Councilor vies for 2 seats of moderator’s

Friday, March 5, 2010

Submitted Photo Ryk Bullock is one of two candidates running for the school district and town moderator seats.

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Submitted Photo Michael J. Scanlon, one of two candidates running for the school district and town moderator positions.

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Submitted Photo Ryk Bullock is one of two candidates running for the school district and town moderator seats.

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RYK BULLOCK

OFFICE SOUGHT: Town moderator and School District moderator.

ADDRESS: 11 Meetinghouse Road.

YEARS OF RESIDENCY: All my life I have lived in Bedford.

EDUCATION: The Bedford School System starting out at Stevens/Buswell School then Memorial School then McKelvie School then West High then Saint Anselm College.

EMPLOYMENT: Real Estate/ Investments.

POLITICAL HISTORY: For the 40 plus years I have had the opportunity to serve our community in a number of positions, some appointed and some elected.

AFFILIATIONS: Among them, Trustee of the Trust Funds (several years as Chairman), Assistant School District and Assistant Town Moderator for over three decades culminating with my election as School District Moderator four terms ago and Town Moderator two years ago.

FAMILY: Currently there are four generations of my family living in Bedford. My parents, my son and daughter-in-law and my two granddaughters all remain active participants in our community.

MICHAEL J. SCANLON

OFFICE SOUGHT: Town moderator and School District moderator.

ADDRESS: 15 Caron Road.

Years of residency: 24

EDUCATION: No answer given.

EMPLOYMENT: Director of purchasing, quality and logistics for WoodPellets.com.

POLITICAL HISTORY: Bedford Town Council: 2001-present. Chairman of the Bedford Town Council 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. Educational Farm at Joppa Hill from 2005-present, Chairman of the Board/President from 2006-present. Served on the following town boards: Conservation Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Bedford Community Television Board, Planning Board, Bedford Village Common Committee, Merrimack Valley Regional Water District Representative, Parks and Recreation Commission, Route 101 Study Committee, Water and Sewer Commission. Elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2002-06. State representative for the Transportation Committee from 2002-04. State representative for the Public Works and Highways Committee from 2004-06.

AFFILIATIONS: Member of the Bedford Fire Department from 1990-2001. Bedford Basketball League from 2000-09, League President from 2001-03 and Board of Directors from 2000-09.

FAMILY: Married 23 years to Anne. Two children: Christen, 21, and Michael, 17.

BEDFORD – On Tuesday, the town and School District moderator takes on a town councilor for his open seats.

Ryk Bullock, who has held the School District moderator seat for 15 years and the town moderator position for two, will challenge Michael Scanlon, a town councilor of nine years, for both seats.

The School District moderator seat is a three-year term, while the town moderator is a two-year elected position. Neither candidate voiced a preference to being elected to one seat versus the other but both voiced their stance on the election process.

Scanlon hopes to decrease the amount of people working the election polls to save money for taxpayers, while Bullock spoke about his experience turning the Bedford election polls into the fastest processing location in the state.

Bullock takes his position as current town and School District moderator seriously. To him, the position is about conducting the best possible election, while staying neutral.

“I do vote but my son doesn’t even know who I vote for,” he said.

Bullock has held the School District moderator position since 1993. He was elected town moderator in 2008 but his involvement in the position began when he was a teenager.

“My dad was the assistant moderator years before I came on board, so I was raised in it,” he said.

While in the moderator position, the wait time at the election polls decreased from 2.5 hours in 2004 to a current low of 6.5 minutes. According to Bullock, Bedford processes faster than any other place in the state of New Hampshire.

But he was quick to not take all the credit. With a staff of two senior assistant moderators and three assistant moderators, he said, “You don’t do it yourself – you’ve got to have a tremendous staff. One person does not make this happen.”

As part of a statewide task force to enable physically challenged voters to vote independently, Bullock pushed Bedford to increase the number of stations for handicapped voters. Another one of his accomplishments in the moderator seats has been maintaining blood drives, outside of elections, and bone marrow registries. If re-elected, he plans to start an organ donation registry.

“There’s no substitute for experience – I have the experience and my staff has the experience,” Bullock said. “I’m running on the democratic process and my record.”

But Scanlon voiced a different thought.

“That’s what democracy is, it’s not one person getting a position and having it (forever). At the end of the term, it’s an open seat,” he said. “It belong to the voters of the town.”

If elected, Scanlon plans to focus on streamlining the voting process. He hopes to reduce the number of people who work elections by 50 percent or more to save the taxpayers a considerable amount of money. By implementing new technology, he plans to provide voters with a positive experience in a reasonable amount of time.

Scanlon has been on the Town Council for nine years and said he’s never run unopposed.

His involvement in the town includes Conservation Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Bedford Community Television Board, Planning Board, Bedford Village Common Committee, Merrimack Valley Regional Water District representative, Parks and Recreation Commission, Route 101 Study Committee, Water and Sewer Commission. He was also elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, served on the Bedford Fire Department for 11 years and held the title of Town Council chairman for two terms.

When asked why he decided to not run again for his council position and run for the open School District and town moderator positions, he responded:

“Change is good on the Town Council and change is good for the moderator position as well.”

His involvement in both state and local politics, he said, has given him a tremendous understanding on both governments. The moderator position is governed by state statute.

“I don’t believe I’ll have any problem organizing and running a good election,” he said. “I believe it’s going to be a lot easier for me to be involved in handling elections than operating a town.”

When asked why people should vote for him, Scanlon replied, “I fully intend to concern myself with the duties and responsibilities given to town moderator, I won’t interfere in anyone else’s business.”

When asked the same question, Bullock said, “People know what I’ve done and I think people like what (my staff and I) have done. If people like to vote in 6.5 minutes, if they like community at the polls, then that’s why they should vote for me.”

Election Day is March 9 in the Bedford High School auditorium.

Kelly McGrath can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 27, or kmcgrath@cabinet.com.