Enfield
In Grafton 10, which represents Enfield, Democrats Roger Dontonville and Linda Spencer-Green are hoping to succeed Rep. Wendy Piper, D-Enfield, who is running for a seat on the County Commission.
Dontonville, 64, recently retired from a career as a physical education teacher at the Grantham Village School. His wife is also a teacher, which he said helps fuel his interest in state education policy.
As a legislator, Dontonville said, he hopes to continue innovating the community college system in a way that allows students to make easier transitions into four-year institutions. He said he also considers education to be an important part of combating the state’s heroin epidemic.
“I think taxes have to be allocated in such a way that instead of being reactive to the opioid crisis, (the state) can be proactive,” Dontonville said.
Instead of punitive measures and jail time for drug offenders, he said, there needs to be more preventive drug education and more support for addicts.
Spencer-Green, a retired CPA and financial consultant, said she intends to use her credentials to be a watchdog of government spending. She’s also focused on environmental and energy issues, and said she hopes to keep New Hampshire green while expanding renewable energy.
“I’m thrilled about the solar energy initiatives going on, and to see how many people are actually going along and (installing panels),” Spencer-Green, 64, said.
She said she’s also concerned about the state’s aging demographics hurting businesses looking for young workers.
“I think (the state) should be directed so that it can hear why young people are leaving,” she said. “I think that should be looked at.”
In the general election, Enfield Republican Mike Lorrey, an Air Force veteran and writer, is running a second campaign for the House.
“We need to get more liberty conservatives to the legislature,” said Lorrey, who describes himself as a lifelong Republican with libertarian leanings.
Lorrey said he would like to advocate for Second Amendment issues. He believes U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons and supports a bill that would require police chiefs to issue concealed-carry permits to anyone who can legally possess a firearm.
After his niece died from a fentanyl overdose, Lorrey said, he’s been interested in tackling drug problems using less law enforcement and more treatment. He was dismayed when the Legislature passed funding for “Operation Granite Hammer,” an initiative to arrest more suspected drug dealers.
“It turns people that are in pain into criminals,” Lorrey said. “(Addiction) needs to be treated as a health problem.”
Three Republicans are competing for two seats in Grafton 9, which encompasses the towns of Grafton, Alexandria, Bristol, Bridgewater and Ashland. Incumbent Reps. Jeff Shackett and Robert Hull hope to maintain their seats in a face off against Eric Rottenecker.
Shackett, who lives in Bridgewater, has served three terms in the House. He runs a grocery store in Bristol, where he formerly served on the town’s budget committee and as a Selectboard member. Shackett has also been involved with the Mayhew Program, a nonprofit in Bristol that serves underprivileged boys.
In past House sessions, Shackett has voted against Operation Granite Hammer funding and legislation to expand Medicaid in New Hampshire. He did not sponsor any bills in the last session, according to the House website.
Also running for another term is Robert Hull, of Grafton, a libertarian activist and owner of several properties in town used as a residence by members of the Free State Project, a movement that encourages libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire. Hull did not return a message left seeking comment.
Rottenecker, of Bristol, is challenging both of them in the primary. A Navy veteran and semi-retired truck driver, he describes himself as a “moderate conservative.”
Rottenecker, 58, said he would bring “common sense” legislation and thinking to the legislature, while advocating for less government spending. He intends to run on environmental issues, opposing nearby wind projects and the overuse of pesticides.
Democrats Judy Wallick and Joshua Adjutant will both compete on the general election ballot.
Wallick, of Grafton, is running for a third time to promote “problem solving” in the Legislature.
“I’m very interested in seeing what can be done to facilitate growing small businesses,” said Wallick, 66, a former marketing consultant for small, women-owned business.
She describes herself as bipartisan and has identified with No Labels, a national organization seeking to bridge partisan politics.
Adjutant, a longtime Bristol resident in his early 20s and a Marine Corps reservist, said he was inspired to enter politics after seeing U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders during the New Hampshire primary.
He wants to see schools funded in ways that benefit education, instead of flashy programs that do too little.
“I came from a school that liked to spend money on a lot of stupid things,” Adjutant said.
Adjutant said he would also support legislation to raise the state minimum wage and to legalize marijuana.
Grafton 17 will see another contest between Republican Rep. Stephen Darrow and Democrat Catherine Mulholland in the general election. The district includes the communities of Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Enfield and Grafton.
Darrow, a Grafton resident, spent about 30 years working in the management and business office at UPS before retiring. He also has an experience in town politics, having served as a Selectboard and Planning Board member.
“I decided to go for another term, especially after my first term, which I felt was a learning experience,” he said. “Two years goes by pretty quickly.”
Darrow, 65, said he enjoyed working on agricultural initiatives in the House, and hopes to further work out ways the state can help small farms.
Mulholland, 76, was a financial analyst before moving to Grafton in 1986. She’s served a total of four terms in the House, losing to Darrow in 2014.
“The Republicans tend to prevail in non-presidential years,” she said, adding that this year’s presidential race could turn the tide in the district.
Mulholland hopes to curb the state’s high property taxes and education costs in the House, while also protecting Medicaid expansion.
The Grafton 16 floterial district that covers Canaan, Dorchester, Ellsworth, Groton, Orange, Rumney, Thornton and Wentworth, also will see a rematch this year. Rep. Duane Brown, R-Wentworth, will try to hold his seat against Democratic challenger Carol Friedrich.
Brown, an American Airlines pilot, described himself in past campaigns as a fiscal and social conservative who favors no new taxes and a reduction in the business profits tax. He also opposes state Common Core education standards and Medicaid expansion.
Friedrich, a retired teacher who also lives in Wentworth, is in favor of Medicaid expansion and funding Planned Parenthood.
Rep. Kevin Maes, D-Rumney, is also hoping to retain his seat in the Grafton 6 district against a Republican challenger from Thornton. Grafton 6 encompasses Rumney, Orange, Groton, Ellsworth and Thornton.
Maes, 61, said he’s running because there’s “still work to be done” in the House, including increasing the state minimum wage and promoting infrastructure. The retired teacher and part-time police officer said he also wants to bring civility back to politics.
“You can’t be angry and govern well,” he said. “The art of compromise seems to have gone by the wayside.”
He’ll face off with Republican Sky Bartlett in the general election. Bartlett, a member of the Thornton Zoning Board, is a relative newcomer to state politics.
Democrat Timothy Josephson is the only person running for the Grafton 11 seat being vacated by Rep. Chuck Townsend, D-Canaan. The district includes the towns of Canaan, Dorchester and Wentworth.
Josephson, 37, serves as a Canaan representative to the Mascoma Valley Regional School Board and is pursuing a master’s degree from Norwich University.
“I feel that I can represent everybody from both young families, working families to older people who own homes,” Josephson said.
He also wants to help revitalize rural communities by enticing young people to stay in New Hampshire and keeping education costs down.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.
Clarification: This story was updated to clarify Mike Lorrey’s position on concealed weapons.