George Sykes

Ward 2

1. Why are you running for City Council?
To continue the work of making Lebanon a welcoming community and to respond to and plan for the challenges we face as the regional center of the upper Valley.

2. What skills and experiences would you bring to the position?
I have a BA, Bridgewater State College ’74, BS, Business and Economics, Empire State College ’88, and an MBA, Southern New Hampshire University ’99.

I currently serve as a City Councilor for Ward 2 in Lebanon. As part of those duties I also serve on the Lebanon Downtown TIF District Advisory Board, and an alternate member of the Lebanon Ped/Bike Committee and the Lebanon Conservation Commission. I am the Chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Council.

Re-elected to my seventh term, I am a Member of the Transportation Committee and currently serve as Chair of the Grafton County Delegation.

3. What’s one thing you want other people to know about you?
I have lived in Lebanon, NH along with my wife, Jayne Buckley for more than 30 years. I have a daughter, Kate, LHS class of 2000. I am a retired Deputy Chief, Lebanon Fire Department, and I’m a recipient of the Aubrey G. Robinson Award for outstanding service to the State of NH in fire prevention.

I volunteer with the American Red Cross, Disaster Services. As a responder, I have deployed to NH, NY, PA, MA, VT, FL, Haiti for nearly two years after the 2010 earthquake, and Puerto Rico in 2017. I am a longtime supporter and former Board Member of AVA, the Advanced Alliance for the Visual Arts and TriCountyCAP .

4. What are your top 2 priorities that you want to address if you win?
I will carefully monitor City budgets to keep tax increases reasonable. That said, I will be mindful of our responsibilities to provide for the most needy in our Commumity and to maintain the level of services our residents have come to expect.

5. Lebanon, like many other cities, is facing challenges with rising property taxes. If the city were required to reduce spending, which service or program would you consider for reduction first? Which should be protected most strongly from cuts?
See above. The question should be, what should we protect, not what should we cut. Public Safety including Fire, Police, and Public Works; Library and Parks and Recreation, and Public Transportation..

6. Lebanon is home to residents from widely varying economic, generational, and cultural backgrounds. Please share a few ideas for how to make Lebanon a place where these residents can thrive.
Outdoor events which require little or no up front costs exposing all of those residents opportunities to meet each other matter. Parks and Rec could sponsor neighborhood specific opportunities to achieve this. As an example block parties.

7. What’s the best way for voters to reach you?
Text or phone, 603-667-1834. Email me at my city council address: george.sykes@lebanonnh.gov. Invite me to come speak to their neighbors, friends or civic group.