KEENE, NH – Keene’s General Municipal Election is just a couple of weeks away, and Mayor George Hansel along with a handful of sitting Keene City Councilors and some former councilors have raised concerns over a candidate for Councilor At-Large.

In a letter released to the community Wednesday morning, Hansel, Councilors Mike Giacomo, Kris Roberts, Tom Powers, Andrew Madison, Michael Remy, and Kate Bosley, and former councilors Jan Manwaring, Fred Parsells, Robert Sutherland, and Bill Beauregard expressed their “grave concerns” about Terry Clark’s candidacy in the 2023 general election, citing issues of his past behavior and a conflict of interest.

Clark has previously served on the City Council, and is currently a Cheshire County Commissioner. The letter says that the County recently used federal funds to launch “a controversial new ambulance service,” referring to Cheshire EMS, which resulted in the Keene Fire Fighters Union declaring the county a rival in a public letter.

“These events highlight that the best interests of Keene’s residents are not always aligned with the county’s desire to serve the broader region,” the letter says. “Holding elected office in both organizations simultaneously presents a clear conflict of interest and should be avoided.”

Clark’s recent stint as a city councilor ended with an abrupt resignation in 2021, after Remy submitted a letter to the council requesting an investigation on Clark’s conduct during a nonpublic council meeting where he was allegedly caught secretly recording video of the meeting, which the letter says is a violation of the Council’s rules of order, and the state’s two-party consent wiretapping statute.

Remy’s letter in February of 2021 also outlined a complaint from a resident alleging that Clark attempted to act “as an empowered enforcement agent for the city,” and confronted local businesses about potential violations.

“Such actions are totally inappropriate and outside the responsibilities of a Keene Elected official,” the letter goes on to say.

Clark resigned two days after the submission of Remy’s letter, effective immediately, saying he wanted to focus on his work as a county commissioner. Due to Clark’s resignation, Remy’s letter was removed from the council agenda and not discussed.

Hansel and the current and former councilors are urging voters not to elect Clark in the general election.

“The responsibility for choosing our elected leaders is in the hands of the voters, and we trust they will choose individuals who represent the best of Keene’s values and the interests of Keene’s residents. Terry Clark is not one of those individuals,” the letter concludes.

Following the release of the letter Wednesday, Clark joined WKBK’s Good Morning Program and said there is no conflict of interest, and addressed the conduct allegations.

As far as policy is concerned, Clark said there is no conflict of interest if he is serving as an elected official in both the county and the city, but said either way, he has Keene’s best interest at heart.

“But I have to remind people that I’m elected in both offices by the residents of Keene, so that’s where my loyalty lies,” Clark said. “It really comes down to do you trust your elected officials to do what they need to do to protect the citizens that elected them, and I’ve always done that.”

Clark said the accusation that he was caught recording the nonpublic meeting was a misunderstanding and had no malicious intent.

“I made a mistake, but it had nothing to do with trust, we were all very new at ZOOM at the time, it had more to do with taking notes,” Clark said. “I’m not excusing myself for that, but that was discussed, that was investigated, nothing was found wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t believe that I had anything in mind that was going to violate anyones trust. It’s not like I was going to release the information out into the public.”

Clark said he didn’t resign in 2021 because of the accusations, but because of his relationships with some other elected officials.

“I’ve had a very toxic relationship with the mayor and some of his people,” Clark said. “At that time when they decided that I had done something terribly wrong they started attacking me and it was very visceral … I didn’t need that negativity, so that was really what prompted me to resign.”

Clark elaborated on what he meant by “the mayor and some of his people,” and named Councilors Giacomo, Remy, and Madison, but he noted that he feels he would be able to work with them on the council.

The full discussion with Clark is available here.

Hansel appeared on WKBK as well Wednesday morning and echoed the sentiment in the letter that whether or not Clark is elected is ultimately up to the voters, but pointed out that himself and many of the councilors have worked with Clark in the past and didn’t have a good experience.

“It is the job of the voters to choose who leads them and who leads this city and no one is trying to usurp that process, but one of the things you get to do as an elected official in Keene is work with other elected officials, and many of us have worked with Terry.” Hansel said. “He’s a known entity, and we’ve gotten to know him on a level that probably the average voter hasn’t, and I think we’re all raising some concerns for a few different reasons about him trying to get back on the council and we want to make sure the voters are well informed about those concerns.”

Hansel said he may endorse a candidate over Clark. His full comments are available here.

Keene’s general election is set for November 7th. For more information on voting, visit the city’s website.