Susan and Jim Talk Nashua

I was born and raised in Manhattan, and lived there until I went to college in Albany, New York. All 4 of my grandparents were immigrants from eastern Europe around 1900, fleeing the anti-semitism that was rampant at that time. I lived in Albany,NY through college (B.A., Sociology major and Psychology minor), working in book and auto parts stores, and then graduate school (M.S., Ed.S, Counseling and Personnel Services). I began my professional career there working in the field of alcoholism treatment as an outreach worker, then in outpatient services and DUI programs.

I moved to Massachusetts in 1980, where I worked as a medical office manager before returning to the substance abuse treatment field. I married and had a daughter who is now 35 years old. I became a stay at home mother, worked part-time in the local public library, and was elected to the Lexington School Committee and Town Meeting when she was 5. I served on the School Committee for 6 years and Town Meeting for 13 years, then moved to Arlington and served on Town Meeting for another 6 years.

I met Jim who had been living in Nashua for 30 years at that time, in 2012 while we were both working in community theater. We bought a house in Lowell, where I was an election worker for several years. We returned to Nashua when he retired in 2020. 

 I was invited to run for State Representative and, with Jim's encouragement, agreed to do so. I worked hard to meet my constituents, and was the top vote getter in my ward. Nashua is a wonderful city. It has its advantages

  of feeling like a small town while having all that a city provides. It is a great joy to live here and to represent Ward 1 in Concord 

I was born in South Caroilina, raised in Ohio, and went to college there at The Ohio State University. My Masters thesis required data analysis, so I taught myself computer programming. I began my professional career in Akron, eventually moving to Massachusetts, then programming for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), and later moving to Nashua in 1980 to work for them in Merrimack.

I met Susan in 2012 while we were both working in community theater. We bought a house in Lowell, where we moved while I continued working in Nashua. When I retired in 2020, we came back home to live near the Birch Hill School. 

I have now lived in Nashua most of my life. Over the course of the last few years, I began to feel I wanted to pay the city back for all it has given me over the years, so I am running for Alderman in Ward 1. I am looking forward to the election and am working hard to win the confidence of the fine people who call Ward 1 their home.

I call Nashua “the largest small town in the country”. Our children can walk to school here, people walk down the street holding hands, we say “hi” when we pass our neighbors. This city was voted the best place to live in the country, not once, but twice. I am proud and happy to live here in this big small town.