Copyright keenesentinel
Voters will elect a newcomer to the Keene City Council in Ward 3 during next week’s city elections. Molly Ellis and John Schmitt are vying for the four-year term on Nov. 4, and high property taxes in the Elm City are on both of their minds. The winner will join Ward 3 Councilor Bryan Lake, who has two years left on his term, in representing an area of North Keene that takes in West Surry Road, parts of Route 12 and Court Street. Here’s a look at the candidates: Molly Ellis Molly Ellis, who is a stay-at-home parent to her 5-year-old son, said she saw an opening when Councilor Andrew Madison decided not to seek reelection. “I didn’t want to run against him because he used to be our next-door neighbor,” the Keene resident of seven years said. Her run for the seat has roots in her resume of community engagement. “I’ve loved learning more about … how the city operates, and I loved getting to know more and more people and … I’ve loved being in service to Keene.” Ellis, 40, got a taste for municipal operations in Ward 3 as a poll worker during the primary and general elections from 2020 to 2024. “I really enjoyed that because I just ... love meeting people and talking to people and hearing ... what’s on their minds,” she said. After that, her love of history drew her to the Keene Heritage Commission, a city body she now chairs. She’s working with Mayor Jay Kahn — who is up for reelection this year in a race against Bradford Hutchinson — to plan a 250th anniversary celebration of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Top issues for Ellis include public safety and rising property taxes. If she were to be elected, she said, “I want to be really careful figuring out how we can make sure that people don’t get priced out of their homes … while we make sure that we are still paying for the things that we need to pay for.” She feels the council has been fiscally responsible, but still hears people talking about waste. “It’s going to be really important to ... just make sure that we’re super careful about new costs that we take on,” she said while discussing her top issues as a candidate. “We don’t want to cut the amenities and services that we have. How can we avoid trimming the quality of life that we have here without raising costs too much for homeowners?” Housing is another key issue for her. She said though it was unpopular among some, she agrees with the ordinance that narrowly passed the council at the end of September that allows developers to add up to six units of housing by right in some parts of the city. “I hope to help propose … other policies that will help us create more housing. You know, find more more incentives to bring developers here … find more land that we can find ways to utilize that hasn’t been utilized,” she said. One existing incentive she pointed to is the 79-E tax credit program, which has been scarcely utilized by developers in Keene. Her ideas for housing include expanding that program, waiving permit fees for accessory dwelling unit projects and speeding up permitting and inspecting “for those adding units of housing.” She has aspirations to meet other related needs, too. “I hope that we can find more ways to create access for medically assisted treatment for people with substance misuse problems, because I think that that will help with … our homelessness problem,” she said, adding that this could lead to stability in more people’s lives. Though she hopes to make progress when it comes to housing, she doesn’t see herself overall as an agenda-driven candidate. “I see myself as more of a servant and a helper than … necessarily having a really strong agenda … I don’t see myself as a hurricane coming into council to try and ... take it by storm.” Like other candidates, the upcoming downtown infrastructure project is also on Ellis’ mind. She said if she could reverse one decision councilors have made in the past year, it would be to bring back the cuts that have been made to the project. Those cuts included extending water and sewer to Gilbo Avenue. John Schmitt John Schmitt, a retired chemical engineer, shares Ellis’ concerns about property taxes, which he called “way too high.” Generally, he said, officials view a rise in property taxes consistent with the rate of inflation as a positive, a standard Schmitt isn’t happy with. “I don’t have a problem paying property taxes myself, but I know a lot of people are struggling to pay these sky-high property taxes,” he said, adding that he’d like them to decrease each year. “People have to live by budgets. Why can’t government live by budgets?” he said. Schmitt, 72, said, “I would lead by example,” and refuse the compensation given to elected officials. There is $41,500 in the 2026 budget allocated for city councilors’ and the mayor’s stipends. “I would not take a penny. I think the other councilors should do the same thing. They should serve for free. All elected lawmakers from president on down, I believe should serve the people for free.” The Keene resident of roughly 13 years said he decided to run for City Council so the Ward 3 race would be contested. “I think the voters should have a choice.” “ ... I think all races should be contested,” he said. “I’m surprised that there was only two of us even running. There should be a lot of people that are willing to step up and run for office, but I guess people are just not concerned. I’m retired. I have time. I understand a lot of people are working. They don’t have time to serve in the City Council or state rep or whatever.” Schmitt’s Ward 3 bid is not the first time he’s run for public office. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully to represent Cheshire District 15 in the Statehouse. Opposing COVID mask and vaccine mandates were key components of his platform then. Schmitt reiterated similar sentiments in a recent interview with The Sentinel, while discussing his top issues. Among them are following the U.S. Constitution, which he feels was violated during the COVID-19 pandemic when mask mandates were instituted. In 2021, Schmitt, along with eight others, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct during a protest at a N.H. Executive Council meeting where COVID-19 vaccine spending was discussed. Charges were dropped against all nine people. Schmitt called himself a strict constitutionalist, and said he is “against passing any ordinance that’s unconstitutional.” When pressed for examples, he said, “probably a lot of them are. I haven’t looked at them all in detail, but a lot of them are state laws and the federal laws. “A lot of laws are unconstitutional,” he added. More recently, Schmitt was an outspoken opponent of updating the city declaration of inclusion to specifically name LGBTQIA+ people, and issuing a statement of support for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other identities. Ultimately, in lieu of either, the City Council opted to have Kahn issue a proclamation during Keene Pride’s annual festival in September. During that time he shared support for the LGBTQIA+ community. Ultimately Schmitt feels it’s a positive for Keene to have a newcomer on the council, whether voters elect him or Ellis. “I would just add that we need some new blood on that City Council,” Schmitt said, noting term limits could be a good idea. “We need somebody ... like Molly, who hasn’t been in government, who’s 40 years old.” Polls will be open Nov. 4 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in all five city wards.
