More Line Up for Concord Council, School Board Seats

During the last two days of signups, a number of candidates have decided to run for Concord City Council and School Board seats. But seats remain unfilled and many more, only have a single candidate running.

On Monday, incumbents Rob Werner of Ward 5, and Candace Bouchard of Ward 9, signed up to run again, meaning that only two incumbent councilors Dick Patten and Jan McClure have not signed up. Patten has previously said that he is leaning towards another run; McClure has not commented on a future run. 

No candidates have emerged for Ward 2, the city ward just south of Penacook. 

Two new candidates did sign up on Monday and Tuesday for other council seats.

Brent Todd of Penacook, formerly of Concord 20/20, has signed up to run for the open Ward 1 seat. Adam Czarkowski and Cassandra Rasmussen are also running for the seat.

Kevin Bloom, a lobbyist with Rothbard, Stirner & Dobbs, has entered the race for the Ward 4 seat currently held by Amanda Grady Sexton, who is also a lobbyist.

School board info session

The Concord School Board hosts its annual information session at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, in the board room (basement) of the Concord School District Office on 38 Liberty St. Board members will be on hand to answer questions potential candidates may have about serving on the school board. 

On Monday, the first two candidates for school board signed up to run. 

Incumbent Jennifer Patterson is seeking the District B seat, covering Ward 5, 6, and 7.

Signing up to run in the District A seat, covering Ward 1, 2, 3, and 4, is Melissa Donovan, a former teacher at the high school level from Farmington, Maine, who said that she was running because she thought it would be interesting to be on the other side of the education table.

“I’ve always wanted to contribute to how schools are run,” she said. “I’ve been on the other side of the table, negotiating contracts with the school board. I know the other side. I think I have something to contribute there."

The mother of a second-grader who is also a visiting math professor, Donovan also said she was “really interested” in seeing how the district adopts the Common Core standards.

Bill Glahn, an attorney who is an incumbent school board member and also lives in Ward 5, has pretty much decided not to run again.

“While I haven't irrevocably committed not not running, I doubt very much that I will change my thinking, which is that 11 years is enough,” he said in an email, adding that he won’t miss having to leave his Manchester office early to get to early evening meetings.

No one has come forward to run for the District C School board seat in Ward 8, 9, and 10. 

Incumbent School Board member Tara Reardon, who lives in Ward 10, has not responded to requests for comment about whether she will be running again or not. 

Filing information

The filing period for school board candidates will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. For more information about how to sign up, contact Clerk Roger Phillips at 603-225-2767, or email roger-at-phillipslawoffice.com.

The filing period for mayor and city council candidates also closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. The filing requirement is $5 or a collection of signatures due by Sept. 20. For more information, call the city clerk's office at 603-225-8500.

Editor's note: This post was corrected reflecting that there are two incumbents who haven't re-signed up to run.