"𝗛𝗶, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗻. I'm running for city council in Ward 6 this November. I've lived in Rochester with my family for 20 years. I have two kids in the Rochester school system—one's a junior at the high school, the other's a sixth grader at the middle school.

In the Rochester community, I've served as a scout leader. I've coached youth sports for basketball and football. I've served on Rochester's Conservation Commission for more than a decade, and for the last two years, I've served on the council. As a former police officer and a 23-year employee of the fish game department, I've dedicated my life and career to serving the state and my community.

My top priority on the council, if reelected, is to keep Rochester's tax rate down. I'm a strong believer in the tax cap, and the budget passed by the council this July was nearly a million dollars under the cap. I also know that to keep the tax rate down, we need to reduce spending. If elected, just as I did this year, I will urge fellow counselors to find items to remove from the budget or savings to cover all new proposed spending, not just added to the budget.

Transparency is important to me. When I was first asked to vote on real estate purchases in non-public session and sign agreements before public input was heard, I knew that it wasn't right. I persistently urged the city manager to rewrite that process for the city and bring it to the council for a vote, which we did. Now, all real estate purchases will have clear exit clauses and will not be final until the voices of Rochester residents are heard.

I also understand that there's a concern for affordable housing in Rochester and the need for services for the unhoused community. The city council has passed multiple affordable housing projects in the past few years, but we need to stay on top of them to make sure they continue to construction in a timely manner so that we can feel those benefits. And for the unhoused community, I'm glad to hear that the warming shelter will be active again this winter in Summerssworth and that there's a solution in place for the long term on county property, but warming shelters are not the solution. I would like the city and the county to continue to work together to find a year-round shelter on county property.

Finally, the city and the fairgrounds have been at an impass for years. If elected, I would like to continue to work with the city, the fairgrounds, and the new mayor to find a mutually agreeable solution that will allow the fairgrounds to hold more community entertainment events to benefit all of Rochester and to invite visitors in to contribute to Rochester's economy.

I'm proud of the results the council has made over the past few years, but I also know there's a lot of work still to be done. I hope I can have your support this November to continue working on issues that are important to Rochester residents."

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.

"Hi I’m Kevin Sullivan and I’m running for City Council in Ward 6 this November.
I’ve lived in Rochester for 20 years with my wife and family. I have two children in the Rochester School System, a Junior at Spaulding and a 6th grader at the middle school. In the Rochester community, I have been a scout leader, I’ve coached youth basketball and football, I’ve served on Rochester’s Conservation Commission for more than a decade, and I’ve served the last two years on the City Council.

As a former police officer and 23-year employee with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department I have dedicated my career to serving the state and my community.

My top priority on the Council is keeping Rochester’s tax rate down. I support the Tax Cap and the budget we passed this year was almost a million dollars under the cap. BUT, the only way to get the tax rate down is to reduce spending. If reelected, I will once again—as I did this year—urge fellow councilors to find savings in the existing budget to offset any proposed new spending next year, NOT just add it on top of the budget.

I’m a strong believer in transparency in government at all levels and Rochester can certainly do better. When I was first asked to vote on land purchases in non-public session, it didn’t feel right signing agreements before public input. Following that I persistently urged the city manager to rewrite the process and bring it before the council for a vote. Which we did.

Now all real estate purchases will have a clear exit clause and are not final until AFTER Rochester residents’ voices are heard.

I know Rochester is concerned about the lack of affordable housing and the need to provide services for the unhoused community. The council has passed multiple affordable housing projects the last two years, but we need to stay on top of them to ensure these projects move forward to construction in a timely manner so we can feel the benefits.

For the unhoused community I am glad the warming center will be operational this winter in Somersworth and that there is a plan in place for a long-term solution on county property. The warming shelter is an important protection for the unhoused in the winter, but it is NOT a solution. I would like to see the city continue to work with the county to develop a year-round shelter on county property.

Both my parents are veterans and I support Rochester’s veterans and their service to our country. When I heard from local veterans this year that Rochester’s Veteran Tax Credit was lagging behind our neighboring communities, I led the way in successfully increasing the tax credit to do what’s right for veterans.

Finally, the City and the Fairgrounds have been at an impasse for years and if re-elected I want to continue to help the City, Fairgrounds and the new Mayor reach a mutually beneficial agreement that allows the fairgrounds to hold more community entertainment events that benefit all of Rochester and attract visitors to contribute to Rochester’s Economy.

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

Current Committee Assignments

Finance Committee - Regular Member

Public Works & Buildings Committee - Regular Member

Public Safety Committee - Regular Member

Joint Building Committee - Regular Member

Resources to Learn More About Kevin Sullivan

Candidate's LinkedIn Profile

Kevin Sullivan for Rochester City Council Ward 6 Facebook Page

City of Rochester Profile