A member of the Straight Arrows, former Mayor Tom Tardif remembered for leaving mark on city politics

LACONIA — Tom Tardif, former mayor and city councilor, died on Dec. 7, at his home, at age 82. He's remembered as one of the Straight Arrows, who changed city politics forever.

Tardif served on the city council during some of the most meaningful times of the city’s government. He may best be known as chair of the Straight Arrow Committee, a bipartisan group of residents who won six of the nine seats on the council in 1989.

Even after Tardif's term ended, he often submitted letters to the editor to The Laconia Daily Sun, and made City Hall a regular stop.

“I had an opportunity to talk to Tom on many occasions,” said City Manager Kirk Beattie. “He still enjoyed coming into City Hall and asking questions, or discussing the hot topics going on within Laconia. With his many decades of experience in the city, he always brought a wealth of knowledge to every conversation we had.”

While the Straight Arrows failed in a reelection bid two years later, they had a lasting effect on city government and structure. The group is still referred to in today’s city politics, and were a common talking point among candidates in the November Municipal Election.

The lasting impact of the Straight Arrows includes a decrease in council seats from nine to six by excluding three at-large councilors, and electing the mayor by popular vote rather than appointment by fellow councilors. City elections also became non-partisan, and a primary election was added, as well.

The ideas introduced by the Straight Arrows rang true 16 years after that election, when the council approved imposing a tax cap, something originally proposed by the group, including Tardif.

Interim Mayor Charlie St. Clair, who is also a Democratic state representative for Laconia, has been involved in many facets of city government for decades. He said Tardif certainly left his mark on Laconia. He knows sometimes when Tardif would show up at council meetings, people might be saying, “uh oh, here he is,” but he was passionate about his beliefs.

“Tom was steadfast in his beliefs to the point that he would go to court if he didn’t think he was getting the right answers,” St. Clair said. “You’ve got to respect the guy and admire him. Well, I do, for always pushing for what he thought was the right thing for Laconia.”

St. Clair said Tardif wasn’t always making friends in politics, but that wasn’t the point. He said there was no way he would ever put himself in a position for personal gain, as the court visits alone probably cost him quite a bit. It was always for what was right for the citizens.

While they sometimes agreed, and sometimes didn't, St. Clair was always happy to see Tardif out and about at local restaurants, like Hector’s Fine Food & Spirits downtown.

“He would always come up to me, or I’d go to him and say 'hello,'” St. Clair said. “It is a loss for the city for sure. Any citizen who puts that much time into the city government, well, that was Tom being Tom, and I respect that.

“I am very sad about him passing on. He was a really good Laconia guy. No doubt about it.”

City Councilor Bruce Cheney (Ward 1) is a former city police chief, and admitted he and Tardif butted heads at times. While he strongly disagreed with his approach, Cheney said when he became a councilor, Tardif approached him with issues he cared deeply about. One in particular pertained to parking at Elm Street School, which showed Cheney a whole new side of Tardif.

“One was with the Elm Street School parking, because he took his grandchild to school each morning and picked him up every afternoon,” Cheney said. “He even picked me up to show me for myself. So he was a little overzealous sometimes, but I think of him as a great-grandfather.”

Tardif represented Ward 2 on the council, and went on to serve as mayor from 1990 to 1992, so many knew him in the political sphere. However, Tardif’s story is about more than that.

According to his obituary, he was “self-sacrificing and selfless,” always putting others before himself. He was lauded for being a family man, through and through.

Tardif had a knack for being community-oriented, whether it meant volunteering at Sacred Heart Church and Belknap Mill, or repairing homes for elderly residents, or repairing vehicles at his garage for free.

Working in the telecommunications industry for companies like New England Telephone and NYNEX, he was often out in the middle of the night restoring power after weather events. In 1998, he spent a month in Upstate New York, in response to a massive ice storm.

He had his adventurous side, as an avid outdoorsman, hunter and angler. Tardif was responsible for driving the winter tractor to the peak of Mount Washington to service tower equipment. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Tardif was heavily involved in the haunted houses popular throughout the city. He even took a road trip to the Daytona 500 and came back to the city with fireworks for people to enjoy.

Tardif was married to his wife Edith for 61 years, after meeting at Vocational Technical College in Manchester. They went on to have three children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandkids.

He loved to travel the country with his family in his late ‘60s Chevy Impala station wagon, including stops at national parks on a trip to San Francisco. He eventually bought a 1986 Pontiac Trans Am, and then a Chevy Corvette, of which he was immensely proud.

After retirement, Tardif and his wife traveled the world, from New Zealand to South Africa, and to see family in Nevada. He was described as having a zest for life, who liked to frequent Lakes Region restaurants with his wife.

Whether it was advocating for the “common man” in city government or the newspaper, or traveling the world with his family, Tardif was remembered for having led a “meaningful, impactful and consequential” life.

Matt Lahey, another former mayor and councilor, had an interesting history with Tardif. Lahey was one of the councilors elected after the Straight Arrows takeover. He went on to be involved in city government for the next two decades.

While there were disagreements about policy back then, Lahey said the two became friendly over the years.

“In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to speak with Tom a number of times, and he’s a very nice man,” Lahey said.

Lahey said Tardif was serious about all things Laconia government, as well as procedure, the Right-to-Know law, and making sure everything was done correctly.

“And there’s nothing wrong with that at all,” Lahey said. “But beyond all the politics, he was such a nice gentleman, with a good sense of humor. I always enjoyed speaking with him.”

Like St. Clair, Lahey and his wife would see Tardif at Hector’s. Lahey said it was a common spot for them to go for dinner on Wednesday nights, but recently, his wife noticed that Tardif hadn’t been there. When they heard the news of his death, Lahey said it was sad to hear.

“He would always come over and talk to us,” Lahey said. “It was good to put the politics behind us, and it was way behind us. It was so important at the time, but nothing is more important than good relations.”