Three Residents Run For Two Town Council Seats

By Chris Paul

On March 8, voters will have their chance to vote for two Town Councilor that will be placed on the board for the next three-years.
We asked each candidate to make a brief statement on why he would be the best chioce. Their responses are listed below.
Ted Combes
As a lifelong resident of Londonderry, my wife Kara and I have built a wonderful life with our 9-month-old son Grayson. I look forward to my son growing up in our beautiful community of Londonderry. My family has a history of volunteer work through local churches and Lions club. My father and mother, George and Cindy, moved to Londonderry with my siblings Dan, Bridget, and Mitch, who have taken different career paths as families often do. As I begin to build my family here in the town that I grew up, I decided to run because I am not just trying to help Londonderry be a great place to raise a family tomorrow, I want to help to ensure that Londonderry is a great place to raise a family 10 and 20 years from now. I am a lifelong resident of the town, where I grew up playing rec soccer, playing in the high school marching band, and completing my Eagle Scout with Troup 521. I completed my undergraduate degree(BA) at Suffolk University, and my Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Southern New Hampshire University. Ten years of project management, construction management, and real estate development experience, paired with my previous Londonderry Town Council, Budget Committee, and
Planning Board experience leaves me well prepared to lead the town for years to come.
I believe that when it comes to being on the Town Council “Experience Matters”, and I have an abundance of it. This is proven not only by my vast career experience, but also a lengthy resume’ of volunteering and serving on town boards, and enhanced by my strong family values. I am proud of my time on Town Council. We raised the Veterans and Disabled Tax Benefits for people living in town. I am proud that we were able to keep the Town Tax Rate low and stable. I am proud that, in my term, we were able to pass and start construction on the new Central Fire Station.
I believe I am the best Candidate for Town Council. Being an Eagle Scout has instilled me with a strong belief in Community Service and the Scout Law. “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent”
I believe I am the best candidate for the Town Council because I am focused on maintaining our budget, I am level headed, I listen before making a hard decision, and I can come to the table with ideas on growing our tax base to help reduce the Londonderry Residential Tax burden.

John Farrell
(Incumbent)
I love our town and I am honored to have the opportunity to serve my community. Serving the community has been a family tradition. My father served on the Planning Board and Zoning Board in the town I grew up in. Growing up, I knew I wanted to serve my community like he did. My mother-in-law was also active in local activities and always watched every town meeting. She knew everything that was going on in town.
During my years of service, I have learned that to best serve our community you have to be an excellent listener and problem solver, but most importantly, you must always put the community first. My goal everyday is to help protect this great community.
My wife, Sherry, and I got married here almost 30 years ago. Sherry moved here with her parents over 50 years ago and we met here while I was visiting a friend who lived in town. Londonderry is our home and we are lucky that our two girls also plan to call Londonderry home and hope to raise their families here someday.
Londonderry provides the convenience of being near Manchester and Boston with the beauty of our great state of NH and that small-town feel. I often joke that we live where many people hope to vacation someday. I want to continue to serve the community I love. I will strive to always have an open mind and I believe that together we can continue to strengthen our community. I love Londonderry and will do anything to protect it.
I would appreciate your vote on March 8.

Chad Franz
As a military veteran, I have a passion for not only being part of a team – but leading. As a town council member, I will leverage my military leadership experience to navigate complex problems, collaborate with others, and bring positive changes to Londonderry.
Londonderry has been, and will always be, a special place for me. When I moved here in late 2016, I noticed a deep sense of community and togetherness in this town. The beautiful orchards, commons, Old Home Days, and school system are only a few examples of why I choose to raise my family in this community. I want to retain Londonderry as the town that we love – a place that generations before have enjoyed and for future generations to cherish.
Two significant issues facing our community are high taxes and unhealthy drinking water. Our rising tax rate is a concern for the community of Londonderry. We must ensure wise and mindful spending of tax revenue – while maintaining the services needed and work with our state and federal legislators to lessen our local taxpayer impact. The second concern I want to address is the unhealthy drinking water in town. We need to tackle this for all Londonderry community members – our youngest and oldest generations, and everyone in between. As a community mainly built for families, we should sustain healthy drinking water throughout, hold those who created this situation accountable and utilize state and federal resources to make this happen.
I have a proven track record of elected leadership positions that show my ability to unite and work together as a team. While serving on the Londonderry Budget Committee, I have enjoyed meeting residents, building relationships, and working toward common goals. I was also appointed to head of the school’s COVID Reopening Task Force that was charged with formulating a plan to keep our kids and school staff safe. I was able to channel the passion of both sides, with the collaboration of the public and district office, into developing a plan adopted by the school board.
With my strong communication skills and ability to work with diverse individuals, I will help bridge the divide that we have occurred due to the effects of COVID and other issues. All sides need to feel heard; I will work as a town council member to address all problems and bring our town together. I genuinely believe we can all partner, no matter which side you stand.
I will be the best advocate for the taxpayers and residents of Londonderry –
Together, we’re better.
I’d be honored to have your vote on March 8.