Former Police Officer Runs for Concord City Council

Volunteering, business promotion, protector, and teacher are just some of the things that describe Lenny O’Keefe, a candidate for Concord City Council in Ward 9.

O’Keefe filed to run on Friday, saying that he loved the city and believed his background gave him a unique experience on the board.

“I make a difference every single day in the job I do and I would like to use that experience to make a difference for Ward 9 and the entire city of Concord,” he said.

O’Keefe is a training coordinator at the Merrimack County House of Corrections and was a former police officer in Boscawen, Franklin, and Pittsfield. He is very active in the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, attending the Leadership Greater Concord class, serving on its steering committee, and acting as chairman of the steering committee last year. O’Keefe was awarded the Chamber’s W. Grant McIntosh Volunteer of the Year Award in 2013.

If elected, O’Keefe said he would advocate for a new community center at the old Dame Elementary School and would like to learn more about the plan to redesign Loudon Road. He added that he believed in celebrating the diversity that the refugee community brought to Concord, strengthening public safety departments, and supporting the mayor’s plan to attract new development to the city.

“I believe strongly in a plan to continue to maintain what we have,” he said. “What I mean by that is we need to continue with the plan to pave roads, fix bridges, and finish the revitalization of downtown before we jump head first in another major project. Let’s make what we have the best it can be.”

Captions: A submitted photo of O’Keefe and a photo being congratulated by his family after he received the 2013 volunteer of the year award.