A Chilly – But Neighborly – Election Day In Concord

CONCORD, NH — Municipal elections in Concord tend to be sleepy affairs, with most voters staying home, despite the important role both the city council and board of education play in the community. Both boards are considered “weak” political advisory bodies – with strong administrators. But they deliver essential services such as first responders and police, road construction, and educating children.

During the past few years, turnout has barely cracked 15 percent. Even in 2007 – when current incumbent Mayor Jim Bouley faced off against state Rep. Katherine Rogers, both councilors at the time – for the open mayor’s seat and spent thousands to obtain what is essentially a volunteer position, only 5,508 people – 20.26 percent of the city – voted.

On Nov. 7, at polling locations around the city, the turnout was again, pretty light, with pockets of consistent turnout in Wards with competitive council races.

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Ward 5

At the Ward 5 polling location at 1:15 p.m., 400 people had voted – or about two-thirds the amount that cast ballots two years ago. Both Ward candidates – incumbent Rob Werner and challenger Shawn Riley – were standing on opposite sides of the sidewalk holding signs as voters trickled in.

Riley, a firefighter, who ran unsuccessfully two years ago for an at-large, said he wanted to give campaigning another shot.

“I just really want to be part of the Concord City Council,” he said. “I want to have an opportunity to take part in the process.”

Werner has been on the council more than 10 years, winning a special election in June 2007, after the passing of Marjorie Swope. Riley was his first challenge. He said he worked pretty hard on the campaign – hosting neighborhood meetings and reaching out to voters door-to-door, with pods of supports in key areas of the ward also helping out. He said he was happy to be receiving so much support from the Pleasant Street area of the ward who have been involved in a fight with Concord Orthopedics.

Also at Ward 5 was Kenny Banzhoff, holding a sign for his wife, Barbara Higgins, the District B school board incumbent candidate attempting to secure a third term against Liza Poinier, the former executive director of Intown Concord and one of four candidates running on a full-day kindergarten platform.

“I think Barb’s got this one,” he said. “She’s got the experience … and she knows how to work with eight other people. She knows how to go through all that process and has learned a lot.”

Mel, a parent and a supporter of Poinier’s, said she backed the candidate because she felt the district needed to be more inclusive to minority and LBTQ students, New Americans, and those with disabilities. She was also motivated by the full-day K issue. When asked if she thought the district was not welcoming, she said Concord “needed to improve in those areas … I do think they can do a better job.” Poinier’s position on a new Rundlett Middle School – improving and approving the project but making sure it wasn’t a super-high-ticket item – was another reason she supported her at the polls.

Ward 4

Over in Ward 4, at 1:45 p.m., 235 votes had been cast – 7.5 percent. Bernadette Anderson – Thomas Croteau’s sister – was at the polls supporting her brother for re-election to the District A school board seat. She noted that he does everything for her so she had to return the favor.

Jen Pineo was standing with Anderson in support of Croteau as well as Amanda Grady Sexton, an at-large candidate.

“I think they are both going to be receptive to what voters want,” she said. “They will listen and be a good voice.”

Ward 4 Councilor Byron Champlin was also at the polls. Despite being unopposed, he still went out and canvassed neighborhoods and talked to voters about the state of the city.

“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m not willing to work for the votes of the people of the ward,” he said. “I think it’s important to do.”

Ward 7

Ward 7 had one of four contested ward seats this with incumbent Keith Nyhan being challenged by Rod Forey. At 2 p.m., 425 voters had cast ballots – about 12 percent. Nyhan noted that he was having a good time hanging out at the polls with Forey talking to supporters and speaking about the issues.

Forey said response to his campaign had been pretty positive with a lot of voters – including some angry ones – expressing that they wanted to see change on the council. He said he hoped that sentiment would push him over the top.

Nyhan – facing his second challenge since being elected 12 years ago – said most people in the ward told him that they were concerned about the same neighborhood issues like traffic, Rollins Park, and the Rundlett Middle School project.

Grady Sexton was also at the Ward 7 polls. She said while turnout was low, there were pockets of voters motivated by the school board races and Keno.

Dave Parker of Parker Academy was at the polls supporting Higgins, who was also at Ward 7. They noted that some of the students were out at the polls and learning about the political process. Even though she is in a district seat, Higgins said, she always worked as if she represented the entire city so if she lost, she would run again city-wide next year.

“It’s another great day in the city,” Bouley stated, his stock, opening line at events and gatherings. “It’s my favorite day of the year.”

Bouley called the low turnout “disappointing,” especially when the city plays such an important role in people’s lives. At the same time, he added, he appreciated those people who did vote – and the positive responses he was getting from voters.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Ward 8

On the east side of the city – in Ward 8 – voters faced a rematch for the ward seat between challenger Dennis Soucy and Gail Matson, the incumbent, who was elected by a sliver in 2013. At 2:45 p.m., 250 voters had cast ballots – 9 percent.

Soucy – who has lived in the city for more than three decades – said he was giving it one more try since he and his wife are retired and he was disappointed he lost four years ago. He said the apathy in the city due to the lack of participation was frustrating noting that people say they will come out to vote to support the candidates and then, they don’t.

Rusty Cofrin, who lost re-election to the school board, wasn’t going to run again but decided at the last minute to try and return for the District C seat. He said the school system needed to embrace fiscal restraint and added that while he supported the concept of full-day kindergarten, the taxpayers didn’t have the money to pay for the program.

“There are plenty of people in this city who have no stake in full-day kindergarten and don’t want to be taxed for it,” the former teacher stated. “Many of the candidates are saying ‘money doesn’t matter’ … it does matter. It is an issue and it has to be brought up.”

Matson said she was focused on two issues if re-elected: The Northern Pass project and expanding the tax base in the city in order to reduce property taxes. She’s hoping that with a new Main Street, more new businesses would move into the city. Matson agreed with Soucy – who she called “a nice enough guy” – about the lack of participation.

“The thing is, you’re gonna get represented … wouldn’t you want to be involved in who it’s going to be?,” she asked.

Ward 10

In Ward 10 – historically the city’s busiest ward – 481, a little more than 14 percent had voted at around 3:15 p.m. At the polls, a light, chilly breeze swirled around the school as well as Dan St. Hilaire, who has served two terms in the Ward 10 council seat after serving at-large, too, was asking voters for another term. He – like Matson – agreed that the focus for the city needs to be on economic expansion and making sure younger families can get good jobs and stay in the city.

“I like the direction that the city is going in and I want to see that continue,” he said.

St. Hilaire said it was great to see competition for some of the seats this year because it meant people were thinking about the future of the city and had other ideas to bring to the race.

Another voter – John Cassidy – was standing at the polls supporting Chuck Crush for the District C seat.

“We really liked his ideas,” he said, including his support for full-day K and slowing down the middle school project.

The candidate came by his house, they talked, and he was impressed with his positions, Cassidy noted. He added that school officials should consider building a new middle school next to Broken Ground – the Ward 10 polling location – and allow the city to have two middle schools, something that was proposed by a number of opponents of the elementary school consolidation project six or seven years ago.

Ward 1

At the Penacook polls, Ward 1, at just before 4 p.m., 206 voters had cast ballots. The ward councilor – Brent Todd – was alone, standing at the polls. Another unopposed, Todd said he was running again to focus on development issues in the community including a new workforce housing project at the tannery site, possible rezoning on Whitney Road to include larger commercial at the site, and form-based zoning around the village.

Outside of the polls at Ward 3, Jennifer Kretovic was standing near Croteau, Danielle Smith’s husband, Justin Smith, and Liza Dube, another District A school board candidate. At 4:30 p.m., 274 people – just shy of 10 percent – had cast ballots.

Kretovic said she was excited to be returning to the board even though there were challenges like the budget. She enjoyed the constituent services aspect of the position, though.

“I am kind of a nerd about this stuff,” she said. “That’s the biggest part for me … being able to help.”

Dube said she ran because she felt the school board needed to communicate better and have a strategic plan for bigger projects. She – and others – were stunned when the board recently presented four different middle school models based on a single visioning session and without having performed an enrollment assessment or demographic study.

“They were presented as if they were foregone conclusions,” she said.

Dube said her corporate experience as a communications director at a nonprofit as well as a parent would be a good fit on the body.

“If effort has anything to do with it, I think I should do OK,” Croteau said when asked about his chances for re-election.

Croteau said he and his family put in a strong effort, listened to voters’ concerns, and hadn’t made any promises that he couldn’t keep, although he was cautious.

Justin Smith said it was hard to tell how the election would turn out but he was proud of his wife’s effort. He said as a former teacher in Manchester and a small business owner, she, too, could bring a different perspective to the school board.

“People said she ran a really good campaign,” he said. “She put a lot of work into it.”

Ward 2

Danielle Smith, Allan Herschlag, and others were hanging out outside of the Ward 2 polling location for the last two hours of voting ... and were feeling the chilly temps. At 4:45 p.m., 228 people had voted – nearly 8 percent.

Herschlag – who also ran unopposed – said he would be lending some perspective during the next two years on economic development and tax base expansion – with money coming back to the community and not being tied up in special tax districts – as well as the substance abuse crisis.

“Until we look at how we structure our response to that,” he said, “it doesn’t matter how many dollars we throw at that … we’re just throwing dollars at a structure that has never worked before and there’s no reason to believe that … that structure will work in the future.”

Smith said she thought she ran a good race, got her message out, campaigned around neighborhoods, and worked social media, too.

“It’s been nice seeing friendly faces,” she said. “Parents bringing their kids … it’s been exciting, so far.”

Lottery Pushes Keno

While kindergarten was one issue this year that saw both get-out-the-vote and financial assistance from outside of the community to the cause, the Keno question also got a push from forces outside of the city.

The New Hampshire Lottery got into the game this election season – sending out an email Monday morning to Concord residents who were on its email list reminding them that there was a question on the ballot as to whether or not Concord businesses would be allowed to provide Keno to customers. Proceeds from “Keno-garten,” as it has been nicknamed, would go to fund full-day kindergarten.

“A win for KENO 603 is a win for kids across the Granite State because the more revenue KENO 603 raises, the more dollars available to fund full-day kindergarten for New Hampshire's children,” the email stated. “We like to think of it as a win-win!”

Many candidates stated at the polls that voters were coming out to participate in the Keno question.

Images via Tony Schinella, Patch staff.