Email: ryan.oconnor@patch.com
Phone: 603-322-3203 Hometown: Merrimack, NH Birthday: Sept. 9, 1982 Bio: After living in Colorado and Florida the first 14 years of my life, I moved to New Hampshire where I attended and graduated from Merrimack High School in 2001. I've since established strong roots in the Granite State, graduating from the University of New Hampshire at Manchester in 2006 with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Arts. I completed an Internship at Neighborhood News, Inc., and spent the greater part of the last six years covering community news and sports for a number of towns including Bedford, Goffstown, Bow, Salem, Windham, Pelham, Hooksett, Pembroke and other local communities. I was hired as the Bedford editor for Patch.com in June, 2011. Having lived in Merrimack since 1997, and having reported for the Bedford Bulletin for many years, I'm very familiar with the community. I love that Bedford is an ever-growing diverse town maintaining its country charm, while being situated close enough to Manchester to enjoy the benefits of the Queen City's night life and commercial appeal. The new middle and high schools seem to be the icing on the cake for a community which prides itself a elevated standard for education and athletic accomplishment. Outside of my education and work background, I have an amazing three-year-old son named Collin, and spend much of my free time following and attending Boston sports games. I'm a die-hard Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots fan, and bleed Florida Gators blue and orange in the fall. Your Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. Politics I'm a registered Republican, though I consider myself very moderate. I am a fiscal conservative, but am independent on most social issues and rarely toe the party line. I vote for the candidate and party which most closely mirrors my beliefs and ideals at the time of election. Religion I grew up in a Catholic household, though I decided at an early age my religious beliefs didn't strictly adhere to Catholic tradition. I still maintain a strong Christian faith, though I have never tied myself to a specific denomination. Local Hot-Button Issues With the recent retirement of long-time Police Chief David Bailey, the search for a new leader of the Bedford Police Department is underway. Though there is a growing sentiment in town the next Chief should be selected from within the department, the town has hired an independent firm to lead the search while creating resident panels charged with aiding in the hiring process.