City voters will face a packed ballot this November with 13 contested races out of 15 for mayor, city council and school board.
One of the highest profile races is a three-way contest between former school board member Kate West, newcomer George Jack and current At-Large City Councilor Byron Champlin to be the next mayor of Concord. Mayor Jim Bouley announced he would not be running for reelection after 16 years as the city’s top elected official.
Bouley has not endorsed a candidate, but said he plans to before the election.
City voters can expect to see additional contested races for at-large city councilor, three school board seats and in Wards 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Incumbent City Councilors Brent Todd (Ward 1) and Jennifer Kretovic (Ward 3) are the only two members of the council who are running unopposed.
Here’s a look at races for City Council:
Ward 2: Michele Horne and Robert Kleiner
Ward 4: Sarah Beauregard and incumbent Karen McNamara
Ward 5: Noemi Wierwille and incumbent Stacey Brown
Ward 6: Jay Belyea and incumbent Paula McLaughlin
Ward 7: Jim Schlosser and incumbent Keith Nyhan
Ward 8: Ali Sekou, Dennis Soucy and Jonathan Cate
Ward 9: Kris Schultz and Andrew Georgevits
Ward 10: Jeff Foote and incumbent Zandra Rice Hawkins
At Large (wto seats): Incumbent Nathan Fennessy, Taylor Hall, Matthew Hicks, Judith Kurtz and Kevin Porter.
Hall has previously run for mayor while Hicks is an educator and state representative. Kurtz, the board vice president of the Concord Greenspace Coalition, and Porter, a community development professional, have been active in council meetings as joint advocates for DEIJB efforts within the city.
In Ward 8, Sekou, an immigrant from Niger with experience in education and economic development, will be running against Soucy, who has run unsuccessfully in the past for both state and city government positions.
Though most city councilors confirmed they were running for reelection, Ward 2 Councilor Erle Pierce, Ward 8 Councilor Gail Matson and Ward 9 Councilor Candace Bouchard announced they were stepping down.
On the school side, Robert Avery, Michael Guglielmo, Jessica Campbell and Kristen Jackson filed for School Voting Zone A, (Wards 1, 2, 3 & 4), a seat currently held by Thomas Croteau. Steven Kazakis and Sarah Beauregard, who filed for School Voting Zone A last week, withdrew their candidacy on Monday.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Boucher and G. Bruce West filed for School Board Voting Zone B, (Wards 5, 6 & 7), a seat currently held by Jonathan Weinberg, who said he is not running for reelection.
Incumbent Brenda Hastings will be running against newcomers Peteris Surmanis and Kassey Cameron to hold her seat in School Voting Zone C, (Wards 8, 9 & 10), which is one of three seats up for reelection.
If elected to school board positions, members will serve a three-year term beginning in January 2024. Elections will take place on Tuesday, November 7.