MANCHESTER, N.H. – Pat Long (no, not the new one) is an institution in Ward 3 as Alderman, but he will have a challenger for his seat this fall.
Last week, Scott Elliott signed up to take on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s Vice Chair.
Elliott lives almost directly across the street from City Hall and has had a first-hand look at the city’s homelessness problem.
“Quite honestly, I don’t think the city’s made any forward progress on the homelessness situation,” he said. “That’s my number one issue.”
Although he did not mention it by name, Elliot supports efforts comparable to the city’s agreement with Gatehouse to get homeless individuals into detox treatment in the hopes of stopping downtown drug use, although he felt that the costs paid by the city for Gatehouse’s services seemed high.
“I see it all the time, people shooting up on the street, I don’t think we take it seriously enough as a city government,” he said. “I keep on seeing needles in the parks and I’ve literally seen people shooting up on doorsteps on Merrimack Street.”
Elliott also supported the city hosting more events downtown to help businesses, which he believes have not fully recovered since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You just look at the Thirsty Moose and before 2020 on Thursday and Fridays there were lines out the door,” he said. “Now you see places empty out at 10 o’clock.
As there are only two candidates vying for the seat, neither Long nor Elliott will be on the ballot for the September primary, both advancing directly to November’s General Election. Long was first elected in 2010 and has also served as a Ward 3 State Representative since 2006.