Jim Bouley’s Out: Concord’s Longest Serving Mayor Won’t Seek Re-Election In November

CONCORD, NH — It is the end of an era in Concord politics.

Jim Bouley, the city’s longest-serving mayor, has decided not to run for an unprecedented ninth term, he announced at the Concord City Council meeting Monday.

Before ending the meeting, Bouley reminded residents it would soon be signup time for candidates and added he had historically been the first person to file with the city clerk to run every two years. He asked, “Who will be the first to sign up this year?” Bouley followed that comment by saying he had decided not to run for re-election after talking to his family.

“I have made the decision I will not be running for re-election this coming November,” Bouley said, holding back tears. “It has been a joy and a privilege, that I can't even describe.”

Bouley thanked the city for allowing him to serve for the last 26 years, both as mayor and a councilor, and thanked his family, noting they had tolerated “meetings upon meetings upon meetings ... that I was away from home … but I was here with you all folks, and the members of our community, and I want to acknowledge the incredible lifelong friends I’ve made along the way.”

Bouley pointed to Ward 7 Councilor Keith Nyhan, Ward 9 Councilor Candance Bouchard, and at-large Councilor Amanda Grady Sexton as the longest serving with him, between 14 and 18 years. He said he had seen great kindness in the community and many people overcome adversity, too.

While noting he was the 56th mayor and there had been 52 councilors serving with him during his time on the board, he added, “It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with you around this table.” Bouley said, “Through both disagreements and consensus ... I believe we, and I can't emphasize this enough, we, as a council, have been able to accomplish some incredible things in this community.”

Bouley said while he was not sure of the future, it would be filled with “passion and purpose, guided by the belief that within each of us is the power and responsibility to make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

Councilors and a handful of attendees to the meeting, which had a light agenda, gave Bouley an extended standing ovation.

The decision was both surprising and not, considering the length of time Bouley has served the city in elected positions while being one of its biggest cheerleaders, working behind the scenes to increase economic development and job opportunities in the city.

Even though Concord has “a strong city manager system” — meaning the elected positions on the city council and mayor act as advisors to the manager, the mayor does seat community members on boards and commissions and also runs meetings monthly and sometimes bi-monthly meetings.

Bouley, who was elected mayor in 2007 after serving three terms as the Ward 10 city councilor, also made the position unique in his own way, appearing to have a comfortable relationship with Tom Aspell, who has been city manager since 2006. Bouley and Aspell often appeared at city functions, where the mayor could be heard saying, “It’s another great day in the city of Concord.”

Bouley jumped from ward councilor to mayor after then-Mayor Mike Donovan announced he would be stepping down. Katherine Rogers, his seatmate at the council table, who served Ward 9, and died from cancer last year, also ran for the open seat.

Both candidates dumped thousands of dollars into the race, and it was considered to be one of the most expensive municipal election contests in history, shocking some who were used to city races being relatively sleepy affairs.

Rogers’ campaign, though, was never able to get off the ground due primarily to prior petty squabbles and having a reputation for not playing nice with others. While some thought she showed a fighting spirit, others were shocked by the often-authoritarian nature of her actions. Her fight against the former executive director of the city’s cable access center, where she hosted a show, requesting a police officer to question him about possessing a public document, struck some as dangerous and an opportunity to humiliate another person, unnecessarily. Others likened her chairmanship of the city’s Rules Committee to a kangaroo court.

On the other hand, Bouley received the endorsement of all but one of the city councilors as well as the outgoing mayor. The city’s firefighter union and Bill Stetson, the Ward 2 councilor at the time, who was previously a firefighter, backed Rogers.

Ultimately, Bouley easily bested Rogers, by a nearly two-to-one margin.

As mayor, Bouley worked hard to guide Concord from “city in a coma” to one of the best places to live in New Hampshire or the Northeast, according to several different surveys.

The city has become so attractive to outsiders there is no housing vacancy and few apartments available — which has led to a housing crisis not just for the homeless but the housed, who may want to shift living arrangements inside the city. He will be credited for being one of the public faces that navigated the renovation of the city’s historic downtown — even if it was not quite a “complete streets” program, with heated sidewalks and other amenities that never came to be. Bouley will also be remembered as stepping into complicated issues in the city, finding a balance between interests and residents, and working with the manager and other city councilors to keep tax rate increases in the single digits each year.

However, he was also sullied by accusations of conflicts of interest due to his role as a partner for one of the state’s most lucrative and powerful lobbying firms, Dennehy & Bouley. He came under fire for refusing to recuse himself from overseeing meetings involving Steve Duprey, a city developer, while leasing office space from the developer on Hills Avenue. The firm later moved to Depot Street. Bouley denied any conflict of interest. A couple of times, rules in the city were tweaked later. Bouley was also accused of not stepping away from meetings during discussions about Keno, a lottery program run by Intralot, a client of the firm.

However, Bouley remained popular and every two years since being elected received token challenges or no challenges at all. Some of those seeking to oust him were colorful and interesting city dwellers, often raising relevant issues, but they could not raise enough money or resources to mount serious efforts. During all of his re-election races, Bouley spent no more than $5 and won each race handily.

Bouley ran unopposed in 2009. But in 2011, he was challenged by veteran and former state employee, John Cook, who received about 15 percent of the vote. Cook ran again in 2013 along with Chris Booth, a former Senate candidate. Bouley easily beat both men with more than 80 percent of the vote.

Author Paul Brogan challenged Bouley in 2015 and earned more than 600 votes. But the incumbent won easily again with more than 82 percent, with turnout not even cracking 16 percent.

Two years later, Roy Schweiker and Linda Rae Banfill ran against Bouley, but both came up short, with the mayor winning with more than 77 percent of the vote. Banfill tried again in 2019 and received 994 votes — the most of any challenger. Bouley again won by more than 76 percent of the vote.

Two years ago, Bouley was challenged by Taylor Hall and again won with about 76 percent of the vote.

Although there was always a built-in base of between 15 and 25 percent of the voters who blanked ballots or voted against Bouley, only 10 to 15 percent of the city’s registered voters cast ballots during the municipal election, whether there were competitive races or not.

With the announcement, the next four weeks before signups begin should be a politically exciting time in the city.

There was at least one person considering a run against Bouley this year. Others have been biding their time, waiting for the mayor to step down.

The city, too, has changed a lot in the time Bouley has been mayor, both positively and negatively. The next round of candidates have big shoes to fill and may need to portray a vision of the city that has not been seen before, which can take Concord into the future.

Along with the now open mayoral seat, two at-large city council seats currently held by Byron Champlin and Nathan Fennessy are also up in November, as are all the ward council seats, which are two-year positions.

According to the city’s website, filing by candidates for the mayor’s race, city council, and ward officials will run from Sept. 8 to Sept. 18. The fee is $5 to run for mayor and city council; $1 for a ward official. Filing will be held at the Concord City Clerk’s Office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. On Thursday, the clerk’s office is open until 6 p.m. On the last day of filing, the clerk’s office will be open until 5 p.m.

Candidates can also obtain ballot access via a signature petition drive.

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