Retiree, Veteran Runs For Mayor [VIDEO]

Seated at the end of the bar at O Steak & Seafood, John Cook, a long-time resident who on Sept. 19, decided to run for mayor of the city of Concord on a lark, contemplates his campaign.

Occasionally pointing to a recent edition Wall Street Journal or scribbling ideas that come up in his mind into a notebook, the newcomer to city politics said he decided to run for mayor to shake things up a bit and, because, no one else was going to do it.

Cook said the people of the city need to come together to form a better community, to protect historic preservation, and work to improve the downtown.

“I’m running because I’ve not been heard,” he said. “I love Concord ... (but) it’s not really a community ... The officials don’t have a clue, I don’t think …  they want to revitalize the downtown, but they don’t know what they’re doing. They’ve made some stupid mistakes.”

Cook called the downtown “a mess,” and pointed to the new parking kiosks – or “chaoses,” as he calls them – as a perfect example of a bad idea that is hurting the downtown. He said the kiosks forced residents to often overpay for the parking they use. Cook said since they take so long to print a receipt, people are often standing in the rain when they could have just popped some coins in a meter and been on their way. During the winter, people have to climb over snowbanks and walk back and forth and back again to their car on sidewalks that are often icy and dangerous, he said. Cook also complained about the millions wasted on the new Capitol Commons garage.

“This is not really a shopping town,” he said. “It’s a one or two stop downtown … it’s someone going in and getting a coffee. Why should you have to go through the chaoses for a cup of coffee?”

Cook said the meters kept the downtown parking flowing and it worked perfectly fine before the kiosks. He read that New York City was moving to the kiosks and throwing away their parking meters. Cook suggested that Concord try and get the meters back and even trade with NYC.

Cook also railed against the pay-as-you-throw program that, he believes, has increased pollution and littering, due to the fact that many people are not buying the bags and instead, dumping trash all over the city. He said he used to pick up all kinds of trash around his neighborhood but stopped because he had to put it into a purple bag that cost money. Cook was also angered that the property taxes in Concord that traditionally paid for trash pickup weren’t lowered in the wake of the implementation of pay-as-you-throw.

“They’re making (the city) a revenue center,” he said. “And once you make it a revenue center, then you start really coming down on the people ... and it's only going to get worse, the economy. We haven't hit bottom yet. It's only going to get worse.”

On historic preservation, Cook said he won an award from the city for restoring a house he owns in the downtown, a building he rents. He called it “a tragedy” that historic buildings like the houses around the Kimball block, the Kimball and Morrill schools, were destroyed, and that the historic Eagle Tavern in the North End was being looked at for demolition.

“You say you’re historic … you’ve got signs in the downtown saying you’re historic and yet you're tearing buildings down,” he said. “What the heck are we doing?”

Cook would also like to expand the hours of the leaf drop-off station on Fort Eddy Road, to be more conducive to the working hours of regular folks in the city. He would also look at implementing a residency requirement for municipal workers, forcing them to live and pay taxes in Concord. Cook also believed that police officers could be a little kinder to people.

Cook is also against the Main Street Concord downtown revitalization plan saying it took away too much parking and he didn’t think it would work. He said if people want the downtown to look nicer, they should stop allowing the utilities to spray paint markers in the sidewalk while at the same time, chasing kids around for writing things in chalk on the sidewalk that will eventually wash away.

As far as current Mayor Jim Bouley goes, Cook said that he liked him. But thought it was time for someone else to take a crack at it.

“I’ve served my country,” he said, “I’ve served my state, and I’ve served my neighborhood. I help them; I have loaned out money and I have worked on their houses ... I’m a server, but sometimes, a wrestler, when I have to tangle with people … I’m not a cheerleader.”

Cook is a former veteran who did two tours of duty in Vietnam. He also was a long-time state employee, working in financials, and a business manager for private company. He’s lived in Concord for more than 35 years.