Ward 11 Alderman Norm Gamache: A Lifetime of Public Service
Norman Gamache, the retired firefighter who represents Manchester’s Ward 11 at City Hall, is part of a unique dynasty. Alderman Gamache, his son Mike and his grandson Chad belong to the only family that can claim four generations of Manchester firefighters. Norm’s father Napoleon Gamache served 28 years as a firefighter in a career that spanned four decades. The four Gamaches — grandfather, father, son and grandson — have nearly a century of public service to the Queen City.
Napoleon Gamache joined the Manchester Fire Department (MFD) one month after Pearl Harbor, and was stationed on Rimmon Street in Manchester’s West Side in January 1942. After serving in the military during World War II, Napoleon returned to Manchester and resumed his career as a firefighter. He retired in 1970.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Norm Gamache joined the MFD in 1963, after serving in the U.S. Air Force. Norm spent 33 years as a Manchester firefighter until he retired in 1996, thirteen years after his son Mike entered the ranks at the MFD in 1983. Mike Gamache has achieved the rank of District Chief, the third highest rank in the department.
Chad Gamache, Mike’s son, became the fourth generation of the Gamache family to serve the City of Manchester as a firefighter when he launched his career with he MFD in 2010. Chad has a degree from Plymouth State University.
During his retirement, Norm remained active in his community, serving as the president of the Alpine Club. Gamache re-entered public service in 2012, when he was elected alderman in a special election to replace the disgraced Russ Ouellette.
In June 2012, Alderman Ouellette, who had previously served on the Manchester School Board, resigned his seat on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen after being arrested twice. Ouellette was charged with sexual assault and simple assault, misdemeanor offenses, when a woman that he had met at a Manchester pool hall claimed he had groped her. After his first arrest, he was arrested again when Ouellette showed up at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting the alleged victim was attending.
Ouellette initially claimed that he had never seen the woman, so he would not have recognized her at the AA meeting. The pool hall’s security tapes revealed that Ouellette’s had spoken to the women, undermining his defense.
Russ Ouellette was given a one –year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to the charges. According to the Union Leader, Ouellette sent the woman who brought the charges a check for $20,000 to settle any claims she might bring against him.
In 2011, Russ Ouellette voted in favor of budget cuts proposed by then-Mayor Ted Gatsas that slashed funding for the Manchester Fire Department. Norm Gamache’s son Chad was one of nine firefighters who were laid off for nine months, due to those cuts.
Norm Gamache and Emily Sandblade were the top two vote-getters in the special September primary to replace Ouellette as Ward 11 alderman. Norm topped Sandblade by 208 votes that November. He was then re-elected in 2013, besting challenger Christopher Hussey by 234 votes.
The 2015 election saw the political re-emergence of Russ Ouellette, as he sought to wrest Ward 11's seat on the Board of Aldermen back from Norm Gamache. Norm beat Ouellette that year and in a rematch in 2017, and will be facing off against Ouellette once again in November 2019.
Alderman Norm Gamache, a life-long resident of Ward 11, has been married to his wife Arlene for 59 years. In addition to their son Mike, they have a daughter, Michelle Beck. A school teacher, Michelle also is part of the proud tradition of four generations of Gamache Family public service.
