Apathy, angst lead to massive exodus from City Council, eight uncontested races

Top, from left, Steven Beaudoin, Skip Gilman, Ashley Desrochers, Jim Gray; bottom from left, Pete Lachapelle, Paula Hainey, John Larochelle, Dana Berlin (Courtesy photos)

ROCHESTER - Never in memory has Rochester's City Council seen such an exodus, and from citizens, such apathy.
Eight from the current City Council have decided they've had enough and decided not to run again, and eight of the candidates who did file are running unopposed.
Not seeking re-election are Steven Beaudoin, Paula Hainey, Pete Lachapelle, Dana Berlin, Ashley Desrochers, Skip Gilman, John Larochelle, and Jim Gray.
The reasons for the exodus are varied, but at least one outgoing councilor said the reason is frustration over how Rochester's municipal government functions.
"After spending eight years serving in Concord, I found serving at the local level frustrating," former state rep Steven Beaudoin said. "The council, by city charter, is the policy committee, but seldom do any resolutions derive from council initiative. Nearly all resolutions come from the administration with little to no challenge."
Longtime Rochester city councilor and former Deputy Mayor David Walker said there was a wholesale replacement of the City Council in the mid-90s, but that was at the ballot box, not from lack of interest in running again.
Ironically, longtime councilor and deputy mayor Pete Lachapelle, who publicly accused three councilors in April of carrying a grudge over the removal of former councilor Chris Rice in May 2022 , is among those not running as well as the three he accused of being a "cancer on the council."
"We have a minority, three to be exact, that want to divide us, slow down government, make false accusations, and bring discord and chaos to the council," Lachapelle said during a council workshop on April 18. "Well, we all know what you're doing and it's painfully obvious. If you think and truly believe your behavior is what your constituents want, you're sadly mistaken. And you will see that firsthand at our municipal elections this November."
While he didn't name the three, it is clear he was referring to Beaudoin, who said on social media he wished he'd voted against Rice's removal; and Hainey and Berlin who voted against Rice's removal at the trial.
Hainey did not return a phone call for comment on why she is not running for re-election, but Berlin said his decision not to run came due to purely personal circumstance.
"Due to circumstances out of my control I am having to sell my house and move out of Rochester," he said earlier this week. "I plan to move back within a couple of years and yes, I will run for office again. My time on the council was eye opening and I gained valuable experience. It's knowledge I'll take with me into the future."
Meanwhile, a longtime fixture on the council, Ward 6 rep Jim Gray, said it was just time to "step back a little bit."
"Hey I'm 74," he quipped, adding he'd be spending more time concentrating on his duties in the New Hampshire Senate, where he is chair of of the senate finance committee and election law and municipal affairs committee.
With such a turnover on the City Council Walker warns that there will be a lack of "institutional memory."
"It'll take a meeting or two to get the new councilors comfortable with how things are done," he said. "But you will still have a core group of veterans to help guide the new councilors."
Berlin said whomever fills the seats has to "keep an open mind, because one perspective is not always the right perspective."
Meanwhile, Beaudoin is hoping the new council will be "impactful" as to how city government works.
"My hope is that the incoming council will change that dynamic and are there for the right reasons," he said.