Brogan: Why This Election Matters

As I continue my campaign journey, what strikes me most of all is the eagerness of many with whom I come in contact to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas.

It’s obvious that they love Concord but there is such a sense of frustration and cynicism about the way they perceive the city as being run.

“It must be an election year because they’re working on some of the streets,” one elderly woman noted, her voice filled with sarcasm.

Nearly half of those I’ve chatted with made it clear they had no intention of even voting in the election.

“It doesn’t make any difference. One is just as bad as the other,” is a frequently voiced opinion.

Although I promise them that their voices will be heard if I am elected, several note that they’ve heard that line from any number of politicians in the past. I assure them I am NO politician nor do I plan to go that route. When I reiterate my theme about wanting to try to bring the community together with trust and a sense of working as a team, I am usually wished the best of luck in accomplishing that mission.

“They won’t allow it,” one gentleman business owner noted with a look of defeat on his face.

“Look around,” he continued. “I’ve been here for years and thought I’d seen it all but apparently not. Most of us who own businesses live in fear of saying the wrong thing or telling the truth about what goes on down here.”

I have tried to meet a real cross-section of Concord. I’ve not skewed my interactions to favor those who might be considering a vote for me. Some have been very frank about their plans to vote the current mayor another term. One very angry woman said she was voting to keep him in office so he’d be there when the Main Street Project is completed because, “If it don’t work, I will personally rub his nose in it!!”

More than anything, I like the feisty nature of many of our residents who don’t hesitate to tell me their opinion about any number of things. Amazingly, a goodly percentage believe the Mayor has more power in decision-making than he actually does. I have to remind them that we have a City Manager who answers to the City Council and that the Mayor is a figurehead in some ways although the position can do a great deal to benefit our community.

When I say I am not a politician, I mean it. I have no dreams of moving onward and upward at this stage in my life. This is really an opportunity to return to this city, a little of what it has instilled in me and provided me with for lo these many years. It must be something in the drinking water, but I have watched, sometimes with awe, as so many residents have stepped up over the years and taken on a great many challenges with frequently amazing results.

For starters, we have such ventures as the Capital Center for the Arts, Red River Theatre, Gibson’s and the destination stop Michael has made it over the years. The Friends of the Audi is another sterling example of saving a beloved institution that might have been turned into offices. Harriet Ward and Carol Bagan would not hear of it and gathered a group together that worked for nothing and created a sterling example of “Community Spirit.”

The list is endless and the opportunities for others to bring their own individual talents and business concepts to Concord need to be encouraged, nurtured and supported.

The position of Mayor pays $ 2,000 per year or about $ 40 per week. I believe Concord needs a full-time, 40 hour per week Mayor at this juncture in our history. That’s about a dollar per hour which is about what I was paid for my first part-time job back in the 1960s while in high school. I was a Page at the New Hampshire State Library, retrieving old magazines and books from the basements of the beautiful structure. I am willing to work for that same pay scale now.

We need someone to go out and speak to people and listen to what they say, even if those thoughts and ideas might be at odds with what we feel. We need someone to give 150 percent to getting businesses interested in contemplating Concord as a place in which to do business. The title of Mayor carries some weight with it and can open doors if you knock on the right ones. We need to celebrate Concord and tout the virtues of opportunities inherent in our city, to anyone who will listen.

The Mayor needs to be available to listen to what our residents say. He needs to go out and speak to groups and repair the somewhat tattered reputation that many have about the way our city is run. I would listen with my ears, my head and my heart! NO idea or thought is not worth hearing. If Mayor Davie was willing to listen to me more than half a century ago as I proposed a cockamamie plan for a subway in Concord, each and every person living here deserves that same chance.

The Mayor needs to help every individual understand the full extent to which the homeless tragedy and the heroin and opiate public health crisis impact on all of us, not just those immediately affected. It’s not a happy topic but the realities of these issues can and will impact all of us if they go unchecked.

Economic growth is vitally important but we must find ways to address the out of control rising taxes. We must also work on celebrating our past and sharing it not only with the current generation but for all of those still to come.

During this campaign I have touted my slogan - “Returning a voice to the People” - and when I say that I mean ALL people. Concord is a community rich in diversity. There are some truly amazing individuals that make up the fabric of this historic city by the river. I want to encourage other voices to be heard. I want to help others to find their voice and to share their talents and viewpoint by perhaps pondering a future run for office or the joining of a local organization or committee. I also want them to know that you don’t have to take out a second mortgage to run for office. That misperception has kept many from stepping into the fray.

Although, to date, I have had offers of just over $ 11,000 for my campaign, I have refused almost all of them, suggesting they give the money to a worthy organization during the upcoming holidays. I paid for everything out of my pocket or with a small amount provided by my mom and “better half.” I also accepted two checks ($25 and $75) from someone I teach with who was insistent and from a friend who lives in Vermont and wanted to celebrate competitive races. That’s it. To have accepted the other monies would be shameful in light of the horrific struggles so many have in our community with sustaining an existence.

More than 50 years ago, I wrote a song celebrating Concord. I offered it to the Bicentennial Committee in 1965 when the city celebrated its 200th. While they declined it, I have frequently played it on the piano, meaning every note I played and every word I sang. The last few lines resonate today for me just as much as they did then.

By the river’s shining shore, sits the city we adore

Concord, you have conquered me