Kris Schultz, Ward 9 Concord City Council Candidate

CONCORD, NH — Kris Schultz

Position Sought

City Council Ward 9

Family

Gene Taylor husband, Louis “Lou” Brandeis is our dog

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education and-or work experience

Kris has been a dedicated community organizer and activist for over 30 years, with a life-long commitment to social justice and democratic values. She has worked as a consultant in political campaigns in New Hampshire and throughout the U.S., for candidates running for positions from mayor to president. She also advised AARP, the AFL-CIO, Americans for Healthcare, and Reform Immigration for America. She has built strong ties with New Hampshire’s communities of faith, from local congregations to statewide organizations. She served as the President of the Greater Concord Interfaith Council in 2016-2017 and is a member of a local congregation. She volunteers actively with organizations that address the needs and concerns of new Americans, people facing homelessness, and families grappling with poverty. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and studied at the Department of Sociology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Kris has lived in Alton Woods in Concord’s Ward 9 with her husband Gene Taylor, their dog Louis “Lou” Brandeis, since 2008. She enjoys strategy board games, cooking big dinners, playing the guitar, doing water fitness, knitting poorly, and writing reviews of movies & shows for her friends.

Previous or current elected or appointed positions

State Representative since 2017, currently representing Wards 4, 9 , and 10; Served formerly as a Supervisor of the Checklist for 16 years on election days registering new or transferring voters in Ward 9

Campaign website

Schultz for Concord

The single most important pressing issue facing the community is _______ and this is what I intend to do about it

Property taxes, which really need to be lowered, and for renters we need to offset rent because rent never goes back down when property taxes go down. We need to change laws and ordinances to shift the burdens of paying for government to those who can most afford it: the mega wealthy and the big corporations who pay their workers so low they need to go on public assistance. Some of that would need to be changed at the State House, some in our Master plan. Too many tax breaks have gone to the wealthiest with only higher taxes for the rest of us. No problem is more paramount than income inequality between the uber-rich and the rest of us. Our unequal taxes have been a big part of that and trickledown economics is a failed experiment. We need to use all the tools in our toolbox to address that in Concord.

List three other things you would like to work on if elected or re-elected

Safer Loudon Rd, increase housing for low & middle income Concordians, & develop policies around the Keach Park soccer game lights

Name a couple of accomplishments in the past that show you can handle this position

Fought hard to keep our commitment to my youngest constituents who play soccer to continue with the Keach Park lights. I also strongly support the City of Concord’s first responders (including public works staff) who keep us safe, plow our roads, and assist us on what may be for some the worst day of their lives. All of Concord’s workers deserve decent pay and benefits for a modest life for their service to us all. None of our rank-and-file workers are getting rich off of taxpayer dollars.

Share any other thoughts or ideas you would like voters to know about yourself

We need to reform our zoning and parking ordinances to increase housing; we need broad citizen participation in co-governance; we need a robust public service recruitment plan so we are not paying overtime for less staff shifts filled. I need to do more listening sessions on a regular basis and give more regular updates on what we are doing at city hall and the state house.