NASHUA – Three candidates are seeking to fill current Board of Aldermen member Ken Gidge’s Ward 6 seat, as he is not seeking re-election.

As the Tuesday Municipal General Election approaches, Kevin Scully, Elizabeth Lu and Joseph MacIntyre are competing for the right to represent Ward 6.

Scully

Scully has experience in public service as a state representative, and is now looking for another way to bring good to the lives of others. On a local level, his major concern at the moment is the fact the spending cap has been ruled as unenforceable by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He believes the city really benefited from having that restriction in place because it forced officials to keep spending under control.

“I think at the end of the day, we’re better off having that spending restriction in place, and although it is now gone, I’m telling the voters of Ward 6 and of Nashua that I will honor the spirit of the spending cap and I will be their spending cap, shall they decide to make me their alderman,” Scully said.

He said one of the major problems in the city right now is safety in schools.

“I’m hoping that we get a good and functional school board in place,” Scully said.

Infrastructure is also a very important issue to Scully, as he said this includes items people use daily without considering them.

As far as the city’s greatest asset goes, he said it would have to be Nashua’s geography. Scully said in terms of adopting the “Live Free or Die” attitude and being right on the border of Massachusetts is advantageous.

“I really hope to attract more business,” Scully said. “A lot of people are concerned about bringing in young workers.”

He said if Nashua can attract businesses by making the city attractive to them, the workers will follow.

Lu

Lu is running for a few reasons, and has always hoped to do this when her schedule was free enough to make the commitment. She also said her ward is not receiving proper representation from Gidge, who has been ill.

Nonetheless, Lu said the biggest problem facing the city is drug overdoses, so officials must address the heroin and fentanyl supplies that are on the streets.

“I think that’s the biggest issue right now, and I think we’re making some strides,” Lu said.

When it comes to the city’s various assets, she said Nashua has strong community support and strong community involvement. Lu also said the city’s bond rating is really good, which is a huge asset that allows the city to have a lot more flexibility in terms of how to pay for things. However, Lu said the residents who take part in civic engagement are the biggest asset of all.

“The people who contribute to the charitable organizations and social services are our biggest asset,” Lu said. “We have a lot of citizen involvement.”

MacIntyre

Similarly to Lu, MacIntyre said one of the first reasons for running is because Gidge has missed plenty of meetings.

“I thought we weren’t getting our proper representation and voice,” MacIntyre said.

As for problems facing the city MacIntyre, said the ward alderman’s job and the city government should always be clearly a nonpartisan situation. He said the board should not become heavily partisan. He said he has a firm belief that the city government should work on solving problems and collaborating.

“To me, I want to keep that intention strong because I think it is kind of starting to drift a little bit and you see what is going on in the national mood,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t want it to leak down into Nashua.”

MacIntyre has a background in geography, and believes one of Nashua’s greatest assets is its location at the center of New England. He said transportation is solid, while it is a great place to live, work and play. For him, Nashua has been doing a good job of progressing, but he wants to see more.

“I think that my concern is to make sure that we don’t get complacent and think that we never have to change or have to progress,” MacIntyre said.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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