Concord Mayoral Candidate: Change In The City Starts At The Top

CONCORD, NH — Linda Banfill knows that running against a popular, multi-year incumbent, for the position of mayor of Concord, is an uphill battle. While it is mostly a ceremonial position, the city of Concord has a strong city manager system; the mayor runs the monthly meetings, cut ribbons, appoints members to other boards, and is one of 15 people that acts an advisory board; it still is a worthy endeavor to run, she said. Two years ago, she put her name on the ballot, along with Roy Schweiker, too, and "didn't do much of anything," but still managed to receive nearly 400 votes.

Schweiker, a regular commenter at meetings and on the editorial pages of the Concord Monitor, just like his late father was before him, came in second with 516 votes.

This time, she has been a bit more active, participating in forums, meeting voters, and agreeing to interviews.

At the heart of her race are a few main points: The city is changing too fast, there is an arrogance of power that permeates some parts of city hall, and first responders deserve as much support as they can get in the city because they save lives.

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Having lived here since 1977, Banfill said a lot had changed – and not always for the better. There are too many banks downtown and not enough small shops. Drug deals are going on in broad daylight. Panhandlers are numerous when there used to only be one (Norman, a long-time transient who used to push his cart around the city).

"It's changed … and I don't like the way it's changed," Banfill said. "I care about this city … Concord is a bigger small town that happens to be the state capital. It's special."

While Banfill is retired now, and a "flower child, at heart," she has always had a curiosity when it comes to how the city ticks. She learned that while working at the Monitor, writing news briefs, obituaries, and the social pages and, later, working as the publisher's administrative assistant. While she wasn't "a trained journalist," she received on-the-job training, priceless, she said, and it made her look inquisitively at city issues. The "arrogance, one thing I can't stand," seemed to be permeating in some parts of city hall, she said.

She readily admitted that she doesn't have to live in Concord. But, she said, "I care enough to fight … and it starts at the top."

Community events, the things that make a city special, should be championed more. The lack of parades, or disorganized parades, and other issues, should be improved. The Christmas parade, she said, should be on Main Street not Loudon Road. NASCAR races used to be promoted better than they are now. Improved parking strategies and bringing back free spaces during the holiday should also be reconsidered, she said.

The city manager's review, Banfill said, should be negotiated in a public meeting, not in nonpublic meetings. More contracts, she said, should be open to the public before they are approved – an issue the council has been working to improve.

But it's not all a litany of complaints to Banfill. She commended the city's work repairing the Sewalls Falls Bridge – although it took way too long to construct. The "amazing first responders" also deserve the city's support especially when it comes to a new ambulance for the fire department and more staffing for both fire and police. Banfill called it embarrassing leaders of the first responders had to go before the council "with a begging bowl, so to speak," during budget times. There are only three ambulances covering a community that is 43,000 at night and that population doubles during the day. One bad car accident could tie up all three ambulances, she said, requiring the city to rely on other communities.

"They don't get what they need," Banfill said. "This is a matter of public safety. They put their lives on the live for us."

Banfill saw that first hand when she tripped on a sidewalk downtown and was injured. EMTs were there, quickly, to whisk her away to get to the hospital.

There are areas of the city need to be cleaned up badly, Banfill said, including the long strip of land between I-93 behind the Burlington Coat Factory, Market Basket, and the state liquor warehouse she nicknamed, "the methadone mile." The police are down there all the time, she said, and so are the firefighters, too, due to brush fires and fires at some of the homeless camps. Why aren't the owners called out for not dealing with the blight? Why wasn't the city clearing the area like it did along the tracks between Storrs Street and The Friendly Kitchen?

Many unanswered questions and many things to fix, she said. And, as a retiree, she now has the time to contribute more to the city. Banfill is often out and about around the city (not unlike the mayor), and has the time to contribute.

"I walk the streets," she said. "I know what's going on. And I care."

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