MacFadzen, Hildreth vie for vacated Ward 1 city council seat

LACONIA — With incumbent Councilor Bruce Cheney running for mayor, two candidates from opposite sides of the political spectrum are vying for a vacant city council seat in Ward 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Jon A. Hildreth

Hildreth was born and raised in Laconia, and wants to make sure his city is run by those who love and care for it.

While Hildreth has never held a seat in office, he's at a point in his professional career where he will have ample time to attend meetings, listen to constituents and work with council members on getting the job done.

Hildreth has spent his career in the wine and spirits industry, working for a large distributor in Massachusetts before founding his own brokerage called JA Hildreth Company, which he sold in 1998 through a merger with United Beverages. Hildreth stayed with United Beverages for a short time before working for Sidney Frank Importing where he was the New England control states manager for 15 years.

After retiring in 2018, he began work for a small startup mezcal company called El Tinieblo International. He said he is essentially semi-retired, which is why he was able to run for the open council seat.

With his work experience, he has a unique perspective about social districting. Hildreth thinks it will be “tremendous” for communities across the state.

“People want to see less red tape,” Hildreth said. “This would be positive for our community, and would allow for licensees to use these districts to expand their business and bring more to downtown.”

Hildreth has met with the police and fire chiefs, as well as the city manager and public works director, over the past month to learn more, and is excited about their work.

“The police department has done a great job in acquiring grants for things they need,” Hildreth said. “They have a grant for a 4x4, a side-by-side, and also for an expensive drone that isn’t coming out of local taxes.”

Hildreth said his father was once a Laconia police officer, and later became a career firefighter, so those achievements hit close to home. Hildreth thinks police and EMTs are making great strides with the issue of homelessness, and added the number of overdose deaths has dropped dramatically in recent years.

He called homelessness a “perennial issue," and said city leaders need to do all they can to protect their citizens and taxpayers, while producing positive solutions. Hildreth said a “housing-first approach” appears to work, but if he had a true solution, he would be traveling the country championing it.

“This is all big to me,” he said. “I am happy with the direction that these departments are taking us. I would continue with these positive changes, and certainly support the first responders.”

Hildreth said the council has done a great job staying within the tax cap, which he supports, but notes there are changes coming down the road. The build out at the State School property will take 10 years, but could add 30% to what has been a static population for years, he said.

“How this would affect the tax cap I can’t say, but if indications are correct, there will be a lot of second homes coming, which means it will add to the tax base without burdening other departments,” Hildreth said.

Hildreth said he will be “fiscally responsible, community minded, and accessible.” He's had constituents reach out to him already in preparation for him to take office, and while he admitted that may be premature, it gives him a good idea of what's on the mind of residents.

“I am a lifelong resident, and have seen the changes over the years. Some positive and some not so much,” Hildreth said. “I want to use my energy to continue in a measured growth as we see big changes coming for our city.”

Michael A. MacFadzen

MacFadzen is a Granite State native who was raised in Webster, and graduated from Merrimack Valley High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for four years with the Strategic Air Command as the lead guard. He started his career as a city police officer in August 1986, where he worked until 1988, and then spent the next 22 years with State Police, retiring as a sergeant.

MacFadzen became a case manager at the Belknap County Diversion Program. In 2017, he became director, a position he held until Aug. 30 of this year. He is now in the final stages of the hiring process to be the student resource officer for Belmont High School, and expects to be starting in the coming weeks.

MacFadzen saw this seat vacated on the city council by Cheney, who is running for mayor, and he wanted voters to have an option that was not, as he described, a left-leaning Democrat like his opponent Jon Hildreth.

“We need to stop the high increase in taxes in Laconia and get our budget under control,” MacFadzen said. “The liberal approach hasn’t been working, and I think the conservative approach will serve the city better.”

MacFadzen feels it's unfortunate there are children who grew up in Laconia, go off to college, and can’t afford to come back to the city, and this is something he wants to see change.

A major issue, not only in Laconia but across the nation, is addressing homelessness.

“This is No. 1,” he said. “We need to have accountability and responsibility placed on the homeless.”

MacFadzen said the city cannot keep offering handouts, including items like e-bikes and phones, but also places to stay. He understands some people experiencing homelessness battle mental health issues, but said they need to take advantage of services. If an unsheltered person is struggling with addiction, he said they need to be in treatment and test clean to receive services.

For those who are “truly disabled” and cannot work, MacFadzen said the city needs to do anything they can to help.

“The thing is that we are drawing homeless in from out of state, because New Hampshire is tagged as the easiest place to get benefits,” MacFadzen said. “We need to shut that magnet off.”

MacFadzen also said the city needs to pass an ordinance like one in Manchester, where camping in public places is prohibited. He said the WOW Trail and the state property are overrun with homeless encampments, and called it “a mess.”

MacFadzen called for more transparency in the city’s operations, saying the website is convoluted and department heads need to have more accountability. This includes having them come to council meetings to talk about the budget, unexpected expenditures, and any projects they are working on.

MacFadzen describes himself as a “common-sense conservative and responsible Republican,” despite the election being non-partisan. He realizes money that comes in from taxpayers does not belong to the city, but rather to the taxpayers.

Voters will decide if they want social districting in the city, in response to House Bill 467, which went into effect in September. The legislation allows communities to approve districts where people can drink alcoholic beverages sold by a licensee in a designated spot outdoors.

“If the voters want it, they will get it, and that’s how it should be.”