MANCHESTER, NH – A new year has brought a new beginning at City Hall as Jay Ruais was sworn in as Manchester’s 49th mayor on Tuesday.
During inaugural ceremonies at the Palace Theater, Ruais built on the sentiments of new beginnings by stating his tenure would be a chance to write an exciting new chapter in the history of the city, continuing the ongoing transformation of the city from textile capital of the world to emerging biofabrication hub.
He also echoed themes of unity mentioned throughout his campaign as he sought to invite all citizens of Manchester, vowing to have an administration that listens, seeks compromise and acts with reason.
“It doesn’t matter to me who you voted for, it doesn’t matter to me if we line up on every issue, I just want to get things done,” he said.
As is tradition, past mayors were assembled on stage including outgoing Mayor Joyce Craig and former mayors Sylvio Dupuis, Frank Guinta, Bob Baines and Ted Gatsas. An empty chair was intentionally left in honor of former Mayor Ray Wieczorek, who passed away in 2023. Baines, who was sworn in as a school board member, also had the honor of swearing-in Ruias.
During his address Ruais mentioned that by choosing two former mayors who campaigned against one another – Baines, a Democrat, to swear him in and Guinta, a Republican, to introduce him – was intended to underscore his call for collaborative government and unity across both elected boards.
Also in attendance was Gov. Chris Sununu, who Ruais said he has maintained a 15-year friendship with, as well as U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and U.S. Congressman Chris Pappas.
Eager to get to work, Ruais pulled out his phone toward the end of his address, looked at a clock app on his phone and joked that he only has 734 days left in his term before counting the hours, minutes and seconds as well, capping off a speech highlighting his priorities over the next two years.
Regarding homelessness, Ruais said that he would seek to address homeless encampments, stating that they were harmful to those living in them or the city at large. He also noted that the city will become more active with the Manchester Continuum of Care.
“We cannot outsource our responsibility to fix this, we have to own this,” said Ruais regarding the issue.
He also said he will seek to fast-track zoning amendments that will facilitate new housing and eagerly awaits the publication of new zoning ordinance recommendations from the Planning and Community Development Department this spring.
With the city’s school district, Ruais vowed to help provide more resources for the city’s English Language Learners and help address the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs on learning outcomes.
He also said that the city would institute a hiring freeze of non-essential workers and a freeze on other non-essential spending immediately and would seek to work with the state to advance changes in personal recognizance bail laws.
After the inaugural ceremonies, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) as well as the Board of School Committee (BOSC) gathered down the street at City Hall for organizational meetings.
An attempt to renew Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long’s tenure as BMA Vice Chair came up short as Ruais broke a 7-7 tie between Long and Alderman At-Large Joseph Kelly Levasseur, leading to Levasseur’s appointment as the new board chair.
Long was supported by Ward 2 Alderman Dan Goonan, Ward 4 Alderman Christine Fajardo, Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza, Ward 9 Alderman Jim Burkush, Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry and Alderman At-Large Dan O’Neil. Levasseur was supported by Ward 1 Alderman Chris Morgan, Ward 6 Alderman Chrissy Kantor, Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio, Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza, Ward 11 Alderman Norm Vincent and Ward 12 Alderman Kelly Thomas.
Ed Sapienza then made a motion to make the vote unanimous in accordance with tradition. That vote was defeated, 7-7, with each member of the board recasting their votes from the initial roll call.
A request by Long to amend Rule 3 of the BMA rules, eliminating the previously unenforced 30 minute limit for public participation, was tabled. Ruais said that moving forward, only individuals that place their name on the sign-up sheet for public comment will be allowed to speak during public comment.
The BMA also deleted previously unenforced rule requiring the reading of minutes from previous meetings.
During the BOSC organizational meeting, At-Large Member Jim O’Connell received another term as vice chair in an 8-7 vote, defeating Ward 3 Member Karen Soule.
Soule was supported by Ward 4 Member Leslie Want, Ward 5 Member Jason Bonilla, Ward 6 Member Dan Bergeron, Ward 9 Member Robert Baines, Ward 10 Member Joy Senecal, and Mayor Ruais. O’Connell was supported by Ward 1 Member Julie Turner, Ward 2 Member Sean Parr, Ward 7 Member Chris Potter, Ward 8 Member Jessica Spillers, Ward 11 Member Elizabeth “Liz” O’Neil and Ward 12 Member Carlos Gonzalez.
A motion to unanimously affirm O’Connell after the first vote was passed unanimously.
Committee appointments were made as follows:
BMA – Accounts, Enrollment and Revenue
- Terrio (Chair)
- Ed Sapienza
- Vincent
- O’Neil
- Tony Sapienza
BMA – Human Resources and Insurance
- Ed Sapienza (Chair)
- Kantor
- Vincent
- Tony Sapienza
- Burkush
BMA – Administration Information Systems
- Long (Chair)
- Levasseur
- Thomas
- Ed Sapienza
- Fajardo
BMA – Bills on Second Reading
- Kantor (Chair)
- Levasseur
- Morgan
- Barry
- Fajardo
BMA – Lands and Buildings
- Levasseur (Chair)
- Vincent
- Thomas
- Long
- Goonan
BMA – Community Improvement
- Morgan (Chair)
- Terrio
- Kantor
- Long
- Burkush
BMA – Public Safety, Health and Traffic
- Vincent (Chair)
- Morgan
- Kantor
- Barry
- Goonan
BOSC – Finance and Facilities
- Baines (Chair)
- Soule
- Turner
- Potter
- O’Connell
BOSC – Teaching and Learning
- Soule (Chair)
- Turner
- Argeropoulos
- Bergeron
- Bonilla
BOSC – Policy
- Want (Chair)
- Parr
- Bonilla
- Potter
- O’Neil
BOSC – Student Conduct
- Argeropoulos (Chair)
- Want
- Senecal
- O’Neil
- Gonzalez
BOSC – Education Legislation
- Parr (Chair)
- Gonzalez
- Spillers
- State Representative Patty Cornell
- Superintendent Dr. Jenn Gillis or her designee
BOSC/BMA – Joint School Buildings
- Terrio (Chair)
- Morgan
- O’Neil
- Three BOSC members yet to be named
PRESS PLAY: Watch the last 5 minutes of Mayor Ruais’ address below.
Below: Full ceremony produced by Manchester Public TV
