Jim Donchess Running for Nashua Mayor

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Jim Donchess announced Wednesday he’s running for mayor.

Donchess, 65, who now serves as alderman, previously served as mayor in the 1980s.

“Nashua needs a Mayor who will bring people together to work for Nashua’s success and to build a stronger economic future for our community,” he said in a statement.

Current Mayor Donnalee Lozeau earlier this year said she isn’t running for re-election.

Three candidates have also announced they are running for mayor:

• Mike Broderick
• Doug Carroll
• David Deane

Here’s Donchess’ campaign announcement:

Jim Donchess announced his campaign for Mayor of Nashua, promising to restore accountability and openness to City Hall and build on his successful two terms as Mayor when Money Magazine named Nashua the “Best Place to Live in America.”

“Nashua needs a Mayor who will bring people together to work for Nashua’s success and to build a stronger economic future for our community. Over the past four years I have talked with thousands of Nashua citizens about our city. As Mayor, accountability and openness will be my guiding principles,” said Donchess.

“Only by working together can we improve our schools, maintain a stable tax rate and address the increasing problem of drug-related crime and overdoses. Nashua is already a wonderful place in which to live, learn, work and raise a family, but I believe we can do better. We need to make Nashua a premier New England city again,” Donchess said.

Donchess has also posted a list of over 550 public supporters on his website at www.JimDonchessforMayor.com.

“I am proud to have strong grassroots support in every neighborhood of Nashua. I believe my experience and record make me uniquely qualified to be the next Mayor of Nashua,” added Donchess.

Donchess also announced campaign co-chairs Stephanie Ballantine, Maria Barry, Gary Hoffman, Homa Jaferey, Harvey Keye, Sue McNamee, Kim Muise, Sue Newman, Allison Nutting, Michael Pedersen, George Pressly, Sonia Prince, Mary Slivinski, Catherine Sofikitis, JoAnne StJohn and Eliza Weeks.

Community leader and longtime Democratic activist JoAnne StJohn is enthusiastic about Jim’s campaign. “I have known Jim for many years and seen the kind of thoughtful, balanced leader he is in city government. He always weighs both sides of an argument, and I am confident that he will work hard to bring people together and be the kind of leader that Nashua needs.”

“Jim Donchess is focused on bread and butter issues that affect the daily lives of Nashuans – parking, potholes, parks and keeping property taxes low. He understands that to make meaningful progress for Nashua we need to work together,” says Michael Pedersen. “I’m proud to be a part of Jim’s truly grassroots campaign, and as Mayor, I’m confident that Jim will get results for his constituents.”

Republican Mary Slivinski adds, “I am supporting Jim because of his experience and his unrelenting dedication to making the City of Nashua number one again.”

“As a former Mayor and current Alderman-At-Large, Jim Donchess brings a wealth of knowledge and ability to lead our city. His record shows him to be truly bi-partisan as he consistently brings all sides of an issue together to work out a positive result for the betterment of our community,” says Nashua Board of Education member Kim Muise. “Jim’s dedication and support of our schools, police, fire, arts and our local business community further shows he has a clear understanding of what priorities are important to the citizens of Nashua.”

Jim Donchess is a long-time leader in Nashua and has stood for accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility. Donchess was elected in 2011 as an Alderman-at-Large, winning all of Nashua’s nine wards. As a member of the Board of Aldermen, he has opposed spending money on non-critical projects in order to preserve funds for the core services of schools and law enforcement.

Donchess was the chief sponsor of legislation to require open government and transparency with respect to city contracts. He also successfully pressed for changes in Board of Public Works meeting times to make BPW meetings more accessible to the public and to enable working citizens to run for the Board. Additionally, Donchess successfully sponsored legislation to introduce on-street overnight parking into Nashua’s densely populated Tree Streets neighborhood as well as legislation to promote the development of attractive new housing options in Nashua’s downtown.

As an Alderman-at-Large, Donchess has supported efforts to maintain the quality of Nashua’s schools and to add police officers to the force in order to fight increasing drug-related crime in the community. Donchess also has long been an advocate for bringing commuter rail service to Nashua.