Race for mayor emerges as candidates file for office

ROCHESTER — Excitement was in the air at the city clerk's office Friday morning, as the first candidates filed bids for office ahead of the local election, taking place Nov. 3.

Before the day was over, a race for mayor has emerged: City Councilor and former mayor David Walker will compete against Caroline McCarley, who previously served as a School Board member and New Hampshire state senator.

Several current members of the City Council, School Board, and Police Commission also filed for re-election Friday. The candidate filing period began at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and will continue through Monday, Sept. 21.

Walker, who arrived to the City Hall around 8:15 a.m., was the first to file for candidacy. He said he saw no reason to wait; he knew he wanted to run for mayor since the previous week, when incumbent Mayor T.J. Jean announced he would not run for re-election.

McCarley filed for mayoral candidacy later in the day on Friday, being the 10th overall candidate to sign up.

After learning of the competition for the mayoral bid, Walker said it will be a tough election, and that McCarley is a personal friend who is well-known in the city.

McCarley served as chairwoman of the Rochester School Board from 1989 to 2000, represented Rochester in the state Senate from 1996 to 2000, and served an additional six years on the School Board from 2008 to 2014.

"As mayor, I will work for continued commercial and industrial growth, and strengthened municipal infrastructure," she said in a press release Friday. "I am committed to achieving these goals within the fiscal limits of our tax cap."

McCarley said she used her time in the Senate to bring tax relief to Rochester and other communities by supporting laws to adequately fund education. According to her, the city's tax rate fell by $10 per $1,000 assessed property value in the year following the passage of the legislation.

"Today we can’t expect a significant increase in state funding for any of our needs," she said. "We must redouble our efforts to make sure that every local tax dollar is spent wisely."

School Board member Paul Lynch said he will support McCarley at the polls, and School Board Vice Chairman Anthony Pastelis called her "extremely bright."

Jean, who is not seeking re-election as mayor to spent more time with his family, has endorsed Walker for mayor.

Walker, who was mayor from 2004 to 2005, has been a city councilor for the past six years, currently serving as chairman of the Public Safety Committee and as the council's representative to the Planning Board. He said if elected, he would work on encouraging economic growth and increasing public safety. He said as a councilor he has supported the Police Department budget, which contributed to its success.

Although Walker has previously been in favor of eliminating the city's Police Commission, on Friday he said he would no longer support such a proposal. He said "the people have spoken" on the issue at the ballots during the previous election, and shown they want to keep the commission in place.

Walker added that he supports the work being done by the current three members of the Police Commission.

As the first candidates were filing their paperwork at the City Hall Friday morning, City Councilor and state Rep. James Gray was mulling over whether run for mayor or for re-election on the council. Shortly after 9 a.m. — when the only name in the mayoral race was still Walker's — Gray said he would see who else would sign up, before deciding which seat to run for.

Later in the day, Gray filed for re-election on the City Council, Ward 6 Seat B, after McCarley threw her hat in the ring for mayor.

The November election will also see other familiar faces. Among current City Councilors running for re-election are A. Raymond Varney for Ward 1B, Elaine Lauterborn for Ward 2A, Sandra Keans for Ward 2B, Peter Lachapelle for Ward 3A, Donald Hamann for Ward 4B, Ralph Torr for Ward 5A, and Donna Brogan for Ward 6A.

Thomas Abbott is also running for City Council for Ward 3B, a seat currently filled by Councilor John Larochelle. As of press time, it has not been determined whether Larochelle will seek re-election.

School Board candidates include incumbents Audrey Stevens for Ward 1B, Karen Stokes for Ward 5A, Paul Lynch for Ward 5B, Matthew Pappas for Ward 3B, Thomas O'Connor for Ward 6A, and Robert Watson for Ward 6B.

All three members of the Police Commission signed up for re-election Friday, including Bruce Lindsay and Derek Peters, who signed up within the first half hour; and Chairman Lucien Levesque, who filed later in the day.

Friday morning, Lindsay said the current commission members have brought increased overall morale, and have asked tough questions, in addition to hiring quality, highly-educated officers. He said that soon, the Police Commission will begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with Police Department staff, as the current contract expires at the end of June 2016.

At the polls on Nov. 3, voters will also elect moderators, ward clerks, supervisors of the checklist, and a selectman for each ward.

Candidacy filing period ends at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21. To sign up, visit the city clerk's office, located at City Hall, 31 Wakefield St., Rochester. For more information, call 332-2130 or visit www.rochesternh.net.

Rochester Times Reporter Caitlin Andrews contributed to this report.