Baron & Grant to decide Gilford race

Although Joe Hoffman is far and away the best known of the three candidates vying for Selectman, he ranks as the outsider in a race likely to be decided between Connie Grant and Kent Baron. Of the three, Grant has been the most visible, if only because her bright yellow signs seem to line every road in town. "I bought 300," she said, "and have 100 left." Her enthusiasm and determination is palpable. "I'm hoping to get people excited, get people interested in the community," she declared. She recalled reading that in Wiscasset, Maine eight candidates were vying for a selectman's seat, exclaiming "I'd love to see that happen here, in Gilford." With more people eager to serve, Grant suggested that the Board of Selectmen could be expanded from three to five, a change she said she favored. Grant, who with her husband Steve owns and operates Kitchen Encounters at The Weirs, has served on the Budget Committee for the past two years. However, she said "I've been involved in politics all my life." A native of Connecticut, she explained that her father retired as deputy chief after 38 years with the East Hartford Fire Department and her brother worked as a heavy equipment operator for the town. "We always followed and talked town politics," she said, adding that since coming to Gilford 15 years ago she has regularly attended town and school district meetings and voted in local elections. As a member of the Budget Committee, Grant wielded a sharp pencil. She voted with the majority against recommending appropriations of $10,000 to the Laconia Airport Authority and $5,000 to the Thompson-Ames Historical Society. And she twice voted against funding for construction of a new police station, first with the majority of seven when the committee rejected an appropriation of $3.3-million and then with the minority of three as the price fell to $2.96-million and the committee reversed itself. On the second occasion, Grant expressed her misgivings about the in unequivocal terms, charging that "information has been manipulated to appease us." As a candidate, Grant has tempered her political rhetoric. After meeting with the president and several directors of the Thompson-Ames Historical Society she was reported to be "undecided" about the organization's request for funding. Likewise, after twice touring the police department, she remained convinced that there was no data "to support the size and cost of what they want to do," but added that she did not intend to campaign openly against the project and "if it's what the majority wants, I help and support them." Grant places herself "right in the middle" of the political spectrum. "I think everybody is concerned about taxes," she said, "but, for our tax rate we have so many great amenities that we've got a going for us." She suggested that by making greater use of capital reserve funds, the town could undertake major projects, like the police station, while maintaining a stable tax rate. Grant said that "you wonder are your children going to be able to live here if they so chose." The Gilford Taxpayers Coalition has endorsed Grant's candidacy and she also enjoys strong support from her colleagues on the Budget Committee, including its chairman Dick Hickok. A six-year veteran of the School Board, Baron has run a less aggressive campaign, marked by fewer roadside signs and solicited letters to the editors of local newspapers. "I've worked with all these guys," Baron remarked, referring to the current members of the Board of Selectmen and School Board as well as a number of department heads and town employees. "I guess my relationships are my signs," he said. During Baron's tenure on the School Board, the district seceded from Laconia and formed its own SAU, built a new Middle School and renovated the high school, accepted the Meadows property donation, hired two superintendents and negotiated contracts with the Gilford Education Association. "I gained a lot of experience dealing with some pretty big issues," Baron said. "I'm a strong believer in giving back to the community," said Baron, a native of Laconia, who has lived in his wife Robin's hometown for 20 years. "That is what makes Gilford what it is." He has volunteered for numerous projects, including digging the basement of the Grange, administering scholarship funds and managing sports tournaments. Baron's experience with the improvements to the schools along with the controversies over plans for a new library and police station lead him to advocate a more formal capital planning process." One year it's the library, then it's the police station," he said. "Taxpayers think everything is coming at once." He said that the town should have a strategic plan for its capital projects and purchases, especially those funded by borrowing, so that investments can be timed to maintain a stable tax rate. "I think people realize their taxes will go up, but it's the peaks and valleys that they don't like," he said. "I favor the use of capital reserve funds, like the ones proposed for the bridges and ambulance," he said, "but, we also need a capital plan for the larger projects." Baron also suggested the burden of capital projects on residential taxpayers could be lightened by expanding the commercial tax base. "We need to develop our industrial zones at the airport, the Lemay property and especially the Lakes Business Park," he said. At the same time, he favored the adoption of an aquifer protection ordinance to safeguard the town groundwater resources. Both the Gilford Police Relief Association, which seldom endorses candidates, and the Gilford Professional Firefighters have urged voters to cast their ballots for Baron. Meanwhile, Hoffman — who has run many time before — has harshly criticized the government and administration of the town, especially its assessment practices. Recently he said town officials "have no decisions that they can be proud of" and "all we have is a can of worms." He vows to restore "integrity" and "rationality" to Town Hall.