Concord’s newest at-large city councilor will be a familiar face to Concord residents.
Current Ward 4 City Councilor Byron Champlin secured the at-large seat previously held by Penacook resident Steve Shurtleff, who held the seat for over 12 years. His victory means the city will have another special election to fill the Ward 4 seat.
In Ward 10, residents chose Zandra Rice Hawkins over Joe Shoemaker to replace Daniel St. Hilaire in a 369 to 267 vote, according to unofficial tallies.
Returns on Tuesday night showed Champlin with 1,409 votes, more than twice as many votes as David Parker, his closest opponent. Contenders Michael Dobrinski and David Sky trailed behind with 149 and 133 votes, respectively.
“I’m over the moon, just over the moon,” Champlin said by phone Tuesday night. “…I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working hard as an at-large for the residents of the city of Concord.”
Both winning candidates built their campaigns on strong connections with local names, including several well-known Democrats.
Champlin attributed his success to a network of associations and alliances with businesses and government officials he’s gained over 40 years of living in Concord. On top of that, Champlin has participated in several municipal committees during his six years on the city council.
Those connections also showed up at the polls, Champlin said, as he attributed his success to a dedicated group of volunteers who knocked on doors and worked behind the scenes.
“Some of them were willing to leave their families and do this for me,” he said, “and they’re a big reason for this victory.”
He ran on a variety of issues stretching from Penacook to the South End.
He promised to work toward broadening the tax base and to encourage diverse housing options, particularly affordable options for young professionals and other working people.
Champlin also advocated for continuing Concord’s Greenway and Rail Trail projects and said he would guide development of the Storrs Street Opportunity Corridor.
But Champlin said his first priorities as an at-large councilor will be to advocate for the city during the Interstate 93 project, which will reshape the stretch of highway around exits 15E, 15W and 14.
He said he also looks forward to working with Penacook to reinvigorate its downtown. That might come about by expanding on the village’s vision plan, he said.
The Ward 4 city councilor racked up over 50 endorsements, including the city’s state representatives and nine of the city councilors.
He was also supported by several current and former school board members and other well-known Concord names, including Red Rivers Executive Director Angie Lane and former gubernatorial candidate Colin Van Ostern.
Rice Hawkins, the founder and executive director of advocacy organization Granite State Progress, said she was excited by her ward’s high turnout, which saw on average three times more voters Tuesday than other wards.
“It shows people are invested in the future of Concord,” she said.
Like Champlin, Rice Hawkins said her ability to forge relationships with elected officials and businesses would serve her well as a city councilor.
Those relationship-building skills certainly showed up in the weeks leading up to the election. Rice Hawkins was visibly supported by several local Democrats, including Executive Councilor Andru Volinksy, Sen. Dan Feltes and Ward 10 Reps. Katherine Rogers and Christy Bartlett.
Rice Hawkins also announced the endorsement of Concord’s firefighter union the week prior to the vote.
The state’s Young Democrats organization has also been vocally supporting Rice Hawkins, urging group members to knock on doors and vote for the candidate.
“Absolutely the endorsements made a huge difference, especially when you’re a new candidate introducing yourself to a wide audience,” Rice Hawkins said. “It lets people know the company I keep.”
Locally, Rice Hawkins ran on a platform of supporting several city initiatives, including its pledge for 100 percent renewable energy and building off the momentum of the downtown renovation project, as well as the I-93 expansion project.
She said the quality of roads in sprawling, rural Ward 10 was the biggest issue affecting her constituents, an issue she said she would advocate for once on the council. She also promised to protect her ward’s rural qualities.
The day started off slowly, with traditionally busy wards seeing early votes in the single and double digits.
In the end, only 7.7 percent of the city’s 31,555 registered voters came out. Only two wards cracked double digits, both of which typically have high turnout: Ward 5, with 11 percent; and Ward 10, with nearly 17 percent, according to unofficial city data.
Those who were out said they try to vote in every election if they can.
“I think there’s a lot of folks counting on us to do that,” said Ward 10 resident Linda Lorden.”…The people who take the time to run, and all the work they do to have a voice, and a lot of them are going to have a voice for us.”
“I think it’s just as important as national (elections)” said Ward 6 resident Rick Dionne. “Cause you’re living it; the government is supposed to be about the people, by the people, for the people. Even though New Hampshire only has a federal income tax, that’s your tax dollars they’re spending.”
Laura Morrison, a Ward 7 resident, said participation is important to being a part of the Concord community.
“You can’t complain about what’s going on if you don’t vote,” she said.
And though it’s been three years since the Main Street redevelopment was completed, the project was still on the minds of residents as they cast their vote.
“I think the city has some good momentum,” said Ward 10 resident Brian Parda, who was at the polls with his daughter Charlotte. ” I’m a big fan of things like Main Street … so I’m interested in how do we take that as a hub and grow it out from there.”
Winners won’t be able to rest for long; the city’s regular elections take place this November. Candidates will be sworn in at next Monday’s meeting.