Tuesday’s special election for the open at-large seat will be all about balance.
Maybe candidates won’t be saying the word out loud, but it’ll be there nonetheless, the undercurrent to every conversation about the downtown, the Heights, Penacook and the West, East and South ends.
That’s because the expectations around at-large councilors are a little different than the city’s 10 other councilors. And with those expectations comes a higher-stakes race.
Candidates compete on a bigger field, vying for the attention of the city’s roughly 30,000 eligible voters. A ward race takes place on a field one-tenth that size. Should they succeed, their four-year terms give them more time to focus on issues, rather than worrying about getting re-elected halfway through a term.
There’s another reason Tuesday will be exciting – it’s one of the more competitive local races Concord’s seen in a while. The 2017 at-large contest saw only three candidates, including incumbents. That’s the least crowded race the city has seen since 2011; in other years, incumbents have had to defend their titles from at least two, sometimes three other contenders, city election data shows.
It’s also worth noting it’s been about five years since a “new” at-large councilor was elected to the city council. We put new in quotes because Amanda Grady Sexton successfully switched from a Ward 4 to an at-large position after serving two terms as a Ward 4 councilor.
She’s not the only one to make the jump from ward to at-large. Fred Keach has served 10 years on the council, and is on his second at-large term after starting as a ward councilor.
Mark Coen has served as nothing but an at-large councilor since he first ran in 2006. Same goes for Steve Shurtleff, who only stepped down from the seat he’s held since 2007 when he was elected House Speaker this December.
Sitting at-large councilors say the role is all about teamwork with their fellow councilors.
“It’s tradition and courtesy that if there is an issue revolving around a ward, I contact the ward rep and let them know someone contacted me, as a courtesy,” said Coen.
Keach and Grady Sexton also said they use a similar approach. “I see my job as a facilitator, someone who points people in the right direction,” Keach said.
Grady Sexton said she thought the jump from ward to at-large councilor would mean more phone calls. That hasn’t happened, but Grady Sexton said she now uses the extra time she used to spend looking into questions about roads or trash collection on macro issues, like the Langley Parkway expansion or the city’s financial policy advisory board.
Keach agreed, saying an at-large position should focus on broader city goals. Keach said his Concord native status gives him an advantage in his role. He sees the city as three district areas – downtown, the Heights and Penacook – with their own individual needs.
“That’s not to say ward councilors can’t do that,” he said. “But when there’s a problem in a ward, you know exactly who to call.”
While an at-large councilor may be more likely to get a call from a resident across the city, Coen said he believes every councilor is pretty well-versed on the city as a whole.
And he pushed back against the old adage that the West End controls the rest of the city. “There’s not one section of the city that has more power or influence than others,” he said.
For Grady Sexton, knowing what’s happening around the city comes down to talking to as many people as possible.
“It’s important to solicit input from people who are not going to be traditionally emailing or showing up to council,” she said. “…Every time I’m at a business, if the owner is there, I try to check in and see how things are going.
“You can’t just sit back and wait, otherwise you’ll have a very select response,” she said.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)