-What can be done to provide affordable housing for working families and people with moderate incomes?

I think the difficulty with affordable housing is the fact that we don’t have a lot of space. I think what people are looking for is affordable housing that’s a house and not condos or apartments, but, I think, right now, that might be the only option, is condos or apartments. I think the problem we have as a state with affordable housing, and a lot of the other states that have affordable housing, the only tax is not the tax on the property. So, for a landlord or for people to offer affordable housing under section 8, we can’t have the high property taxes. When I was a landlord myself, I did do section 8 housing in the city of Portsmouth. But, then the property taxes got to the point that I couldn’t afford to do it any longer. So, I think it’s a real issue. I think it’s a real concern. I think it’s going to be very difficult to solve when you base your whole finances on property taxes, and when you don’t have the land available. As we know, Pease is there, but a lot of that can’t be developed.

-What would you do to manage growth in the city’s Northern Tier?

I started out running for City Council because of Pierce Island, because of the wastewater treatment facility. And, I got involved in that because my marina is right across from it, and because I went to a public hearing from the federal government on it. I think we have a real problem with infrastructure in our community, with parking, transportation, sewage, water, roads. And, I feel that before we can continue to develop, we need to handle some of our issues. Now, maybe we can make agreements with future developers to help us handle our issues and our concerns with infrastructure. Also, I truly believe that we need to have committees set up for each area, almost like a conference, one for the Northern Tier, and look beyond the Master Plan and develop a plan for development of that area. I know we did the Northern Tier investigation and all that, so maybe we should bring forward and re-look at it. But, if we want big developers and commercial developers, then they have to support and help us with our infrastructure. I’m not against development. I don’t want to give that impression. I’m just saying that we have to do development that supports what we have, and if we want to increase our numbers, increase our hotels, then we need to fix our sewer system. 

-What kind of new businesses would you like to see opening in Portsmouth?

I think what has driven Portsmouth to bring the tourists in—and tourists are great because they come in and leave money, and they don’t cost the community a lot of infrastructure funds, as long as they’re not using the sewage treatment plant. But, they are something we need as a community, and I think they come because of the shops that are very different. I enjoy shopping myself. I do spend money in Portsmouth, and it’s because of the individually owned, nontraditional, very personal shop opportunities that people come for. So, I think, if we’re going to grow, I don’t want to see chains. I want to see individually owned opportunities with people with very creative ideas.

-What would you do to promote sustainable practices and green building in the city?

I have a masters in environmental administration from Antioch in Keene, N.H. So, I’m very environmentally conscious. Anytime we can promote using green buildings and promote building that way is very positive. We need to be responsible citizens to our environment. That’s one of the reasons I’m against moving the school and keeping it on Parrot Ave., because I don’t want to upset any environmental. I like green space, I enjoy green space. I think that one of the nice things about Portsmouth is that you can walk out to Pierce Island, you can walk out and enjoy green space, going out to Odiorne. There’s a lot of venue for that, but you need to keep it. I encourage LEED certification anytime we can get it, and I’m hoping we can keep that going. I am sitting on the environmental Portsmouth Listens.

-What was the last cultural or artistic event you attended in Portsmouth?

The last thing I attended was the event at Strawbery Banke. I also experienced a play five times this summer at Prescott Park. I’m a regular at Seacoast Repertory Theatre. One of the reasons I enjoy Portsmouth is because of the culture and the arts. I have a lot of friends that are part of the button factory, a lot of friends that are in musical groups, like the (Jumbo Circus) Peanuts. I pride myself on seeing the Peanuts’ first concert. Then again, I was at an art opening the other night.

-It was largely the artistic community that made Portsmouth a popular destination, but now most artists will tell you that they cannot afford to live or work here. Have we killed the goose that laid the golden egg?

First of all, I’d like to clarify the question a little bit. It’s not the only thing that made Portsmouth what it is. I think the fishing culture, the air force, the navy, the first merchants, the first people who landed on Strawbery Banke with opinions, the reason they left England was because of their opinions and their zest for life. So, I think the artistic community has been a big contributor to that, but I think there’s a lot of other things that makes Portsmouth what it is. I understand their plight, and I respect their plight. A lot of my friends are artists, and it’s very unfortunate that our city has out-priced itself in a way that has really affected the arts. I think we should look at some options. There’s a lot of vacant buildings around here, and I truly feel that they need to be put to good use. The artists that I know, a lot of them do live in the area and have been successful, so I’m more concerned about the future artists, the young artists, the people that are just getting into the field, musical artists. I’m concerned about those people. I’m concerned that I don’t want to lose that. However, I’ve always said that artists have a gift of culture and design, but they sometimes don’t have the gift of business. And, so, I strongly believe that we need to support them that way too. Because, if they could sell their products, then they would be able to afford to live here. I’ve always said it would be great to have a place where Portsmouth artists could sell Portsmouth artwork, and we don’t have that. One way you make the artistic community vibrant is being able to sell their product. Besides the fact that we really need to look at it and they are great contributors, still, it’s selling their products that get them to become better.