MANCHESTER, N.H. – The 2025 Manchester municipal election filing period opened on Monday with a rush of candidates looking to make their campaigns official moments after the door opened to City Hall.
Of the 26 candidates for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Board of School Committee that signed up on Monday, 19 did so within the first two hours of the day, creating a line that found its way out the door shortly after the Manchester City Clerk’s office opened at 8 a.m.
Each one of the city’s 12 wards saw at least one candidate except for Ward 12 while Ward 10 drew candidates not just for the Aldermanic and School Committeeman slots, as well as Moderator, Clerk and Selectman.
Monday also ensured there will be contested races for Alderman in Wards 3,5,7,9 and 11 as well as School Committeeman in Ward 5.
In Ward 3, Aldermanic candidates Dana Dexter and Avery Cyr filed in the early rush with 2025 marking the first time either candidate has run for public office and both say they are looking to build upon the work of outgoing Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long.
Dexter has worked in law enforcement for the City of Concord for the past 22 years and is on the verge of receiving a master’s degree in criminal forensics. He says that he wants to act independently if elected and listen to as many Ward 3 residents as possible to help improve the city.
“I have a deep belief in service, there have been good things happening under the current mayor and I’d like to be a part of that,” he said. “We need to do more work in the downtown area to build more structure and facilities that will bring more vibrancy downtown and help build Manchester in the place it can be.”
Cyr has an array of several policy initiatives on his website that would seek to use the role of an alderman to advocate to state and federal officials in addition to the powers allocated directly to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Cyr seeks to advocate to prohibit the declawing of cats and wants to raise more money for the Manchester School District through means other than raising residential property taxes.
Long has served on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for 16 years and has run for public office for the 19 years in a row, alternating between municipal elections and elections for state representative in odd-numbered years.
Now serving as a state senator, Long said he wants to spend more time with his family along with spending more time with his added responsibilities in Concord.
“It was hard to make this decision, Manchester is an opportune situation and has a high potential of growth and we’ll need good people in place to help make that happen,” he said. “I think it’s time to let someone else step into the board and address some of those challenges and I think we have a good group. As a voter, I’ll be looking closely at all of them before I head in to vote.”
On the West Side, incumbent Norm Vincent will face off against newcomer Lawrence Bryant in Ward 11.
Both candidates see enhancing city infrastructure as one of the key issues for voters this fall.
Bryant, who only moved to Manchester last August, wanted to get involved after the election results last fall. As a cyclist, Bryant hopes to encourage more bike lanes in the city as roads are repaved and potholes are patched while expanding existing infrastructure for bicycles.
Vincent, who was elected to his first term in 2023, seeks to build on efforts he’s made, specifically noting road repair in parts of his ward.
“It’s always a pleasure to do something for the community and the people that need help and need a voice,” he said. “I look forward to meeting people again, meeting new people and meeting people I’ve met before.”
Vincent filed alongside Chris Morgan, the only person to file for Alderman At-Large on Monday.
Morgan, the current Ward 1 Alderman, sought to do more for the city as a whole. If re-elected, he said he hopes to keep taxes low while also supporting the police and fire departments as well as helping to help the Manchester School District find additional funding along with increased awareness of their efforts educating the city’s youth.
“Obviously I’m going to continue to work to help Ward 1, but I feel like this is an opportunity to expand,” he said. “A lot of people came up to me and said ‘I wish I could vote for you,’ and everything just came together.
In Ward 5, Jason Bonilla and Jeff Taylor filed for Alderman and School Committeman respectively during the early rush while Kathleen Paquette and Mark Millet did the same respectively later in the morning.
Millet has four grandchildren in the Manchester School District right now and feels that there is need for improvement.
“Right now we’re in the bottom ten percent of New Hampshire schools as far as academic performance,” he said. “We can and must do better for our kids.”
The Ward 7 Aldermanic race has competition between Ross Terrio and Tom Bozoian.
Bozian worked for Manchester’s Department of Public Works for many years and also served as the head coach of Manchester West’s football team.
“I know the city inside and out, I know the ward inside and out. I feel like have a lot of institutional knowledge and I don’t want to put that to waste,” he said.
Terrio, the current Alderman for Ward 7, said he hopes to support the initiatives of Mayor Jay Ruais and appreciated Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor’s announcement that she is withdrawing her campaign for mayor, referring to it as “chasing windmills” given her lack of fundraising and limited schedule operating Chill Spa. And while municipal elections are officially non-partisan, Terrio felt that Kantor’s decision to run for re-election in Ward 6 would be the best chance for a Republican to hold that seat.
With Kantor’s withdrawal, Ruais is now the only expected candidate for mayor barring any unforeseen candidates.
Former Manchester Mayor Bob Baines, who filed for re-election to the Board of School Committee in Ward 9, has been involved in local politics in some form since the 1970s and said that he cannot recall any other time a mayor has gone unopposed for election or re-election.
Baines, who said he wants to add his experience to increase dialog on how everyone can work together better for schools in Manchester, believed that if there is not a contested race for mayor this fall, it may drive down turnout overall.
“That may make things more difficult for people down the ballot to get voters to come out,” he said. “In the end, it’s all about going door-to-door and making contact with people. So we’ll see how hard people work to get elected.”
There were also 13 people who put their names on the ballot for the three elected positions involved with polling places: Moderator, Selectman and Clerk.
Vanessa Blais was one of those people, stepping up to run for Selectman in Ward 4. Like Baines, Blais is concerned about the possibility of low turnout this falls and hopes those fears can be allayed.
“It’s so important to vote in local elections because our day-to-day lives are affected by the people we choose and we should be there helping to make those choices,” she said. “The Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Board of School Committee are so important. I think they deserve more attention than the Mayor’s race or even the Governor’s race.”
The filing period will remain open until Friday, July 25 at 5 p.m.