Residents got a last opportunity to hear from candidates for local offices last week in a Candidates Night at the Recreation Department, including hearing from candidates for contested races for Select Board, Zoning Board and Planning Board.
Incumbent Selectman Bob Hamilton and former selectman Bob Martin are both seeking a single seat on the Select Board.
Hamilton described the work he’s done with the town as a board member over the last 12 years, including repairs to the historic Meetinghouse, increasing the police department staff to eight officers, and a long-term project to maintain and expand the town’s cemeteries.
Hamilton said work has been done to improve employee culture, stating that when the board “let’s them do their job, the way they know how to do it, and they will, to great benefits.”
Martin, who last served on the board in 2005, said he wanted to balance priorities, noting that he was aware of the difficulties faced by seniors on fixed incomes and businesses working hard to stay afloat, as well as the need to provide town services.
“Responsible taxes are my top priority,” Martin said.
He said that he considered public safety a “critical priority.” During the town’s deliberative session, Martin moved to increase the town’s budget by $100,000 in support of the police department wages. Martin, whose son is a Rindge police officer, said the town has become a training ground for new officers, with significant funds paid to send new officers to the academy, only for them to move to other departments.
Zoning Board
Three candidates, Marcia Breckenridge, Mark Hower and Ross Thermos, are competing for two available seats on the Zoning Board.
Breckenridge is a current member, having served on the board for two terms. She said the role of the board is to “act in response to what the voters have voted in,” being an arbitrator of the existing zoning code. “The Zoning Board doesn’t make decisions; we enact what the voters have decided,” Breckenridge said.
Thermos, also a current member, said he started as an alternate after moving to town for its family atmosphere in 2021. He said the board was a “robust, cross-functional team” that “make decisions with the best interest of the town in mind.”
Hower, who is running for several offices this year, said he is committed to town planning and land protection. He said he is not against development, but wants to ensure “it’s being done properly,” and be an advocate for residents. He is also running unopposed for trustee of the trust funds and in a contested race for Planning Board. Hower said his initial intent was to sign up to run for Zoning Board and trustee of the trust funds, but at the time he was submitting his name, there were no candidates for Planning Board.
Current Planning Board member Roberta Oeser is seeking re-election, saying that when she ran three years ago, she had plans for more long-term planning for the town. She said there’s still work to be done on that front, and that the board has spent her past term focusing mainly on reviewing the local zoning code.
She said her hope, if re-elected, is to work on creating community outreach to get feedback on the future planning for the town.
Joel Aho and Jennifer Helsel are both also signed up for the office, but were not present during Candidate’s Night.
School Board
Two candidates are running for a single Rindge School Board seat, Angela May Johnson and Jared Reini, both of whom would be new to the board.
Johnson, who has worked as a teacher in the Jaffrey-Rindge district since 1998, said she wants to be part of the panel of people who make decisions on behalf of the schools. She’s seen how the district works through the lens of a teacher, coach, paraprofessional, substitute and club supervisor, and wants to help improve the climate for students who lack engagement with the district, and build community for families.
“I feel like we have good schools,” Johnson said. “There are areas that can be improved upon, and it takes a team of people to make that happen.”
She said in an era of school choice, and the possibility of New Hampshire becoming an open-enrollment state, districts need to be desirable for students now, more than ever.
Reini was not present at Candidate’s Night, but provided a statement read by moderator John Hunt.
Reini is a lifelong Rindge resident who attended Rindge Memorial School and Conant High School.
“As a business owner, I very much understand budgets, goals, regulations, long-term visions and financial stewardship,” Reini said in his statement. “I can use my skills and knowledge to help the School Board move forward in a positive direction that benefits our children.”
The event was hosted by the Rindge Chamber of Commerce, with refreshments provided courtesy of the Rindge Women’s Club.
Voting in Rindge will be held at the Rindge Memorial School on Tuesday, March 10 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.