"𝗛𝗶 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆. I'm Chuck Creteau. I am the current Ward 4 city councilor here in Rochester, and I'm here to tell you a little bit about myself and what I stand for, and why I am running for reelection this November 4th.

So, first off, who is Chuck Creteau? Well, if you don't know me, I was born right here at Frisbie Hospital back in 1977. I am the son of Richard Creteau and Judy Bober, and I am the last of five kids. I have a brother named Bill. John, Kim, and Maria are my sisters. And I'm looking for reelection this November with your help.

So, a little bit about me and what makes me who I am. After leaving Rochester and graduating class of ’96 here in Spalding, I went out and I got my degree in law enforcement and a degree in criminology, in which I did not use either of those degrees. In fact, what I decided to do was get into social work, where I've spent the last 22+ years career as a licensed social worker.

What have I done with that? I investigated child abuse for 13 years, and I spent eight years working with active service members, helping them through the trauma that they were inflicted with. I currently work in evidence-based practice through UNH through NFL North, which is a nonprofit, and I help troubled youth and children.

So, a little bit about me and why I'd like to be reelected and what I believe in. The first thing you have to understand about me is I believe in strength-based practice. And that goes for everything that I do in my life—whether it's my neighbors, my community, but especially my personal life. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. And I take that practice into my community.

As a city councilor, you're going to see me communicate efficiently with every city councelor that allows me to talk with them. One thing that people know about me is I will reach across to any city councelor and have coffee with them for any reason, because if we're going to be effective, we have to communicate. And communication is a big part of what I believe in as a city councelor. In fact, I believe in that so much I'm one of the few city councilors that actually meets with my constituents on a regular basis.

In fact, the last Sunday at 10 every third month, I meet with all of my constituents as well as Dave Walker, and we sit and we have coffee and we talk about what has transpired in the last three months.

So, if you're interested, I would ask for your vote this November 4th. I'm rerunning—this will be my reelection. Thank you for listening. And for more information, you can always friend me on Facebook. Find me Ward Chuck Creteau Ward 4 on Facebook. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵."

Notes:

The Public Information and Community Engagement Office for the City of Rochester is pleased to announce that the Meet the Candidates video series is now available for viewing ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election.

The nonpartisan series introduces voters to candidates for Mayor, City Council, School Board, and Police Commission. Each candidate was given up to three minutes to speak directly to voters, share their priorities, and present their personal message.

To ensure fairness and transparency, all videos were recorded live in a single take, without edits, hosts, or predetermined questions.

The views and opinions expressed in the following video are those of the candidate and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Rochester, its elected officials or staff. The content is presented as part of a public information effort to provide equal opportunity for all candidates to address the community.

Transcript was taken directly from the GovTV website closed captioning. AI added bold/italic fonts for emphasis and separated paragraphs where appropriate.

In this survey, the candidate answered the following questions:

• "Why are you running?"
  
  

• "Do you support the city’s tax cap and for what, if any, reasons would you support going over it?"
  
  

• "How can Rochester ease the burden on residential property taxpayers?"
  
  

• "How can the city further the affordability and availability of housing? Do you support efforts in the state legislature aimed at reducing local control of zoning rules and regulations?"
  
  

• "What can Rochester do to attract new small businesses and support the small businesses already in the city?"
  
  

• "Rochester purchased the old Care Pharmacy and nearby properties for more than $3.3 million. Do you agree with this purchase and what should Rochester do with the property it now owns?"
  
  

• "Short-term and long-term, what should the mayor/council do about the growing homeless population in Rochester?"
  
  

• "The Legislature has empowered cities to create “social districts” where outdoor drinking of alcoholic beverages is allowed. Do you support bringing social districts to Rochester?"
  
  

• "What else would you like voters to know about you?"

You can view the survey by clicking here.

Charles (Chuck) Creteau: I was born and raised in Ward 4 of Rochester, NH. I am a graduate of Spaulding High School class of 1996. I graduated from The University of Southern Maine with a degree in Law Enforcement and Criminology. My career has been as a social worker in both Maine and NH. I have primarily focused my work efforts on protecting children and assisting active service members, and families, as well as working with at risk youth. Therefore, I have many years of professional experience working in high conflict situations for the betterment of both parties. These skills from my private sector work experience uniquely qualify me to assist our community in the role of City Councilor.

In January of 2022 I moved back to Rochester, from Maine, to purchase the original Creteau homestead of my grandparents. I have been renovating this home in Ward 4 and recently became a landlord. My late father, Richard W. Creteau, as well as my late aunt, Irene T. Creteau, were both past Rochester City Council members. It would be an honor to become the third Rochester City Councilor of our family to serve the great city of Rochester, NH.

I am a strong proponent for helping facilitate new businesses to come to Rochester. With a focus on attracting businesses to occupy our empty commercial space. I would like to assist the city with finding creative ways to help grow downtown Rochester, East Rochester, and Gonic. My vision is to have businesses in Rochester that allow our residents to congregate and have a sense of community while driving the local economy.

I will look into assessing the obstacles in utilizing the fairgrounds for concerts and events. I believe that the fairgrounds are an underutilized crown jewel of Rochester. I would like to work toward a revitalization effort that will bring tourism and events back to the fairgrounds.

No party politics or rhetoric, just strength-based solutions. As an independent voter I have dedicated my life to looking at the facts of any issue and keeping an open mind. I use one simple premise for the formation of my opinions, asking the question, what will do the most good for the largest number of people.

• Finding ways to generate “affordable” housing that is around 30% of the average annual income for the area.

• Helping to find creative solutions to the opioid epidemic in and around Rochester.

• Supporting the “Riverwalk” plan to ensure that future, and current, generations will have access to our rivers, walking paths, and all the scenic beauty that Rochester has to offer.

• Keeping the budget fiscally responsible without overspending, to keep taxes as low as possible.

• Support further projects to promote and enhance the downtown area of Rochester as well as work with Rochester Main Street to promote the magnificent work that they are doing.

• Support our opera house and all arts and culture.

• Support the police, teachers, and emergency services for the continued wellbeing of our community.

I look forward to engaging with Ward 4 residents as I walk the ward in October. Please reach me on my Face Book page at:

https://www.facebook.com/chuck.creteau.ward.four.city.council/

mailto: charlescreteau@gmail.com

Resources to Learn More About Charles Creteau

"Chuck Creteau Ward Four City Council" Facebook Page

Announcement of Candidacy

View the Candidate's Responses in the 2023 Foster's Candidate Survey by Clicking Here!