Assistant Mayor Thomas G. Ferrini
Age: 49

Years in Portsmouth: Most of my life.

Occupation: attorney in Dover

Public Experience: City Councilor for four years; Economic Development Comm. for seven years; Council rep. to the Planning Board, Joint Building Comm. for the high school; Joint School Advisory Comm.; Ward Moderator in Portsmouth for two terms; Board of Great Bay Services; Board of Ballet New England; N.H. Bar Association Legislative Comm. and Publications Comm.; Government Relations Comm. for Dover Chamber of Commerce.

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

We need to go back to the affordable housing ordinance that we passed and look at why we really only have one project, which is a good one, that is going forward under that ordinance, and we need to write one that is more effective at providing density bonuses and other incentives to developers so that we can get more affordable housing in the city.

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

Growth in the Northern Tier has to be managed by the zoning mechanism, and we have passed an ordinance to address height and design of buildings to lessen the impact of big box type developments. We need to look for every opportunity to make sure the design and impact of buildings are appropriate to that area. We do need some economic development to expand our tax base and be able to provide affordable housing, but we need to make sure that we do not get out of balance and allow things to get out of hand.

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

I would like to see businesses in Portsmouth that draw from the immediate community for its potential employees. We need economic diversity of businesses so we have a multi-layered economy that is not just dependent on one employer, like Pease or the Naval Shipyard. We need those, but we need more varied employers.

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

We’ve already begun and made a lot of progress on that. Besides just raising concern and awareness, we need to see what additional zoning ordinances we can enact to provide incentives for financially appropriate sustainable development in our city.

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

I attended Tiempo Libre at the music hall and danced most of the night away with my wife.

-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?