Occupation: Founder and Stylist at Chill Spa in Manchester, Host of Chill and Heal Show
Your Education/Background: Central High graduated 88 & Cosmetology 89
How Long Have You Lived in Manchester? 50 years. I grew up in the inner city of Manchester, later moving to the North End. I went to Beech Street School, then Webster School, Hillside and Central. Both of my girls went to Manchester public schools as well. I started my career in Manchester and continue to support amazing women in the wonderful world of beauty and well being at Chill Spa
Hobbies/Fun Fact about you/other biographical info I love working at Chill Spa with all the amazing, professional, kind women I get to call my chill family! I love skiing, dancing, eating ice cream and traveling but most important is being a mother and a grandmother to my two amazing daughters and three granddaughters.
If re-elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of homelessness in the city?
We need accountability with guidance & compassion in our shelters and to support proven and measurable programs for mental health and substance use. I am for high barrier shelters, 100%. Safety has to be a priority, not only for those in the shelter, but also for the citizens and business owners of Manchester.
If re-elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of housing costs?
We need to cut taxes and stop wasteful spending. Until we lower taxes and stop wasteful spending housing costs will continue to go up. We don’t have a housing crisis we have an affordability crisis! Just check out all the rentals in Manchester.
If re-elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of attracting and retaining quality city employees?
They just got a great compensation plan which I believe is a great start. I would love to hear from the employees what their thoughts are on this.
What is your perspective on the city’s roads, transit system and parking? If you believe improvement is needed, how would you accomplish that?
I am not a fan of the bike lanes and I know I am not alone. They cause more issues than they are worth, and once again it seems like we find ways to waste tax payer’s money. Roads need to be repaved, and widened if possible, right now they are horrible. We must better fund DPW. We also need more enforcement for speeding to keep our streets safer. We need to focus on winter snow removal and enforcing the signage of ‘No Parking’ to help DPW do their job of snow removal. It takes team work to make our streets safer & better.
What is your opinion on the city’s parks, library and entertainment offerings/public events? If improvement is needed, what should be done?
We need to have more “Officer Friendlies” patrolling our parks. We need to invest in maintenance and upkeep of ALL parks. We should enforce current laws regarding littering, vandalizing, and other illegal activities. The city also needs to be more open about public events. This summer I attended an fundraiser for cancer in Bedford, ran by Manchester citizens. It was a great event for an even better cause, but I was told the City of Manchester would not approve the event and wanted to charge an exorbitant rate. We need to promote and encourage citizens to host events in Manchester as well as volunteer in keeping city establishments clean.
What is your opinion on the city’s policies regarding property taxes and other fees (i.e. – pet licenses, parking meters, etc.)
Property taxes continue to increase year over year. This drives up the cost of living and puts owning a home, starting a business or maintaining a business out of reach for many. We need to focus on lower water, sewer bills, electric rates and property taxes, so that parking, and dog licenses are not the things that breaks us. We can’t forget that when property taxes go up so do rents and people flee.
What are your thoughts on the city’s business climate and how would you attract more businesses to come to Manchester or convince more people to start businesses in Manchester?
Covid was hard on medium & small businesses. Many did not make it through the almost two year lock down and many are barely hanging on. We need to take care of the business owners that have been and currently are operating their businesses in this city. If we ease the burden on long time and current business owners, others will come, and small basement start-ups will purchase store fronts. Cleaning up our streets, needles and drug addiction is essential to attract more people to the city we all love.
What is your opinion of the state of education in Manchester and what should the relationship be between the Board of School Committee and Board of Mayor and Aldermen?
Manchester has seen a dramatic increase in overall school spending the past three years while students have continued to leave the system. Per pupil spending has skyrocketed and there has been little, if any, improvement in student performance. Manchester’s schools are more focused on training teachers about the Wheel of Power and Privilege and Whitneness is Power than they are in teaching kids how to read, write or do arithmetic.
As far as I’m concerned, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen needs to hold the school board accountable for our district’s embarrassing student achievement results. It’s easy to say “old buildings” or “inadequate funding” are the culprits but those are red flags. The BMA needs to ask the tough questions about the results received for the money spent. Clearly, the system is failing our kids. As the appropriating body, we need to expect results and take whatever steps we can when they’re not only poor but have been declining over a long time. The old excuses of not enough money and out dated facilities are clearly not working. I’d like to see a public school choice system that empowers our teachers and principals to work directly with our parents and students to provide options that meet their needs.
Anything else you’d like to add not mentioned here and what is the best way voters can reach you if they have more questions?
I would be honored to be reelected to continue my work of bringing more transparency, accountability and problem solving to City Hall. I encourage everyone to get involved, stay updated, attend Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings, and hold all elected officials accountable for what we run on. I can be reached at kantorformanchester.com or 603-851-1388. God Bless you & Manchester.