Concord Father Distressed About Crossdressing Elementary Art Teacher Runs For School Board

CONCORD, NH — A parent from Concord, distressed about a crossdressing elementary art teacher in his daughter’s class and who filed a complaint earlier this year, has filed to run for an SAU 8 board of education seat.

Michael Guglielmo, who pulled his daughter out of the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in February after filing a request for an investigation into Tweets the teacher made that some parents found offensive and the district refusing to enforce a professional dress code policy, filed to run for the open Zone A seat on Monday, representing Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4.

While ensuring educators adhere to professional dress code standards in schools would be an issue he would work on, Guglielmo also wanted “to inculcate a curriculum that teaches the history of the United States of America and our fundamental rights.” He also opposed the construction of a new middle school, saying the project was too expensive for property taxpayers. Guglielmo said many parents were moving their kids to charter or online schools, yet the district’s “education bureaucracy continued to grow.”

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Guglielmo also said he would work to “bring equity” to the city’s schoolchildren and “protect them from social agendas.” He said, “(The) bottom line is let kids be kids, and that's what I’ll be representing.”

Zone B Gets A Candidate

Filing for a school board seat on Friday was Liz Boucher, a dietitian and a Ward 5 resident, who is seeking the single Zone B (Wards 5, 6, and 7) seat this year.

Boucher is the parent of two district students and a past Christa McAuliffe Elementary School PTO president. She was a founding member of CMS Cares and a district food pantry and also active in food insecurity and food access issues — including working with the Capital Area Food Access Coalition, a new group supported by NH Hunger Solutions.

Boucher has a Bachelor's degree in food and nutrition from UNH and a Master's in public health and nutrition from U-Mass/Amherst. She was also a member of the Leadership Greater Concord Class of 2023, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s program, as an employee of New Hampshire Hospital.

Patrick Taylor, the SAU 8 clerk, did not have the latest signups for school board seats available at post time.

Long-Time Ward Councilor Out

Ward 8 Concord City Councilor Gail Matson has decided to step down after five terms.

Matson said Sunday she was “very grateful” for all the support from the neighborhoods and voters, but it was time to try something new.

“I think it’s time for me to move in a different direction,” she said. “I’ve always believed it was community service; it’s not a political thing. I’m still interested in (it). But just not in this capacity.”

Matson said she thought the council in the last decade accomplished a lot including the Main Street revitalization project and safety improvements to Loudon Road. She was also proud of work on the Northern Bypass and airport committees, too.

“I think we’ve done some good work revamping and getting new businesses in there,” she said.

But it will be the people she had been able to help that she will miss.

“I’ve enjoyed helping my neighbors,” she said. I couldn’t always guarantee results. But I tried.”

Ward 10 Gets A Challenger

Two years ago, Zandra Rice Hawkins, the Ward 10 city councilor, had a last-minute, literally, write-in campaign against her minutes after the polls opened.

This year, she has a challenger before signups have ended.

Jeffrey Foote, a long-time city resident, who lives on Shawmut Street, signed up to run on Monday. He is the town engineer for Bedford.

Foote was unavailable for comment at post time.

Also signing up to run at large on Monday, as expected, was Kevin Porter.

Thinking about running for office in Concord in 2023? Let Patch know! Email me at tony.schinella@patch.com.

Candidate Signups, So Far

These candidates have signed up to run for the following offices:

Mayor: Byron Champlin

At Large (2 seats, 4-year terms): Nathan Fennessy, Matthew Hicks, Judith Kurtz, and Kevin Porter

Ward 1: Brent Todd

Ward 2: Michele Horne

Ward 4: Karen McNamara

Ward 7: Keith Nyhan

Ward 8: Ali Sekou

Ward 10: Zandra Rice Hawkins and Jeffrey Foote

All Ward seats and the mayor are two-year terms.

Ward 2 is an open seat this year. Along with Horne, Rob Kleiner has also announced he will be running. Ward 3 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic is undecided. In Ward 5, Councilor Stacey Brown has indicated she will be running for reelection. Councilor Patricia McLaughlin has stated she will run for reelection in Ward 6. Ward 8 will be an open seat, as is Ward 9.

Signup Info

Candidates for the board of education can file on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Monday, Sept. 18. The filing will take place at the SAU 8 district office at 38 Liberty St. The filing fee is $5.

Three seats are up in November: Zone A, representing Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4; Zone B, which covers Wards 5, 6, and 7; and Zone C, for Wards 8, 9, and 10. All three terms end on Dec. 31.

The treasurer position is also up for a three-year term.

To serve, a candidate must be a registered voter of the Concord School District and domiciled in the school voting zone. According to the district’s charter, zone members cannot serve if they fail to maintain a domicile (residency) in the district.

Filing by candidates for the mayor’s race, city council, and ward officials also run through 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 at 41 Green St. 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.

Potential candidates must live in the city and the ward they are a candidate in to be elected.

Free Profiles & Debates

Once again, for the 2023 election cycle, Concord NH Patch will offer candidates free profiles before the election and will team up with partners to bring voters debates for competitive races.

Concord TV has agreed to allow Patch to use its studios for recorded debates between the candidates. The nonprofit will also be posting the videos on its YouTube.com site. The New England Take podcast, based out of Concord, will also share the information with its audience.

More information about debates will be forthcoming.

Candidates will also be allowed to put together a free Patch Candidate Profile. Fill out the g-doc here, after nominations have been confirmed.

Have you got a news tip? Please send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Check out the #FITN2024 NH Patch post channel and follow our politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.