Two More Concord City Council Candidates, One Incumbent School Board Member, File To Run: Election 2025

CONCORD, NH — During the past two days, three more candidates filed to run for municipal races in Concord, while the filing deadline looms.

Two candidates filed to run for Concord City Council seats on Friday.

Elijah Wilson of the North End filed to run for the open Ward 4 city council seat, while Alex Dellas of the West End filed to run for the Ward 5 seat. Dellas had been toying with a mayoral challenge to incumbent Byron Champlin but filed for the council seat instead.

For the SAU 8 board of education, Cara Meeker, the incumbent in Zone B, filed to run for reelection, as she said she would last month.

Meeker said she was “excited” to be running for a second term and said it had been “a true honor” to serve during the past two years, adding it was “work I care deeply about and hope to continue.”

She added, “I remain committed to strengthening our public schools and advocating for our students and families. I am also a district parent to a seventh-grader and a homeowner, so I understand the need to balance the needs of our students with what taxpayers can reasonably take on.”

Meeker said she voted twice to Rebuild at Rundlett and was “motivated to get the middle school project back on track and renew community excitement for a modern school that will serve our students for many years to come.”

Meeker currently serves as board secretary and chairwoman of the policy and communications committee.

Fred Keach, an at-large councilor, who signed up earlier this week, said he was running for reelection after 18 years because he believed the next few years would be very challenging for the Concord community.

“Specifically, there are serious economic realities that will impact the city, and we must be prepared to face these challenges with experience and fiscal responsibility,” he said. “The elimination (of) post-pandemic federal funds, downshifting of state costs, and increased city compensation costs will put tremendous financial pressure on our ability to govern.”

Keach said he would lead by understanding the community has wants and needs. The focus, though, needs to be on needs first and wants second, he said.

“Public safety, reasonable taxes, and economic development fall into my need category,” Keach said.

Also Read

• Assistant County Prosecutor Runs For Open Ward 4 Concord City Council Seat: Follow-Up
• More Incumbents File For Concord City Council; At-Large Race Gets A 3rd Candidate
• 9 Incumbent Municipal Candidates File To Run For Reelection In Concord; Champlin Gets Mayoral Challenge
• 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?

Candidates Running, So Far

The following candidates have submitted papers to run.

In the mayor's race, Champlin has filed, as has Kate West, who ran for the office two years ago.

In the at-large race, Fisto Ndayishimiye has filed to run against incumbents Amanda Grady Sexton and Fred Keach.

Incumbent ward councilors filing include Brent Todd in Ward 1, Michele Horne from Ward 2, Jennifer Kretovic in Ward 3, Jim Schlosser of Ward 7, Ali Sekou of Ward 8, Kris Schultz in Ward 9, and Jeff Foote from Ward 10.

For the open Ward 4 seat, along with Wilson, Jeffrey Garrett Tynes has filed to run.

Dellas is challenging incumbent Stacey Brown in Ward 5.

Along with newcomer Tynes, two candidates filed to run for the Ward 6 seat: Aislinn Kalob and Brenna Kehew Sculley.

For the SAU 8 school board, Madeleine Mineau has filed to run for the Zone A (Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4). Jeff Wells has filed to run for the Zone B seat (comprising Wards 5, 6, and 7). Alexander Dubois, who signed up to run on Friday for the open Zone C seat.

How To File To Run

For city seats, the filing fee is $5. The filing period runs through 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, at the Concord City Clerk’s office at City Hall at 39 Green St.

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 ends at 4 p.m. on Monday, 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.

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