Grenier voted back to Gilford selectboard

GILFORD — Richard Grenier will be reuniting with current selectboard members Gus Benavides and Chan Eddy, after defeating Jim McIntire in Tuesday’s town election, to capture a third, non-consecutive term.

Grenier, a former selectboard member who served the town from 2014 to 2019, won with a tally of 573-371, and said he is excited to get back into town leadership.

“We had 1,202 people come out and vote, and I’m grateful for anyone who voted, but also thankful for those who made the choice to put me back in office,” Grenier said.

Grenier opted not to run for reelection in 2020, and during his time away from the board, he was no stranger to town politics. He has been a member of the budget committee, as well as chair of the committees on the public works building and solid waste. He is also a member of the capital improvements committee and the zoning board of adjustments.

Grenier feels the work of Town Administrator Scott Dunn, the selectboard and the supporting committees have done a great job running the town, and said he supported the $22.1 million budget, a 5.1% increase.

Grenier will be sworn in next week, and is looking forward to getting started. He's pleased with the way the town government works under current leadership, but residents shouldn't expect him to always vote in lockstep.

“I do get along with Gus and Chan Eddy very well,” Grenier said. “But do we always think alike? No. There will absolutely be times where I vote against the other two if it is something I believe in.”

Grenier feels they all have that is in common, but added voting in unison is also important.

“It is truly a collaborative effort,” Grenier said. “I think we are going to do well.”

Grenier said major issues in the near future are the search for a new town administrator, and Governor’s Island Bridge maintenance, as the town just completed a couple major projects.

While he ran unopposed in 2014, Grenier said he was very happy  McIntire decided to run, and felt it made him a better, more prepared candidate. He knows McIntire’s concerns with taxes are shared by community members, as he witnessed them talking to McIntire about it at the polls. He felt his last letter to the editor in The Laconia Daily Sun resonated with people, and it is important to hear those views.

Grenier and McIntire were both at the polls from start to finish, talking to voters the whole day, standing right next to each other, and even grabbing a bite together. At the conclusion, they shook hands, and he was happy to get the perspective of his supporters.

“I’ll be keeping this in mind the next three years,” Grenier said. “What I am going to do is pay attention and be mindful of spending, and avoid the expansion of government.”

McIntire, a Gilford High School alum who is currently chief deputy of the Belknap County Sheriff’s Office, agreed having a competitive race is good for the town. They both wished more people would get involved in local politics.

Uncontested town, school races

Three candidates ran unopposed for the budget committee, led by Valerie Chase with 808 votes, Kerri Ricci with 759 votes, and 717 votes for Robert L. Binda. The positions are all three-year terms.

Chase was also voted to a three-year term for cemetery trustee, with 884 votes.

Ronald B. Skinner received 898 votes for a three-year term as fire engineer; Patrick Morgan had 866 votes for a three-year term as library trustee; Geoffrey Ruggles had 861 votes for the two-year moderator term; Danielle Lafond had 924 votes for a three-year term as town clerk and tax collector; Kimberly Zyla Salanitro had 877 votes for a three-year term as treasurer; and Rick Moses had 863 votes to secure a three-year term as the trustee of the trust fund.

Miriam A. York had 890 votes for a six-year term for the supervisor of the checklist; Andrea Stephan had 868 votes for the two-year term for supervisor of the checklist, finishing an unexpired term.

In the school election, Bob McLean had 841 votes to retain his seat on the school board for a three-year term.

Salanitro had 867 votes for school district clerk; Ruggles had 878 votes for moderator; and Susan M. Jensen received 853 votes for school district treasurer. Each of these positions are one-year terms.

Ringing of the bell

Voters gathered at the polls to cast ballots for both the town and school elections on Tuesday, and while Moderator Sandra McGonagle didn’t expect a large turnout, early in the day there was a steady stream of people entering Gilford Youth Center. Ultimately, 19% of the registered voters came out.

McGonagle said around 9:15 a.m. that 100 people had voted since the polls opened at 7 a.m.. An interesting part of voting day, which is the final one for McGonagle, who has opted not to run for reelection, was the ringing of a ceremonial bell by voters in line at 7 a.m.

She said in times longs ago, before the internet, farmers would be out working the land in the morning. When the polls opened, someone would ring a bell to signal it was time to make their way to the poll.

While the bell ringing is no longer necessary, and people have ample notification these days through a variety of outlets, McGonagle said it was a fun way to kick things off.

What voters say

Throughout the morning, which started brisk but rapidly turned to spring-like weather, volunteers stood outside with signs, appealing to people about various articles. Every article except 31 was approved. This included the budget of $22.1 million in Article 3.

All eight school district articles were passed, including the budget of $32.2 million.

Sue Fecteau has lived in town for 25 years, and was with Peter Lonero, who has only been a resident for several months. She filled him in on some of the issues they were voting on before the election.

“The budget is a big concern,” Fecteau said, adding she was not in favor. “I think we should be going into our reserves before talking about increasing the budget right now.”

Fecteau said taxes are also a concern, especially for people living on a fixed income.

“In this economy, it can be hard to make ends meet,” she said.

Lonero said it is important to keep expenses down, and look at where money is going. They both said they were in favor of warrant articles asking for fire department equipment and vehicles.

“These are things that are necessary,” Lonero said.

For the school district, they were unhappy about potential spending for a bathroom at the Meadows athletic fields.

“Let’s take care of the important things first,” Fecteau said.

David Buckman always votes in town elections, and said there weren’t any items in particular which were alarming or notable. He declined to share his candidate selection, but said he was happy with leadership in Gilford.

“I was seeing what items the selectmen and various boards approved, and generally voted in that direction,” Buckman said. “We have great public servants in this town at every level, so we’re very pleased with the way things are being done.”

John Heckman said it was a wonderful day for voting, and he was happy to see people flowing into the polling station. He was in favor of the proposed budget and spending items.

“It’s a standard of life we want to maintain here in Gilford,” Heckman said.

He also said he was very happy with town leadership.

“They’ve been fantastic. These are the same folks that have made it such a wonderful place to live.”