North Hampton Select Board candidate Jonathan Pinette
Name: Jonathan Pinette
Education: Keene State College
Occupation: Finance
Political or civic experience highlights: Chair and member of North Hampton Budget Committee, chair and member of North Hampton Zoning Board, chair and member of Winnacunnet High School Budget Committee and member of the Economic Development Committee.
What are your top three priorities if elected?: 1. Work with various voter constituencies to foster productive, effective communication to create and execute programs which balance our financial, environmental, educational and business resources for residents.
2. Serving my neighbors for the last 14 years in several roles has been a privilege. I've gained in-depth experience and built relationships within our community and neighboring Seacoast towns. I believe that there is a need to explore additional areas of collaboration. We share many of the same challenges and can learn from each other to ensure we present solutions that best serve our residents, businesses and team members.
3. Encourage and invite residents to volunteer/participate in a town board/committee or other community service. I'm optimistic about what we can accomplish together.
What is the biggest challenge the town is facing and how would you address it?: The biggest challenge facing the town is balancing the various needs of our community with fiscal prudence. Completing the safety complex project on time and on budget was vitally important for our residents. However, as everyone knows, inflation has been rising, resulting in incredible financial pressure on both municipalities and their residents. I think it makes sense to review various service providers and if warranted investigate alternative solutions, negotiate with long-term partners (i.e. loyalty discount), or inquire about the existence of group purchasing options in order to take advantage of economies of scale. An example of this that is on the March ballot for voter consideration, is the energy aggregate plan. It offers consumers choice and increased competition which yields lower costs. This could be an interesting model for other areas of potential expense reduction.
What else should voters know about you?: I have been a resident of North Hampton for over 28 years. I've lived in the Hampton/North Hampton area since I was 2. My parents rented one side of a duplex when I was a toddler only a few houses down from my current residence. I am the oldest of four children. Our family lived in Hampton until 1991 when my parents decided to build a house on Exeter Road. I along with my next youngest sibling, attended Sacred Heart School in Hampton and Saint Thomas in Dover. My first job was at the Galley Hatch washing dishes. I worked there in various capacities, in addition to working multiple jobs while attending high school and college. It was a great experience, and I learned the value of hard work. These jobs financed my education at Keene State. I met Sandra my wife at my first corporate job after college. I asked her to marry me on a bench at the end of Atlantic Avenue. We have been married for 24 years and share our home with our two rescue dogs, Meri and Shelby. My parents still live in the home they built in town. My youngest sibling attended North Hampton School, and my two youngest siblings attended Winnacunnet. My mother was a substitute school nurse for a short time at NHS. Our family has been blessed to call North Hampton home. It's truly a special place with incredible people.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: North Hampton Select Board candidate Jonathan Pinette
