Council, School Board Candidates Dive into Issues

With only an hour and a half to work with and 10 candidates to hit their talking points, Thursday's Candidate's Night didn't leave a lot of time for questions.

The Merrimack Exchange Club sponsored the event, which gave candidates for Town Council and School Board the opportunity to introduce themselves to the public and answer two questions each.

However, event Moderator Sally Kinney handed the questions off to Merrimack Patch and we sent them off to the candidates. Responses that have already come in are linked at the bottom of this article, and we'll add the remaining four as they are submitted.

Each candidate, in their five-minutes-or-less introduction, spoke to why they are running and shared some details about their lives.

• Kevin Shea, the youngest of the candidates, has lived in Merrimack almost as long as some of his counterparts who moved here as adults. Shea grew up in Merrimack, attending the public schools here and though he left for a few years in the middle, he returned and has begun a family here with his wife and young daughter. He called Merrimack a ghost town of what it used to be, and aims to fill empty buildings with tenants to help attract more people to share in Merrimack's tax base.
  
  
• Lon Woods, a 42-year resident of town, has served in many capacities including as a school board member, part of the municipal budget committee, an alternate to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as on the master plan committee, among others. He worked for several years the town's transfer station. Woods said he woul like to follow Jim Taylors lead to look for savings in fuel, energy, and mechanical systems in town and would enthusiastically support enhancement of community development.
  
  
• Nancy Harrington, a 40-year resident who served in the past on the town's select board and Town Council, said after stepping back for a couple years to get her legs under her at a new job, she's ready to return. Harrington said she has been a good representative to the town, made good decions and difficult ones when neccasary.
  
  
• Tom Mahon, who is running for re-election, pointed to the board's success of maintaining a relatively stable tax rate the last few years and said he hopes to continue to bring his expertise to the board, especially knowing how the retirement system is likely to "clobber" the town next year.
  
  
• Tom Koenig, who's also running for re-election said he brings a variety of experience to the table having lived around out other parts of the country. He was excited to get involved in town in 1995, he said, and continues to be. He hopes to remain on the board and help shepherd in the future of the town with the Outlets at the south and the airport access road at the north helping to invite new business prospects to town.
  
  
• For Mike Malzone, a former member of the Council, he would bring the voice of a fiscal conservative to the board, he said. Malzone said his track record from 2006-09 was clear that he didn't want to see spending increases and he was vehemenantly against the push for pay-as-you-throw. Malzone said the town has been clear that it doesn't want to see its taxes increased and he work toward mantaining that.

On the school board side of things:

• Davis Powell is the only candidate who's sat on the board before, having served a term prior. He's aso been a member of the school's building committee and the municipal budget committee. Powell, whose daughers have been through the school district, said he provides a voice of experience and comes into the position understanding whats in store.
  
  
• For Joe Kearns, who's running for his first stab at public office, coming to the board with new ideas and a fresh outlook. Kearns said he could bring a logical approach to the board and called for more communication between the School Board and Town Council and for the public to be more involved in what's happening in town.
  
  
• Gary Krupp, a 21-year veteran of the military says he'll bring an analytical view to the board and will do his homework when it comes to the issues they face. He would bring an approach of working together and thinks he can bring more in way of parental engagement. A parent of four boys in town, Krupp said he'd like to see more of push made for better contact between the district and the parents. He currently serves on the school district Budget Committee.
  
  
• Andy Schneider is also a member and chairman of the school district Budget Committee. Schneider has been in town since he was in the sixth grade. He says its important for the board to be prudent about spending without limiting the quality of education. At the end of the day, Schneider said he want to keep the good teachers happy enough to stay in district and attract new teachers as needed.

During the question and answer period the Town Council candidates were asked how they would work with the Chamber to foster congenial relationships with businesses in town and bring new business in.

Malzone touted the success of the Fall Festival and Business Expo, which he said over the past five years has created an inviting environment for residents and businesses to become acquainted with one another. He said continued relationships like that are important, as is treating businesses with equality. Malzone said some past decisions made in terms of allowing one business to do something and telling another business they can't creates animosity and makes the business environment uncomfortable.

Shea suggested taking advantage of things like the Outlet Mall and the new airport access road that allows people into town without the tolls and using those as selling points to new businesses.

Woods said he felt as though the business environment has been acrimonious over the years, but has improved with some changes that have been made to the town administration. He said he's encouraged by Community Development Director Tim Thompson's approach to business relationships in town and willingness to work with businesses and sees a need for nurturing relationships in such a way for years to come.

For the school board candidates, the question was about their role versus that of the administration. Powell's take was that the School Board is not in place to micromanage how the administration conducts business. The school board is meant to set guidelines and create a fiscally responsible budget while acting as a liaison between the town and the school district

Kearns said the board is one that creates policy and establishes guidelines. He suggested that the school board is also the mouthpiece for the school district to the public and that it should reconsider how it words items like the budget to make it clearer and more understandable to the average citizen.

The first question was directed at all the candidateswho touched on how they would work to save money for the town through energy savings.

Koenig and McMahon said one way to help in the short term would be for voters to pass articles two and three on the town warrant that would go to upgrades at the town's wastewater and compost facilities. Upgrading the equipment their would be both an energy savings and would cut bills in the long term.

Koenig said its important to realize that when you are talking energy savings, it takes some money to put into it up front before the monetary savings are realized down the road.

Other suggestions included Woods suggestion of looking at converting town vehicles to natural gas, Kearns suggestion of looking into the possibility of converting buses to biodiesel, Harrington thought an energy policy for town employees on temperature control could help, while Krupp and Schneider both pointed to the Honeywell contract the school district has that has helped reduce energy costs in schools throughout the district, highlighting its importance and continued importance to the school district.

The full candidate forum can be viewed on Merrimack TV (check the schedule for times), on merrimacktv.com or by clicking on the YouTube video above.

Below are links to the answers we've received to the questions that couldn't be asked that night due to time constraints.

Town Council

School Board