Democratic aldermen attempt to impose Ward 7 school board pick

Ruais flip flops on veto promise to Terrio, Bergeron’s unexpected resignation puts Ward 6 school board seat in Dem’s sights.

Terrio: Likely to be torpedoed by “non-partisan” Democrats

MANCHESTER, NH October 5, 2026–Abandoning decades of tradition, Democrats on the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) are poised to torpedo Ward 7 Alderman Ross Terrio’s nominee to fill the vacant Ward 7 school board seat, recently vacated by Christopher Potter. Potter left the school board to move because of the commute to his new job as a social studies teacher at Mascoma Valley Regional High School, which is approximately 64 miles from Manchester on Interstate 93 and State Route 4. Sources tell Girard at Large, Potter, who had been working on his teacher certification, knew he was going to vacate the seat while running for reelection.

Historically, and without exception, ward school board vacancies have been filled by the nominee of the alderman from the ward in which the vacancy occurs. The most recent example was following the untimely passing of Ward 9 school board member Robert Baines. Ward 9 Alderman James Burkush nominated Stan Garrity to fill the vacancy. In deference to Burkush, Garrity’s nomination was uncontested and unanimously confirmed.

Potter: Ran knowing he was going to leave

Terrio, who solicited resumes from interested residents, will nominate Randy Tremblay to succeed Potter at the board meeting on October 6. Tremblay is a lifelong resident of the ward and the fourth generation of his family to live in the city. He’s an audio/visual project manager that has led production teams from all over the world. He has worked in nine foreign countries and the vast majority of states, organizing events from the Center of NH to the White House, where his handiwork can be found in the inaugurations of President George W. Bush and President Barak Hussein Obama. Tremblay’s work has served other notables, including Pope John Paul II and Maya Angelou.

Importantly, Tremblay attended Manchester public schools. Three of his five children were graduated from Manchester’s schools. Two are still enrolled. His connections with the city and its schools are deep and lasting. On its face, Terrio’s nomination of Tremblay is a solid choice of someone who’s lived in the neighborhood his whole life. He knows the ward and its people. That he has children in the schools means he has “skin in the game.” He can both represent the people who live in the ward and have first hand knowledge of the schools and their needs as a parent. On its face, this is a solid nomination of a lifelong resident who’s both a parent of kids in the system and a taxpayer.

Tremblay: Lifelong Ward 7 resident

That, apparently, is of no importance to at-Large Alderman June Trisciani, who has submitted her own nominee for the position. She did not solicit resumes, unlike Terrio, and didn’t consult with him prior to making a nomination.

Instead, she announced she will nominate Donald “Donnie” Spencer. Spencer, born and raised in Indiana, came to NH in July, 2018 to work for the NH Democratic Party, shortly after graduating from Purdue University. He worked in various party positions until July, 2021, when he managed the executive council campaign of opioid lobbyist Cinde Warmington. Following her election, he went to work for Warmington as her district director. In June of 2023, he became the deputy manager of Warmington’s first campaign for governor. Warmington was defeated by then Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig in a hard fought primary, where Trisciani supported Warmington, which caused hard feelings among Manchester’s democrats.

Spencer: Political activist wants to parachute into Ward 7 seat

According to his public profile on Linkedin, Spencer worked as both the district director for her council office and as the deputy manager of her gubernatorial campaign for 14 months, from June 2023 to Sept. 2024. He also worked as the caucus director for the Executive Council Campaign Committee from June 2021 to Sept. 2022, while working in Warmington’s council office.

In an email to the BMA, Trisciani mentions none of his political work. Of his professional background, she writes:

Donnie brings practical experience as a high school teacher, giving him an invaluable perspective on the needs of our students, parents, and educators. He is a strong supporter of public education and not only understands the importance of investing in our schools and our community, but also the impact local policy decisions have in the classroom.

While Spencer’s resumé states he’s worked as a chemistry teacher in Amherst’s Souhegan High School since August 2025 and he’s listed in the staff directory on Souhegan’s Web site, Girard at Large was unable to find him on the NH Department of Education’s Web site as a certified educator. (See screenshots below.) Similar to Trisciani’s email, Spencer’s resumé fails to list any of his political employment, except for the position in Warmington’s council office. None of the work for the NH Democratic Party or Warmington’s campaigns was included on Spencer’s resumé.

Having no children and being new to the area, it would seem Spencer is being appointed for his politics, not his connection to the neighborhood or knowledge of the neighbors, like so many Democrats that have recently run for local and state office in the city.

Terrio said he met with Spencer and Potter for over an hour and a half at Potter’s request. During that meeting, Terrio said that no mention was made of Spencer’s political activism and that both men made it seem as if Spencer had been teaching for much longer than the year he’s actually been a teacher. It was at this meeting that Potter told Terrio it was either Spencer or Tom Bozoian, a retired city worker and Democrat who ran against Terrio for alderman in 2025, because that’s who the Democratic aldermen wanted, that any other nominee he made wouldn’t get the votes.

The politics behind this move by Trisciani to impose her candidate on Ward 7, all traditions and courtesies historically afforded ward aldermen in these situations notwithstanding, have been blunt, if not brutal.

Spencer wears his politics on his social media sleeves, listing his persona pronouns, flying the rainbow flag and advertising #BlackLivesMatter. His posts on X and Facebook are hidden from public view. His LinkedIn profile is contains highly partisan language in the job descriptions he left off his resumé and Trisciani left out of her introduction.

Tremblay does not have a page on X that Girard at Large could find. His LinkedIn page has no political content, displaying only his professional experience. A review of his Facebook page showed little to know partisan or other political content.

Craig: Making calls

Terrio, who served three terms on the school board, has been lobbying the aldermen on behalf of Tremblay, with whom he’s had conversations about the city’s schools and general government for the better part of the last decade. He’s urged them to honor the long held tradition of supporting the ward alderman’s nominee and asked what deficiencies his nominee has that would cause them to support an alternative. He said the Republican aldermen backed his nomination of Tremblay, not only because he was a great choice that seemed in character with the ward generally, but also because they wouldn’t want an alderman at-Large coming into their ward and choosing someone they didn’t support, especially a political activist that was relatively new to the neighborhood. He said one Democrat was going to back Tremblay, but declined to say which one, lest Trisciani and her allies gang up on them. He said others were non-committal.

Terrio’s also lobbied Mayor Jay Ruais. Originally, Ruais said he would veto any nominee that didn’t come from Terrio, in support of the long standing practice of the board. However, that changed about a week ago when Ruais told Terrio he wouldn’t veto the Democrats’ nominee because City Clerk Matthew Normand told him it would be “unprecedented.” While Terrio has urged him to reconsider, Ruais has refused.

Meanwhile, Girard at Large has learned that Craig has called Democratic aldermen to weigh in on the controversy, asking them to nominate and vote for Bozoian.

If the BMA follows its rules, the nominations will be made officially at the meeting on October 6 and layover until the meeting on October 20 for a vote.

Kantor: Will Ward 6 be next?

During the writing of this article, Girard at Large learned that Ward 6 School Committeeman Dan Bergeron tendered his resignation from the Board of School Committee on October 5, effective immediately. If the Democrats successfully override the wishes of Ward 7’s Terrio, expect them to do the same against Ward 6 Alderman Crissy Kantor. Those in the know expect the Democrats to nominate former teacher union vice president Maxine Mosely, who has run unsuccessfully several times in the ward, including twice against Kantor for alderman. She has also lost two races for state rep.

Click images to enlarge.

Spencer not found in state database: