environment Advisory Committee, which I serve as vice chair.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

NA

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Besides addressing our housing crisis, I want to focus on economic development to provide good-paying jobs and broaden the tax base to relieve pressure on our individual homeowners. I want to continue to focus on our homelessness challenge, against which I think we are poised to make progress. Public safety is critical to a thriving community and there are challenges that must be addressed in recruiting and training qualified police and firefighters, particularly so that we have the officers to implement community policing and problem-oriented policing. I believe we must be a welcoming community that provides opportunities to our New American residents who are becoming a significant entrepreneurial factor in Concord. And I always want to balance new programs or expenditures against the impact on the individual homeowner, particularly those who, like me, are on fixed incomes.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I've built a career on public service, communications and consensus-building. Seeing the value of arts and culture as an economic engine, I initiated efforts as a private citizen to gain city and business support to launch a task force on stimulating the creative economy in Concord. I was asked to chair the task force, and with more than 30 members from business, government and the arts community we worked for 18 months. Guided by top national consultants, in 2008 we published the report "Concord: New Hampshire's Creative Crossroads," which has formed the basis for much of the city's creative economy measures since.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Never make a decision without first walking in the other guy's shoes.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

One of my constituents recently told me that Concord is "a little city with a big heart." I immediately knew what she meant because that's the quality that made me fall in love with Concord and decide to stay here, raise a family here and get involved. That's what has driven me to run for mayor--my love for the city and my belief in its potential.