Josh Denton, Portsmouth City Council Candidate

Josh Denton

Age (as of Election Day)

42

Position sought (including district number if applicable)

City Council

Party Affiliation

Non-partisan election, but I am a Democrat

Family

Two dogs.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

I am a federal employee.

Education

UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law (2012);
Masters of Public Administration from UNH (2009); and
Bachelors from UNH (2003).

Occupation

Employee Relations Advisor, Five Years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #168 (2021 – present); Portsmouth City Councilor (2016 – 2020 and 2022 – present);
President of PopUp NH Board of Directors (2020);
Army Officer (2003 – 2007); and
Eagle Scout (1998).

Campaign website

https://www.facebook.com/DentonForCityCouncil/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I fell in love with Portsmouth as a UNH undergrad, thought about the city often while I was in the Army, and moved here upon returning from Baghdad, where as a twenty-five-year-old Captain, I served as a combat adviser to an Iraqi infantry battalion. I lived our affordable housing crisis as I waited tables while earning my Masters of Public Administration and again as I returned to waiting tables as I successfully studied for the Bar Exam to become an attorney, after using the GI Bill to graduate law school. I lost my first bid for City Council after working my heart out knocking on every voter’s door in 2013, knocked on every voters’ door again in 2015 to defeat incumbent Esther Kennedy by just twelve votes despite not being on any Political Action Committee candidate slate, and was easily reelected in 2017. During those two terms, I led numerous successful individual initiatives such as creating the “All Veterans” tax credit, banning Styrofoam containers, and conceiving, recruiting, and chairing the Renewable Energy Committee that created Portsmouth’s Net Zero Energy Policy along with the framework to achieve it. Even after my 2019 reelection defeat, I continued to better Portsmouth by leading the 501(c)(3) PopUp in the Bridge Street Parking Lot to keep residents employed during the first summer of covid and then as Commander of VFW Post #168, a position which I still hold today. Since being sent back to the City Council in 2021, I have helped restore competency to the policy board, continued to push Portsmouth forward, and used my duel positions to vocally stand-up for democracy in the face of growing extremism. Many of my initiatives were ahead of their times, so there should be no doubt with voters that I will always go bold to do what is best for Portsmouth, and am asking you to vote for me, the last name on the ballot, on November 7th.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Climate change. Combating climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is not just something I campaign on, but I am a proven leader who sought to do this even before I returned from Iraq. My undergraduate capstone was on Climate Change back in 2003, I joined the Sustainability Committee to get Portsmouth to do something about it after losing my first campaign in 2013, and I got the City Council to pass my Renewable Energy Committee’s Net Zero Energy Policy in 2018. While I am better known for getting Portsmouth to enact New Hampshire’s first citywide Styrofoam ban and enact a single-use disposables ordinance for city property, I am very proud that our Net Zero Energy Policy and the framework to achieve it will be cornerstones of Portsmouth’s pending Climate Action Plan (CAP), that I anticipate will set firm deadlines for Portsmouth to achieve net zero energy. I also previously led numerous past initiatives from renewable energy tax credits, to a very successful curbside compost rebate program, to enacting the flood plain district zoning ordinance. However, some of my early efforts were too ahead of their time, like a Market Square Electric Vehicle (EV) DC Fast Charger, citywide curbside composting, and an anaerobic digester. Since returning to the City Council this past election, I drafted an ordinance to increase the installation of private EV charging stations, allocated $150,000 annually over the next five years towards public EV chargers like the DC Fast Charger I am pushing for at the library, and will push enforcement of our hard fought 2019 ordinance requiring businesses on public property that use single-use containers to compost, because food waste is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter. Restaurants that lack composting capacity should enroll in the reusable container test pilot now allowed by our updated health code. Portsmouth was the original capitol of New Hampshire and the next City Council must be bold, take the initiative, and lead the state to make a meaningful difference against climate change and to fund every CAP recommendation.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am asking for your vote to keep Portsmouth moving forward. I fell in love with Portsmouth as a UNH undergraduate, thought about the city often while I was in the Army, and moved here over fifteen years ago upon returning from Baghdad. Since my first unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2013, Portsmouth has gone through many changes. While our arts, outdoor dining, and fun things for families have undoubtedly expanded, that success has led to more people wanting to live here, the hot housing market pricing residents out, and now our affordable housing crisis. Covid’s stratification exasperated the situation and has had lasting impacts like highly paid remote workers moving to our city, as beloved establishments close because their workforce cannot afford to stay. Our downtown has also changed with some developments undoubtedly adding to our splendor and others not, but zoning ordinances that I voted for years ago are now coming to fruition with the addition of public open spaces, with more on the way. Even when I was down, I was not out after my 2019 election defeat, as I continued to better Portsmouth by leading the PopUp and then VFW Post #168. Many of my initiatives were ahead of their times, like our shopping bag debate, Net Zero Energy Policy, and single-use container ordinance, so there should be no doubt with voters that I will go bold to do what is best for Portsmouth. Please vote for me, the last name on the ballot, and keep Portsmouth moving forward!

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I strongly relate to the need to address our affordable housing crisis, because as I paid back my students loans, over half my remaining income went towards paying rent. While Portsmouth should continue encouraging developers to create affordable housing with building incentives, the single largest recent increase in affordable housing stock came from the Portsmouth Housing Authority (PHA) building Ruth Griffin Place on Court Street. I am proud to be the only City Council candidate running out of the current and former City Councilors in the race to have voted to waive some $100,000 in building permit fees for the $16 million project during my previous term and am still confounded that then Councilor Becksted voted against it. To meet our proportional share of New Hampshire’s affordable housing demand, Portsmouth would need to create some four hundred units and the most effective way to begin doing that without becoming a landlord is deeding City property to the PHA with affordable housing covenants. However, the PHA only has the bandwidth to develop one property at a time. Out of the three top properties identified by the Land Use Committee, my strong preference is for their first project on City property to be at City Hall’s lower parking lot. Not only is it a short walk from downtown, the library, and many recreational amenities, studies show that communities with mixed affordable housing alongside affluent housing prosper the best together. Deeding property to the PHA will help both renters and property owners alike. The PHA building and administering affordable housing does not cost residents money, it will help our beloved establishments stay open if their workforce can afford to stay, and will keep property values from plummeting as a downtown without a workforce would otherwise do.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am incredibly proud of the outsized impact I have had as a City Councilor in the daily lives of many residents with my successful tax credit initiatives. This past year alone, 695 Portsmouth households benefited by my creation of the All Veterans Tax Credit in 2017, doubling the Disabled Veterans Tax Credit in 2019 to now $4,000, and soon the increasing from $500 to $750 the tax credits for non-100% disabled veterans in 2023.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Refill on water, use the bathroom, and wash your hands whenever you can.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Please vote for me on November 7th, the last name on the ballot, to keep Portsmouth moving forward!