9 Incumbent Municipal Candidates File To Run For Reelection In Concord; Champlin Gets Mayoral Challenge

CONCORD, NH — A flurry of candidates, mostly incumbents, filed to run for municipal races on Friday in Concord.

As has been the tradition in the past, several incumbents were at the Concord City Clerk’s Office at 8 a.m. for the first day of filing to run for re-election. Mayor Byron Champlin, who is seeking a second term, filed, as did Amanda Grady Sexton, with her son in tow, and Fred Keach, both at-large city councilors. Keach is currently the longest sitting city councilor, first elected in Ward 10 in 2007; Grady Sexton is second, having been first elected in Ward 4 in 2009. Jennifer Kretovic, from Ward 2, who has served on the council for 12 years, including one term in Ward 2 and the rest in Ward 3, and Kris Schultz from Ward 9, also filed on Friday morning. Schultz, who is also a state representative, is seeking her second term on the council.

Later in the day, incumbents Brent Todd from Ward 1, Michele Horne from Ward 2, Stacey Brown in Ward 5, and Jeff Foote from Ward 10 all filed to run again.

Todd, who was first elected in 2015 to represent Penacook, told subscribers to his newsletter there were several important city projects in the future, including work on the master plan, property reevaluation, and a new police station. He said he wanted “to continue to make sure Penacook folks are heard as we move forward with important future planning.”

Horne and Foote are seeking their second terms, while Brown is seeking her third term.

Also Read

• Ward 4 Concord City Councilor, Zone C School Board Member Out For 2025 Reelection; Signups Start Friday
• Filing For 2025 Concord City Council And School Board Races Begins Sept. 5
• New Hampshire Officials Remind Granite Staters Living In Cities What Documents They Will Need To Vote
• Do The Mayor, Councilors, And School Board Members Represent Concord?

West Runs Again, 2 Seek Ward 6 Seat

A challenger emerged in the mayoral race Friday and two filed for what is presumed to be an open seat in Ward 6.

Kate West, a former school board member who unsuccessfully challenged Champlin and George Jack for the open mayoral seat in 2023, has filed to run again this year.

Two candidates also filed to run in Ward 6.

Aislinn Kalob filed to run, as did Brenna Kehew Sculley. Both women live in the South End.

Current Councilor Paula McLaughlin has not responded to inquiries about whether she is running for reelection. However, some of her colleagues have said privately they heard she was not planning on running.

Two File For Concord SAU School Board

Two candidates also filed to run for Zone seats on the Concord Board of Education.

Jeff Wells, who was active in the opposition to building a new middle school in East Concord and instead advocating for it to remain on its current footprint, filed to run for the Zone B seat (comprising Wards 5, 6, and 7). He said school children in the city deserved strong schools at a price taxpayers can afford.

“My focus will be transparency, accountability, and balance,” he said in an email. “That means putting students first in budgeting, keeping the public fully informed on big projects, and making sure decisions reflect the community’s voice, not just personal opinions. I want to make sure Concord schools are excellent for our students and sustainable for our taxpayers.”

Another candidate signing up to run was Alexander Dubois, a middle school special education teacher with autism.

How To File To Run

For city seats, the filing fee is $5. The filing period will run from Friday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 15, at the Concord City Clerk’s office at City Hall at 39 Green St. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with extended hours on Thursday until 6 p.m. On Sept. 15, the clerk’s office will be open until 5 p.m.

City ward positions have a filing fee of $1.

Candidates for city offices can also gather signatures instead of paying the $5 fee. The signature filing petition process will run through Sept. 19. See the city clerk for details.

To run for a city position, voters must be registered voters in the city and live in the Ward from which they are running, if they are a candidate for a Ward seat.

Call the city clerk’s office at 603-225-8500 for more information.

Filing for the three school board seats will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays from Sept. 5 to Sept. 15.

To run for a school board position, a candidate must be a registered voter of SAU 8 and be domiciled in the Zone district.

For more information about school board races, call the SAU 8 clerk at 603-225-0811.

City And School Offices On The Ballot

Seats in 2025 include:

• Mayor: 1 seat, two-year term.
• At-Large City Councilor: 2 seats, four-year term.
• Ward City Councilor: 1 seat per Ward (10 seats), two-year term.
• Zone A (Wards 1, 2, 3, 4): 1 seat, three-year term.
• Zone B (Wards 5, 6, 7): 1 seat, three-year term.
• Zone C (Wards 8, 9, 10): 1 seat, three-year term.

Ward seats also include:

• Ward Moderator: 1 seat per Ward (10 seats), two-year term.
• Ward Clerk: 1 seat per Ward (10 seats), two-year term.
• Supervisor of the Checklist: 1 seat per Ward (10 seats), six-year term.

Are You Running?

Please let us know! Email me, Tony Schinella, at tony.schinella@patch.com.

Caption: Candidates filing for municipal races on Sept. 5 included Aislinn Kalob, a candidate in Ward 6, upper left; Mayor Byron Champlin, lower left, (Jennifer Kretovic or Ward 2 and Amanda Grady Sexton, an at-large councilor were standing behind him); Fred Keach, another at-large councilor (Grady Sexton and her son are to his right), upper right; and Kate West, who filed for mayor, in the lower right.

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