Occupation: I am a Senior Network Systems Administrator for Extreme Networks in Salem, New Hampshire.
Your Education/Background: I graduated with B.A. in international affairs from The George Washing Univeristy in 2008 and from University of Maryland Global Campus with a Masters in Cybersecurity and MBA Dual Degree in 2019.
How Long Have You Lived in Manchester? Since August 2024. I came to New Hampshire because my job transferred from California to Salem. Though I explored several communities, including Salem itself, I specifically chose Manchester after seeing the Mill Complex. I have always wanted to live in the historic section of a city, and moving here has fulfilled that particular dream.
Hobbies/Fun Fact about you/other biographical info: Married with two daughters and three granddaughters.Served eight years in U.S. Army. Reading, weightlifting, cycling, drumming, movies.
If elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of homelessness in the city?
To address homelessness requires awareness of the issue’s scope, compassion, and coordinated strategies between local, state, and federal governments and community based organizations.
Step 1: Awareness. Homelessness is a multi-faceted problem. A 2023 report from the NH Community Behavioral Health Association indicates that New Hampshire, as a state, experienced a 52% increase in homelessness, compared to 12% nationally. Here in Manchester, The NH Coalition to End Homelessness saw about a 41% increase on homeless children from 2022 to 2024. Many of these people work several jobs and still cannot qualify for housing. For those with unmet behavioral health needs often do not get the integrated physical and mental health treatment necessary for recovery.
Step 2. Increase availability of affordable housing. Review and review existing zoning laws that encourage multi-family units; repurpose unused commercial properties for housing; encourage development near public transportation hubs, and continue partnerships with behavioral and mental health providers, case managers, and public health experts to fund intervention efforts.
Step 3: Leverage existing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in our schools (e.g., financial literacy and skills training) that can prevent homelessness.
If elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of housing costs?
We need to encourage the building of more housing for different income levels, not just the upper end. More luxury apartments are useless if people are unable to afford them. We can use zoning changes to designate and allocate areas where more affordable housing can be built. The BMA, of which I hope to become a member, can possibly encourage constructors to do so by perhaps providing tax incentives that are targeted and made to sunset once they achieve their purpose. Such incentives should not go on forever in a “set-and-forget” fashion. Further, Manchester has a lot of legacy housing stock that is not well-maintained. While walking the streets of Ward 11 to meet voters, I have repeatedly encountered properties with broken windows, cracked step landings, chunks of cement missing from front porches and/or the steps leading to the sidewalk. Such lack of basic maintenance creates safety issues for tenants and, in some cases, people who come into even tangential contact with such properties. Tenants may also either end up spending money to address issues that should be taken care of by property owners, or the issue(s) go(es) unaddressed, leaving tenants in the awful position of getting less than that for which they actually must pay. The city can use its authority to compel property owners to maintain their properties to a clearly defined minimum standard for occupation.
If elected, what steps would you endorse to address the issue of attracting and retaining quality city employees?
To attract and retain quality city employees, we need to provide competitive pay and benefits packages. In various career fields within city departments, we can establish, or modify as necessary, paths for advancement so that people who choose to come to work for the city of Manchester can see the possibilities for having viable and growing careers while doing so. Continuing and expanding support for our school system can go a long way toward attracting prospective employees who either have school-age children or perhaps would like to start families once they relocate to our community. Last, but certainly not least, we can and must create a collegial and constructive environment, treating city employees respectfully as the competent and dedicated professionals they are. As alderman, I will prioritize conducting my interactions with city employees in precisely this fashion.
What is your perspective on the city’s roads, transit system and parking? If you believe improvement is needed, how would you accomplish that?
Manchester’s transit system needs an upgrade. Manchester began and has a long and proud history as an industrial city. But the infrastructure that may have served Manchester when it hosted the world’s largest textile manufacturer, or even during the latter years of the twentieth century, cannot serve the city Manchester would like to become and can be. In addition to paving – not just patching – many of Manchester’s roads, especially its larger thoroughfares such as Willow Street – we need to devise a long-term strategy for modernizing Manchester’s transit infrastructure that will position the city for future growth. To reduce parking congestion, especially downtown, we can explore options to facilitate people getting to and from downtown efficiently without having to use their cars, which can help reduce the need for parking in the city’s center.
In many Ward 11 neighborhoods, we can explore ways to create more community parking to reduce congestion on side streets and the frustration some residents feel when others park their vehicles on sidewalks. Further, improvements at the street level are a must, with particular focus on aiding those who face challenges with mobility. We can prioritize maintaining sidewalks where they exist, rehabilitating broken and cracked sidewalks, and adding them on streets that currently do not have them. Naturally, sidewalks will need to have ramps for citizens who utilize wheelchair and/or walkers. Also, as Manchester appears to want to attract new residents and professionals in fields such as tech and biomedicine, we can look at ways to make Boston, a major regional center, more accessible from Manchester without having to drive. Such accessibility, along with Manchester’s (relatively) lower cost of living, could actually make Manchester more attractive for young professionals to live here. More such people calling Manchester home can create a host of positive follow-on economic, educational, and cultural effects, adding to the city’s vibrancy.
What is your opinion on the city’s parks, library and entertainment offerings/public events? If improvement is needed, what should be done?
As a cyclist, I enjoy many of the city’s outdoor spaces, especially the rail trails. I would like to see further expansion of that network. In addition to enjoying the beauty of the city, these trails can be a good way to get to different parts of the city while encountering fewer motor vehicles. One thing I would like to see in parks, especially in neighborhoods, are some small areas for outdoor exercise stations. I served in the United States Army for eight years. Every base I went to had stations for doing some basic exercises (sit-ups, pull-ups, hanging knee raises, etc.), in base parks as well as our own individual unit areas. Especially following the recent pandemic, we need to find practical ways to promote a greater sense of community. Small green spaces in neighborhoods with such stations can encourage people to get out of their homes and get some physical activity, while saving people money and time vs having to join gyms, which, depending on income, may not be feasible for everyone.
What is your opinion on the city’s policies regarding property taxes and other fees (i.e. – pet licenses, parking meters, etc.)
I totally understand that no one, but no one, likes paying taxes. Full disclosure: I don’t either! But we have government to do together those necessary things which benefit us all (education, public safety, infrastructure, etc.) that none of us can do on our own or at any level of organization below government. As is the case in other areas of our lives, we get what we pay for, or not. Particularly as the largest municipality in the entire state, Manchester deserves a government that is funded to well meet the needs of its people. We need to explore ways to ensure that the costs of funding the services our community needs and relies on falls equitably on all.
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?
Manchester is making progress in attracting new business. But expanding and accelerating that progress will require upgrading different aspects of our community – education, infrastructure, housing opportunities – to make it attractive to a wider range potential businesses and industries. This is a long-term proposition, and must be given careful consideration. But I believe that committing to do so and following through can well position Manchester going forward.
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?
As the largest school district in the State of New Hampshire, it makes sense to have a group of committed people who concentrate on meeting the needs of the school district’s twelve-thousand plus students and two-thousand plus teachers, administrators, staff, and other support personnel. The Board of School Committee does so, as it should be. That said, we must fund our school district according to the kind of community we want to become, one that is thriving and positioned for future growth. The students attending Manchester’s schools will form much of the city’s workforce and provide many of its future leaders, so investing in our students is crucial to promoting Manchester as a growth-oriented community. They need and deserve funding that does not rank lowest in the state on a per-pupil basis.
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?
As alderman for Ward 11, I will do my best to respond to citizens’ needs and work with my fellow alderpersons and community members to find solutions to issues that affect us all every day. Some of you will probably note that I have not lived in Manchester long. My answer to that is that I do not have to have been born here for this community to be important to me. I do not have to have lived here a long time to respond to citizens’ needs – to return phone calls, to respond to emails, to work with officials in the relevant city departments to address your needs and concerns. I can do any and all of those things by caring about something more than just my own needs and personal comfort. I appreciate your consideration of me for Ward 11 Alderman . Please contact me at (617) 819-4894 or lawrencebryant4ward11alderman@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thank you very much.
Submitted 10/22/25, 10:57 PM