Morrill challenging McLaughlin for mayor's seat in Franklin

FRANKLIN — Along the shores of Webster Lake, a large group of engaged citizens gathered Saturday morning to hear from candidates running for seats on this city's three-ward council. 

This summer, two councilors — Olivia Zink and Ted Starkweather — resigned, and former City Manager Judie Milner resigned in February. Her replacement, Mitchel Kloewer, was named Monday night. Mayor Desiree McLaughlin had also applied for the job. 

At Griffin Beach, McLaughlin, who is running for reelection, addressed voter concerns, communicated by way of questions drawn out of cooking pots in the park pavilion. 

“I’m here at this candidate forum to represent my platform of what I believe is the best way for Franklin to remain a truly wonderful place to live, while accommodating sustainability and growth for the current and future generations to come,” McLaughlin read from a prepared statement. “In addition to remaining true to the pillars of my last campaign’s goals — which were accountability, communication and transparency — I have added sustainability and structure for this campaign.”

McLaughlin told voters she’d learned much about the city during her first term as mayor, and continues to research the concerns of her constituents.

“I discovered that the majority of [imbalances experienced in the city have] been created by a lack of adherence to policy procedure and RSA. My favorite word has become ‘housekeeping,’” she read. “Former administrations have passed resolutions that feel good, but were ultimately unsustainable and have cost us time and money.” 

Glenn Morrill is challenging McLaughlin for the mayor's seat. He told voters he considers himself a “cheerleader” for the city, and hopes to foster collaboration at City Hall.

“I have been a lifelong resident here, I went to the schools here and Franklin has been a place in my heart my whole life,” Morrill said. 

Morrill said schools should be one of the city’s top priorities, and roads are important, too. 

“What we need to do, as citizens of Franklin, is to work together as a team, come up with solutions on how we can bring this all together,” Morrill said. “Being a team will get a lot accomplished in a positive way. For all you folks that are out there, that are part of Franklin, you know what this community is.” 

Janet Flagg, facilitator of the event which organizers dubbed Daniel Webster’s Way, said her goal was to encourage engagement and participation in the local electoral process. The New Hampshire League of Women Voters assisted her and moderator Lesley McCaffrey in bringing it together. 

During the event, which brought together around 75 people mostly middle-aged or older, voters placed cards with their questions written upon them into one of two cooking pots: one for questions for candidates for city council, another for questions directed to mayoral hopefuls.

Most questions submitted for discussion pertained to the school district, though those in attendance were also interested in hearing the candidates' points of view regarding the city’s tax cap, and were curious about their ideas for economic development. 

One question asked McLaughlin and Morrill how they’d like to see the city improve, generally.

“We have been pursuing a one-legged branch of economic development,” McLaughlin said. “We need to take a look at our foundations.”

Morrill said he’d like to see teamwork return to City Hall, hopefully resulting in improvements to the school district, to downtown and inviting more investment into the city. 

He also told voters he isn’t against the tax cap, but would like to see it adjusted. 

“Franklin is 30 years behind the eight ball,” he said. 

“It’s a budget limitation,” McLaughlin said. “I support bonding under the cap, because we have been able to do it.”

As an example, more than $4 million in bonds are expiring over the next year, McLaughlin said, opening up room for future bonding. 

Voters were also particularly interested in the candidates' opinions regarding Education Freedom Accounts, a state program which funds pupils in attending private school. McLaughlin said the state legislation was “incomplete,” serving to allocate funding without proper parameters, and noted she sent her child to a Catholic school at one point. 

Morrill said the city underfunds education, allocating about 35% of tax revenue to the district, while the state average is around 65%. He also said the district is hard-pressed to retain good teachers because of low pay. 

One voter asked the candidates how they’ll advocate for the city, if elected. 

“This is a community I grew up in,” Morrill said, repeating that he considers himself a “cheerleader.”

McLaughlin said she attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Northern Rail Trail in Boscawen, and posted about it on social media, which prompted backlash.

“I advocate with my very large mouth and my social media presence,” she said. 

Another voter asked both candidates to provide an example of compromise they were party to. 

“That’s been my entire mayorship, I feel like,” McLaughlin said. “All we do is compromise at council meetings.”

And Morrill said the city needs 80-odd miles of road paved, and leaders must find a solution, suggesting paving a few miles each year. 

McLaughlin said the city has nearly $2 million in a road improvement fund, and has chosen to pave Davis and Daniell streets. 

She also told voters the new city manager should stay out of municipal politics. 

“You can’t have a political city manager, because that’s what creates a political divide.”

Candidates fielded such questions for nearly 90 minutes. Afterward, Flagg noted it is difficult to engage younger demographics in local politics, perhaps because they’re disillusioned with politics in general. But events like this one could help reestablish trust in local politics — Flagg described encouraging participation as “pinnacle” in reengaging voters. 

“I couldn’t be happier,” Flagg said when asked how she felt the event went. “It’s really telling that many of the questions were about the schools.”

The city's Municipal Election is Tuesday, Oct. 7.