Portsmouth 2023 City Council candidate Peter Whelan
Name: Peter Whelan
Education: Randolph-Macon College, bachelor of arts in history.
Political or civic experience highlights: Former Portsmouth City Councilor, Chair of Parking Traffic and Safety Committee, Portsmouth Planning Board, Chair of McIntyre Sub-Committee, Member Advisory Committee on N.H. Marine Fisheries, Member of New England Fisheries Management Council N.H. Representative,Coastal Conservation Association Of N.H. Past President and Board Member.
Are you working with any consultants, groups, or a slate of candidates? If yes, please disclose who you’re working with: No. I am self funding my City Council campaign.
What is the biggest problem Portsmouth is facing and how you would solve it?: Keeping Portsmouth's historical charm and attraction while balancing the affordability of housing for the future. Portsmouth is one of the most desirable places to live in the Northeast. We must in the future keep a balance in our city of by carefully vetting all our commercial development projects. We must try to incorporate affordability into our housing projects while protecting our historic charm and keeping our infrastructure updated for both sustainability and capacity. We should carefully examine through our land use boards all future projects. I am not opposed to updating our land use ordinances to accomplish this goal. As a 32-year resident of Portsmouth, slow responsible development has always served our city well in the past. There are examples of great and not so great buildings all over our historic city. We should learn by our mistakes, that is what makes for a great historic city.
Should the city work to create below market rate housing, and where is the best site?: The city has identified several areas for below market rate housing. The area in Atlantic Heights where Portsmouth Housing Authority has a building and owns property makes the most sense to me. Portsmouth should continue to work to help create more below market rate housing. The private sector landlords are feeling the pressure with the rise in taxes. This council's $18.2 million budget increase in two years with adding 36 new positions contributes to the housing affordability problem in Portsmouth. While our population is not growing these budget increases are unsustainable for the future and will continue to make Portsmouth unaffordable despite the city creating below market rate housing.
Should the council continue to try to acquire the Thomas J. McIntyre federal building property?: Yes. This was a huge lost opportunity for our city. It was very painful to watch this council give Redgate Kane $2.5 million and sign an agreement with this developer with no outs or escape clauses for the residents of Portsmouth. This was a once in lifetime opportunity to acquire this property which belongs to the residents of Portsmouth. This council has done everything in secret in 66 nonpublic sessions in two years; McIntyre has been a failure as this was outsourced to the city manager with very little council oversight. I am writing this before the GSA close on the auction of the building.
Do you support the council’s spending level on the last two budgets? If not, what’s an appropriate level?: No! The budget is out of control. There was not one cut to the budget by any current councilor. $18.2 million increase in two years. The budget is now approaching $142 million with 36 new positions in two years. I support our fire, police, schools and infrastructure spending as that is what our residents expect. All other spending in the city needs to be looked at and questioned. No one is looking out for the residents on this current council, they just rubber stamped the city manager's budget. Having spent 35 years in executive positions with hundreds of budgets done yearly, I always closely examined every budget as if it was my own. I pledge to do that if elected to the council. This council should have started with zero-based budgeting in every department!
Should Market Square be open to pedestrian and bike travel only?: No. But I do support a study to look at the redesign of Market Square with several alternatives which would include wider sidewalks and plazas. There are hundreds of residents now living around Market Square which would feel the impacts of any change along with all the commercial businesses. We are not Burlington, Vermont. Our city is configured differently.
How do you feel about the safety and aesthetics of outdoor dining in the city?: The COVID pandemic is over it's time to return back to normal. I do not support the closure of travel lanes or street for outdoor dining. The situation downtown this summer was unsafe especially at several key intersections. All restaurants should be paying the true costs now for outdoor dining. Several of our outdoor dinning areas were not aesthetically pleasing downtown and made our downtown look junky.
What’s a bigger priority, building a new police station or an indoor sports arena?: Police station!! We need to have a world-class police facility for our first responders. Let the private sector build an indoor sports arena.
Should the council address the pace and type of development in the city? If yes, how?: Yes! We need a new master plan to address this ASAP. I am in favor of changing several of our ordinances to help address development in the city. We need to create incentives for more workforce housing which will work for the residents and the developers. The zoning now is not working to accomplish this and needs to be updated and changed. The pace of development is driven by market forces and the cost of money. We are starting to see projects slow down as lending becomes more expensive.
Does the city need to regulate overnight parking on city streets and lots by RVs and campers?: Yes. A resident of Portsmouth just needs to take a walk around the South Mill Pond and count the number of RVs camping out. This city council has taken no action to address this problem which will continue to grow as we approach next summer. In several south end neighborhoods we have RVs camping on residential streets and leaving garbage and waste on the street. An ordinance must be created by the new council to address this growing problem.
Is overserving at city bars and restaurants a public safety issue?: Yes. We have had several high-profile accidents where individuals were killed. This is a public safety issue which must be addressed by the city and the state of New Hampshire. Having a safe downtown should be a priority for all Portsmouth residents.
Has Portsmouth changed for the better or worse during the past decade?: Portsmouth has become a great city of diverse residents coupled with world-class restaurants, unique merchants, world-class artists and venues over the past 10 years. This coupled with our historic charm and architecture has made Portsmouth a great place to live and work. We have had some growing pains along the way, loss of affordability for our workforce, aging infrastructure to keep up with our growth and a battle to keep our historic charm as we evolve and change. My 32 years in Portsmouth has been great, as I raised a family here and now work on the water and participate in Portsmouth's marine heritage. This is a great city and I will be proud to serve the residents if elected to the council.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth 2023 City Council candidate Peter Whelan
