Soucy picked to fill Ward 2 council vacancy

LACONIA — A longtime city resident who served on the City Council more than 40 years ago has been chosen to succeed the late Ward 2 Councilor David Bownes.

The council on Monday elected Robert Soucy to fill the 18 months remaining in Bownes’s term. The vote was 4-1.

The vote came after the council interviewed five Ward 2 residents who had applied for the position.

The only other candidate whose name was entered in nomination was Kelley Gaspa Caravona, who received one vote, cast by Ward 6 Councilor Tony Felch, who nominated her.

Councilors Bruce Cheney, Henry Lipman, Mark Haynes, and Bob Hamel voted for Soucy.

Bownes died early this month after suffering from pancreatic cancer.

During his interview Soucy pointed to his 50 years as a city resident, time as an officer on the Laconia Police Department, and his 30-plus years working for Aavid Engineering (later Aavid Thermalloy) one of the city’s larger manufacturing employers. He currently works for Aavid as the company’s sales director.

Soucy served one term on the City Council in the mid-1970s, and was the council’s liaison to the School Board.

Soucy, 70, likened the City Council to a board of directors and the city residents and taxpayers as shareholders. He said the city’s most pressing needs are more housing, caring for the city’s elderly, as well as its youth. He also said the city should play a role (short of financial assistance) in helping to get Lakes Region General Hospital “back on its feet.”

LRGHealthcare, the not-for-profit health system which operates the hospital, has had financial problems for years, a situation made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The other candidates who sought to fill the council vacancy were Gregg Hough, Phil Spagnuolo, both of whom are running for state Legislature; and School Board member Laura Dunn.