While I didn’t grow up in Manchester, I like to say that I got here just as fast as I could. Manchester is the city I chose, and continue to choose. It’s where I put down roots. It’s where I met my wife, Angie, and it’s where my son, Zeke, a student at Hillside Middle School, was born.

Career 

I moved to Manchester, sight unseen, in 2004 so that I could take a job as a reporter at The Hippo, a job which gave me a crash course in all things Manchester and began my fascination with, and love of, New Hampshire’s Queen City.

After my time in journalism I worked for five years as a community services specialist with NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire, where I gained a first-hand knowledge of many of the challenges facing the city’s neighborhoods. In this role I helped neighbors take on slumlords on the West Side and started an after-school tutoring program in the Center City.

Next, as the Vice President of Economic Development at the Greater Manchester Chamber, I got to know and understand the city’s business community and what Manchester needs to thrive economically. And, likewise, as the President of the Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, I came to more fully appreciate just how important regional collaboration matters when it comes to economic development.

For the past five and a half years, as the Executive Director of Stay Work Play New Hampshire, I have learned, and seen success, in what it takes to attract and retain the talent we need. And Manchester’s future is, to a very large degree, dependent on just how well we are able to do this.

Community

While much of my professional life has been spent working, in one form or fashion, to make Manchester, even better, so to have I worked to do so in a volunteer capacity.

I worked to make city better as the captain of the Oak Park Neighborhood Watch as I helped to keep my neighborhood safe from crime, or while co-founding and leading Bike Manchester, where I advocated for better bike infrastructure across the city. I also worked to make Manchester even better as a board member of the Friends of Wagner Memorial Park and the Friends of Stark Park, and well as during my tenure as Manchester Transit Authority Commissioner.

Indeed, my fascination with and love for Manchester led me to write and publish the city’s first guidebook, “An Insider’s Guide to Manchester.”

And in 2017, this love of Manchester and my wanting to make an even bigger positive impact here led me to run for alderman in Ward 2.

At City Hall

Through listening, convening, and taking action, I have worked to make both Ward 2, and all of Manchester, a better place during my time as an alderman.

I led an effort that tamed the “neighborhood highways” that were Beech and Maple streets, north of Bridge, reducing speeds and cutting the number of crashes in half.

And in working with the business community, I secured donations from the private and nonprofit sectors to fund upgrades to city parks and increase pedestrian safety for students walking to and from school. And working with housing advocates, I led the effort to make it a little bit easier for homeowners to construct accessory dwelling units to help put a small dent in the city’s housing affordability crisis.

These are just a few examples. But they showcase what is possible when you truly listen to the people impacted by an issue, you bring together all of the stakeholders, and you take action. That’s my approach to leadership, to solving problems and delivering results: I listen, I learn, and I act.