Main Street business owner touts public safety, trades opportunities in run for Statehouse

LACONIA — Cody Pfaff is entering the New Hampshire political scene with a campaign emphasizing the importance of public safety and trades opportunities for young people.

This is Pfaff’s first time running for public office, as he campaigns for a seat in the Statehouse representing Belknap District 5. He owns Main Street Social Club downtown. His political journey started with conversations with regulars about their concerns, and many people telling him he should run.

Pfaff, a Republican, is running alongside Timothy Minor, Paul Rossi, and incumbent Rep. Mike Bordes (R-Laconia), also the city’s mayor, who will all go through the primary Tuesday, Sept. 8. They’ll face Democrats Denise Riley, Lois Kessin, and Marcia Hayward in the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, where four candidates will earn seats for a two-year term, representing city wards 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Incumbent Rep. Charlie St. Clair (D-Laconia) died Saturday.

Who is Cody Pfaff?

Pfaff is originally from Florida, spending his youthful years in Jacksonville. Before settling in Laconia, Pfaff was a traveling musician. In 2014, he toured with a group who had a couple performances in Weirs Beach, and after exploring all the Lakes Region had to offer, Pfaff was ready to move. He and his wife came back for a visit, staying on Paugus Bay, and bought a house sight unseen. Now, about a decade later, Pfaff has immersed himself in the community.

Pfaff rebranded JD’s Barber Shop to Main Street Social Club in 2019, emphasizing the community conversations and relationships built in barber shops, especially with returning clients.

“One of the big things about the shop is, it's kind of like 'Cheers,'” Pfaff said. “When people come in, I try to greet everyone by name, and I’ve known a lot of these people for many years. And I just try to make it a comfortable, welcoming place.”

Pfaff said when he took ownership of the barber shop, his goal was to make it the best in the Lakes Region. The shop was a 2-star establishment when he took over, and currently sits at roughly 4.8 stars.

Pfaff noted he gets to know his clients pretty well, being able to talk with people all day, everyday, while cutting their hair for 30 minutes.

“I just hear the same thing over and over again. People just want to feel safe. They want things to be fair. They don't want to just endlessly give things away to things that don't work,” Pfaff said. “They want to see measurable results with some of the organizations around here, and they want a safe community, and a healthy community. So, I just feel like that's the recurring theme that I've been hearing.”

Rep. Steven Bogert (R-Laconia), recently retired Ward 5 city councilor, is a longtime friend and client. He used to see Bogert going to the woods to take photos of campsites set up by people experiencing homelessness, which inspired Pfaff. Bogert took Pfaff under his wing a bit, bringing him along to meetings and introducing him.

“When I heard that he wasn't going to run again, I felt like this might be a good opportunity for me to try to step into that position, and do the best that I can for Belknap, and for Laconia,” Pfaff said.

Public safety

Pfaff credited a poll sent out by Mayor Mike Bordes to residents, asking about the most important issue the community was facing. Homelessness and drugs came out on top.

As the General Election nears, Pfaff said he is in his “information stage,” listening to people and figuring out what works for the community, in aiming to tackle public safety concerns.

Pfaff recently visited the Salvation Army's Carey House to meet with program director Susan Lunt. He stopped by Belknap House and spoke with program director Tom Sica, also a barbering client. He also spent time volunteering at Isaiah 61 Cafe, washing dishes and giving out food.

“I just want to see if we can focus on what is having results. And that's why I'm going to these places, because I want to see how they work and ask a few questions,” Pfaff said. “Find out the duration, how long people are there, the success rates, how it impacts the community surrounding it, because some places have minimal impact, some of them have a little more impact on the surrounding community.”

Through discussions and visits, Pfaff is working to educate himself on how issues can be confronted at the state level.

Opportunities in the trades

Pfaff said if elected, the issue he would prioritize is expanding employment opportunities for young people, specifically working on expanding opportunities in the trades.

Growing up in Jacksonville, Pfaff had many close friends who died of drug overdoses. Pfaff noted these friends were struggling, not working meaningful jobs, and getting stuck in a cycle, not really getting anywhere.

Pfaff said the beauty of the trades industry is being able to learn a trade within four or five years, and then being able to expand upon learned skills, or even start a company.

“You can have your own vision. You're not locked into one organization. It gives you a lot of freedom, and I learned that with my business,” Pfaff said. “I worked at a few different places. And then once I went out on my own, I could take my own vision, what I thought would work, and I was able to put that into action, and see my business grow. I could see customers leaving happy, and that was something that I felt like I was responsible for. So, it gave me a lot of gratitude.”

Pfaff said expanding trade opportunities could have a positive impact on many other local issues. He recently toured Daniel’s Electric Corp, meeting with his client, Tom Milligan, president of the company, and discussed their training facility. Pfaff said there are ways to improve these programs, without taxing residents, which starts with looking at policy, and tweaking it.

Pfaff said solutions he would introduce include giving students at Laconia High School’s Huot Career and Technical Center further opportunities through junior apprenticeship programs, or giving students more hours toward their licensure. Pfaff has spoken with David Warrender, Huot program director, and is planning a visit after Labor Day, when school is back in session.

Pfaff said expanding trade opportunities is truly a “multi-layered solution.” For example, affordable housing is a large concern for Granite Staters. Pfaff said training students to be tradesmen who can build homes would be a possible help for this particular issue.

“Right now, there's such a backlog of work that tradesmen can be very selective, if that makes sense, because there's just so much work,” Pfaff said. “So, if we had a little more people in the mix that were able to do some of these jobs, we could get things done a little faster.”

Pfaff said having more plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and auto mechanics in the mix would also help bring costs down for housing, and hopefully reduce drug dependencies, if people feel content.

“That's probably my biggest passion, and one of the biggest things that I want to support if I get elected, is just do everything I can to help not just young people, but a lot of young people, and anyone that's interested in getting into programs, making it more accessible for them.”

Younger voices, next steps

The average age of representatives in the Statehouse is 61. Pfaff, 40, is the youngest candidate in Belknap 5. He said he thinks his generation has a financially and economically “unique experience” — many of his peers working long, hard hours — and it would be great to get some younger voices in the Legislature.

“I'm at that age where I have kids that are 20, and I have a 17-year-old daughter, as well, and then I have a lot of clients from all different ages,” Pfaff said. “So, I think it's important to just have a good group of people of different ages, different backgrounds, because ultimately, you're trying to represent the people in New Hampshire, not just one group, right?”

Pfaff has been preparing for his run by speaking with elected representatives and gathering information about the role. He concluded his first year in the House would be “like training in a new job.” He aims to understand the system, and what state representatives are allowed to do. If elected, he would also serve on the Belknap County Delegation, where he is ready to learn how to handle the county’s budget, taxes, and facility oversight.

Being a business owner, Pfaff has flexibility for the position, noting he gets Wednesdays and Thursdays off. Pfaff said this would work out well, as legislative sessions are held on Thursdays. Pfaff has made it a priority every Thursday to visit local facilities to ask questions about the work they do.

As the election nears, Pfaff continues to talk with clients about their concerns and hopes for the city.

“Most people, no matter what party affiliation they are, want a safe community. They want to have a prosperous community, they want to have a strong community. And so that's important to me. And I think that's not really a partisan issue, I think it's just what everybody wants. It's just how we get there.”