Dana Silcock, candidate for Statehouse, emphasizes affordable housing

BELMONT — Dana Silcock believes in the importance of local residents having a voice in Concord, which is why he’s put his name on the primary ballot on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

He’s running as a Republican for the Statehouse in District 4, going against Republican Kevin Nugent and Liz Charlwood, a Democrat.

Meet Dana Silcock

Many may recognize Silcock from his time volunteering on the town zoning board. He’s in the second year of a three-year term, and plans to run for reelection. It was his first foray into politics.

“It's been a lot of fun, and it's been a good introduction to politics. Honestly, politics are interesting,” Silcock said. “After a year-and-a-half or so on the zoning board, I found, well, I want to do more.”

Employed in aerial line construction, an industry he's been in for 16 years, his job involves building and splicing everything on pole lines and underground systems — not for power, but for telecommunication lines running pole to pole.

When he’s not working or spending time with his family, he’s a fan of heavy metal music and playing instruments, ranging from guitar and bass, to drums and the Irish tin whistle.

It’s also quite common for him to keep his smoker company at all hours of the night, cooking brisket.

Some family friends “call me Uncle Dana. And they really like to go anywhere that Uncle Dana's brisket is being made.”

A self-described gear head who enjoys “wrenching,” he started riding dirtbikes at age 7. He bought his first car at age 9, then changed out its engine as a high school project. Today, he also rides an Indian motorcycle.

Affordable housing

Silcock’s work and experience on the zoning board help drive his thoughts on affordable housing.

“I hope to see a lot more development. You know, I agree that in a zoning perspective, the town should have a say, and the state has limited say right now. I'm not saying give anything back to the state, and I'm not saying take anything away from the town, but I think that the towns — not just mine — should work better with the state and their representatives to figure out something that works,” he said. “I've had several people come before the board that are developers, and sometimes there's a lot of red tape that doesn't allow them to build how they want to. And that's what I have to get a handle on, because right now, the only experiences I've had firsthand with these developers is that they're not developing for affordable housing. They're using the word affordable, but they're going to develop houses and sell them for $600,000 a piece. That's not affordable, right?"

Dated zoning laws make development difficult, as property assessments are also causing havoc. He relayed how his property value has almost doubled since he bought in Belmont in 2017, and “the math just isn’t mathing.”

He’s seen plenty of young residents leave the state due to lack of jobs and high cost of living.

“I'm sick of my family and my friends moving away, moving out of state, to different opportunities and for jobs and job placement.”

In his mid-30s, he believes the millennial generation will solve the problem.

“My generation can have a different type of opinion than the generations that are currently incumbents. Because what we have going for us right now, the millennials, if you will, we're the ones buying houses and having kids and having to deal with putting kids through school and childcare,” Silcock said. “We're the ones that are actively struggling in so many areas. So, why not let us be the ones to try to make a difference?”

Government accountability

Silcock thinks a party-agnostic approach is the best path forward.

“Part of my personal job is to have to figure out how to hold people accountable. I'd like to be able to bring that knowledge and experience to the state, because I'm a fan of, ‘I don't care if you're my best friend. I don't care if you're a part of my party or not. If something needs to be done and it doesn't get done, I'm going to hold you accountable because that's how I was raised,’” he said. “We need to bring that back. We need to bring back people having a backbone. It's not just coming down to two different kinds of people, because everyone is different. Everyone learns differently and acts differently and comes together differently.”

Working across the aisle, with no dominating personal agendas, is his vision for his time in the Statehouse.

“I'm going to go represent your opinions in Concord, right? You know, yes, maybe they'll conflict with my opinions, but my job will be to take your opinions and the voices of you, as the constituent, and this district, and bring it to Concord, because I'm one person for the rest of you. I'm not one person to just go on my own with my own agenda.”

He also wants more face-to-face conversations.

“The political divide being fixed needs to bring back the community itself. The reason there's a divide is because people don't talk face-to-face anymore,” he said. “How do I get people to come somewhere and talk? If I'm elected, I can possibly try to get more of the community together.”

Winnipesaukee River Basin Program

Silcock, as a member of the zoning board, is well aware of the evolving situation with the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program.

Currently, Belmont is a member community in the state-owned wastewater collection and treatment system.

At a recent Belmont selectboard meeting, the board voted 4-0, with Sharon Ciampi abstaining, to transition to a new, regional wastewater authority. The move would remove New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services staff as sole controllers of the program, and give member communities a direct voice.

“It really hit me, to the extent of the fact that we can't do anything about it right now,” he said. “An advisory board that can't even advise, really, on anything and on what is taking place in Belmont with that sewage drain.”

In July, Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed SB 592, which created a commission to study transiting ownership to an “alternative authority.” The study commission is currently hearing presentations before moving on to the decision-making process.

Silcock understands how important state representatives will be during the transition.

“I'd very much like to, upon further research, find out how I can move that forward to bring it back to the towns,” he said. “I think it's going to be very advantageous, because there's more of a commonality between the towns.”

The WRBP serves Belmont, Center Harbor, Franklin, Gilford, Laconia, Meredith, Moultonborough, Northfield, Sanbornton and Tilton. All member communities support the transition.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.