Britton believes Ward 6 deserves more communication, collaboration

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Scott Britton. Courtesy photo

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Ward 6 has not had an alderman for several months, but one of the candidates hoping to become the ward’s next alderman feels that Ward 6 has been without true representation for much longer.

A 22-year resident on Megan Drive and Senior Manager of National Accounts at SBA Communications, Ward 6 Aldermanic Candidate Scott Britton says the impression he’s got from neighbors is that requests for assistance sent to former Ward 6 Alderman Elizabeth Moreau were either often unanswered or dismissed out of hand.

Britton says he can’t guarantee his constituents that he will agree with all of their opinions, but he will still listen to them regardless and also work with aldermen from other parts of the city to help improve things.

“Sometimes our ward feels forgotten over on this side of Manchester,” he says. “I personally want an advocate for this ward in city hall, and what better time to run than now?”

The special election to fill Moreau’s seat marks the first time Britton has ever run for public office, although he has been active in the community during his time living in Manchester between coaching youth sports and serving on the board of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Manchester.

“I’ve been an advocate for my friends and family over the years and now I want to take the time to be an advocate for my neighbors’ concerns,” he said.

Although he doesn’t see the aldermanic position as a stepping stone to higher office, he now has the time to run since his children Nick and Emily are now in college at Dartmouth and the University of Vermont, respectively.

After seeing two children through the Manchester Public School system, he looks to be a voice of support on the board for the school district’s budgetary needs and felt running for the open Ward 6 seat and being a bridge between the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Board of School Committee would be a better way to help Manchester’s schools than running for the Board of School Committee this fall.

The city’s budgetary expenditure and revenue caps, better known as the tax cap, are also a key concern for his campaign. Britton believes that the tax cap is an important check on irresponsible spending, also he believes that it should be modified if it interferes with providing services to city residents.

Ultimately, Britton currently doesn’t see any Ward 6-specific problems that need to be addressed and with the COVID-19 pandemic, he has limited his outreach to friends, neighbors and those he can talk to remotely. However, despite the lack of problems unique to his part of the city, Britton believes that Ward 6 faces many of the problems seen elsewhere in the city and greater collaboration with city hall and other parts of Manchester is vital to address problems that Ward 6 residents face like trash pickup or police response times.

“We’re kind of out here on the East Side doing our own thing. Sometimes, downtown stuff really doesn’t make its way out here, but it’s very important,” he said.

More information on Britton’s campaign can be found on the Scott Britton for Alderman Ward 6 Facebook Page.

Britton faces Sebastian Sharonov of Nectaria Way and Gerry Gibson of Bodwell Road for the open slot, with Michael Tessier of Brookfield Drive withdrawing from the race on Jan. 15, four days after he signed up.

A primary will be held on March 2 to narrow the field down to two candidates and a general election will be held on May 4, with the winner serving on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen until Jan. 4, 2022.

Both the primary and general election will be held at the Henry J. McLaughlin Middle School with polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.