Mayor Jim Bouley has reported no spending in his first race against a serious challenger in years, as he seeks an eighth term as Concord’s mayor in Tuesday’s municipal elections.
According to the most recent filings, Bouley’s opponent Taylor Hall has spent $210 total in this election, about $90 of it on Facebook advertising.
In a debate last week, Hall said that reading in 2019 that neither mayoral candidate had spent money on campaigning beyond the $5 filing fee paid to the city inspired him to run for mayor. The 31-year-old moved to Concord in 2018.
“My now-wife and I, we both re marked how much apathy that had shown and how upsetting t hat was to us,” Hall said. “I said then and there, in two years, I’m going to run.”
Stacey Brown, who is facing former at-large city councilor Mark Coen in Ward 5, has spent a total of about $1,543 and received $2,115 in donations from individuals. Coen, who retired from the city council in 2019 after 13 years, has spent considerably less, just $261.
Ward 5 encompasses the area between Little Pond Road and Clinton Street and sits between Hopkinton to the west and downtown Concord to the east, bordering White Park. Current Ward 5 councilor Rob Werner, a climate activist, is leaving his seat on the council vacant.
Werner endorsed Brown this week in a Letter to the Editor, citing her commitment to renewable energy and economic development.
“The priorities Stacey has emphasized in her City Council campaign include continuing efforts to create renewable energy projects in Concord, transitioning our community to a clean energy economy to create economic opportunity and jobs while protecting our environment,” Werner wrote in the Monitor. “Stacey also recognizes the importance of economic development to build upon the hard-won success of recent years and continue to expand Concord’s tax base.”
Paula McLaughlin is set to become the next Ward 6 Councilor, replacing current ward councilor Linda Kenison, who is not running for another term. McLaughlin has spent $1,175 so far, according to the most recent filings, on labels, stamps and postcards, despite running unopposed for her seat.
Concord residents can find their ward and polling location on the city website. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, which is this upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 2.