New Hampshire

NH Executive Council election: Meet candidates for little-known office with major power

Published

2 months ago

October 7, 2024

NH Executive Council election: Meet candidates for little-known office with major power

CONCORD — Two Seacoast districts will see competitive races for New Hampshire Executive Council in November featuring well-known Democrats fighting an uphill battle against Republican incumbents.

In District 1, Republican incumbent Joe Kenney of Wakefield is being challenged by Democrat Emmett Soldati of Somersworth. The district comprises communities in Coos Country to Strafford county, including the greater Seacoast cities and towns of Dover, Durham, Farmington, Madbury, Rochester, Rollinsford, and Somersworth.

In District 3, Republican incumbent Janet Stevens of Rye faces Democrat Jon Morgan of Brentwood. The district includes much of the Seacoast, including Hampton, Rye, Seabrook, Exeter, and Portsmouth.

Currently, the Executive Council has four Republicans and one Democrat.

Soldati, the owner of Teatotaller café, and Morgan, a former state senator, are relatively well-known Democrats taking on established incumbent Republicans. However, both districts lean Republican.

The Executive Council districts have been gerrymandered “pretty good” by Republicans, said UNH Survey Center Director Andrew Smith. But he does believe it’s possible for some seats to be flipped by Democrats.

“I could easily see a 3-2, either way. But you know, the second district is going to go Democrat no matter what, first district is almost certainly to go Republican,” Smith said. “And so there’s potential, but that would have to be kind of in a blowout election.”

He said that it’s not “candidate vs candidate” in the Executive Council races, but “R vs D,” especially because executive councilors in New Hampshire are relatively unknown.

Morgan has won before in a similar situation: in 2018, he bested incumbent Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, in the red-leaning state Senate district. When he announced his 2024 run for Executive Council, he said he “knows how to win in a district where we’re not supposed to win.” (Morgan lost re-election to Gannon in 2020, however.)

Still, “it’s a heavy lift for the Democrats,” said UNH politics professor Dante Scala.

“Any potentially competitive race definitely kind of tilts in a Republican direction because of the way the districts have been drawn,” he added.

What is the NH Executive Council?

New Hampshire’s Executive Council is made up of five members who each represent about one-fifth of the state, or about 263,000 New Hampshire citizens. They are elected every two years. Republicans currently hold a 4-1 majority.

The Executive Council works with the governor to oversee the administration of state affairs. They confirm most state contracts and approve the appointments of department heads and judges.

One type of state contracts the Executive Council approves is with reproductive health care centers. Over the past three years, the Council has faced some controversy for the four Republicans’ repeated votes against funding for three reproductive health care centers that provide low-cost basic reproductive health care, like cancer screenings, STD testing, and contraception because the centers also provide abortions, despite audits showing the state and federal funds aren’t used for abortions.

Executive councilors often have low name recognition, but that hasn’t stopped the seat from being used as a launching pad for higher office. Gov. Chris Sununu was first an executive councilor before becoming governor, as was U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.

District 1: Kenney vs Soldati

Kenney has served six terms on the Executive Council. Before that, he served three terms in the state Senate and four terms in the New Hampshire House. He was also the 2008 Republican nominee for governor.

Kenney’s top priorities are watching out for wasteful spending in state government, work force development, and pushing for mental health and drug and alcohol services in the state.

Kenney said in his responses to Seacoastonline’s candidate questionnaire that the funding of Planned Parenthood contracts is “always a sensitive topic” and that he has voted against it because “The Council has felt the co-mingling of funds constitute an indirect support for abortion services.”

Candidate questionnaire: Joseph Kenney, District 1

Kenney said that he has worked well with both Republican and Democratic governors during his time in the state house and on the Executive Council. His saying is, “If it’s a problem for you, then it’s a problem for me, then let’s solve it together.”

Soldati is the owner of Teatotaller café in Concord, which is known for being a “queer, hipster oasis.” In January, he won a small claim case against Meta for deleting his café’s Instagram account.

Soldati has run for Executive Council before, losing in the Democratic primary for District 2 to Cinde Warmington in 2020. Soldati is also Board Member of The Charitable Foundation and a Board Member of the Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation.

Soldati’s top priorities are to support nomination of pro-public school education commissioner, to fund Planned Parenthood and other reproductive healthcare centers, and to support nominations of clean energy champions for the Public Utilities Commission and Department of Energy.

Candidate questionnaire: Emmett Soldati, District 1

“I have a lifelong commitment to my community whether through supporting the rights of LGBTQ folks, people in recovery (of which I’m one), helping access to reproductive care through co-founding the Tri-City Reproductive Coalition, to my fight that saved the historic Hilltop School from demolition,” he said in a Seacoastonline questionnaire. “I believe in the power of small communities and will fight for the rights of all Granite Staters.”

District 3: Stevens vs Morgan

Stevens is seeking her third term in the Executive Council. She became the second Republican woman elected to the body in 2020.

Stevens said that her top three priorities are expanding housing, improving healthcare access, and securing infrastructure funding. She said she has “consistently supported contracts for women’s healthcare with New Hampshire’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), including expanded access in my district.”

Some of the accomplishments Stevens is particularly proud of include highlighting safety concerns at Hampstead Hospital, helping state retirees receive prescriptions, and securing federal relief funds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Candidate questionnaire: Janet Stevens, District 3

“I take great pride in my record of service to the 266,000+ residents of District Three and all New Hampshire citizens,” she said.

Morgan is a former state senator from Brentwood. He served for one term from 2018-2020.

He is currently a Brentwood selectman and works in cybersecurity.

As an executive councilor, Morgan said his top priorities would be to fund Planned Parenthood and approve other reproductive health center contracts, appoint a commissioner of education “who supports public education,” and prioritize economic development.

Candidate questionnaire: Jon Morgan, District 3

“Every action I take, every decision I make, is grounded in a desire to improve our communities and ensure a better future for the next generation,” Morgan said in response to Seacoastonline’s candidate questionnaire. “I’m here to make a difference. My approach is focused on practical solutions, accessibility, and fairness, and I pride myself on being open and available to my constituents. I believe in listening to all voices, regardless of political affiliation, and working toward common-sense solutions that make life better for everyone in New Hampshire.”

Other Executive Council races

A small portion of the Seacoast is represented by District 4, which dips into Lee and Barrington. There, Democrat Jim O’Connell is facing off against Republican John Stephen. They are running to replace retiring Ted Gatsas.

District 2, the one Democratic-leaning district that covers the western and mid-section of the state including Concord and Hanover, features a race between Democrat Karen Liot Hill of Lebanon and Republican Kim Strathdee of Plymouth. The winner will replace Cinde Warmington, who lost the Democratic primary for governor.

In District 5, Republican incumbent David Wheeler of Milford is challenged by Melanie Levesque of Brookline. The district represents the southwestern corner of the state.

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New Hampshire

Child care in N.H. can be even more expensive than housing, food, and health care – The Boston Globe

Published

53 mins ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Child care in N.H. can be even more expensive than housing, food, and health care – The Boston Globe

CONCORD, N.H. — Some New Hampshire families are spending nearly one-third of their income on child care, according to a new analysis from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

Child care costs have gone up significantly in recent years, swelling 48 percent from 2013 to 2023 in New Hampshire, the analysis found. And there was an uptick in costs in the post-pandemic years, growing 12.5 percent from 2022 to 2023.

Take, for instance, a family with one infant and a 4-year-old going to a day-care center. They are spending, on average, $33,257 per year on child care: $17,250 per year for the infant, and $16,007 for the toddler, according to the nonprofit Child Care Aware of America.

With the median family in New Hampshire with children under 5 earning about $112,230, according to the analysis, that means about 29 percent of their income would have to go to child care alone.

In the course of a year, that would make child care the single biggest expense for many families, more than the cost of housing ($11,400 to $20,772), food ($12,456 to $13,068), and health care ($12,876 to $13,068), according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.

“The prices are rapidly increasing,” said Tyrus Parker, a research scientist at the University of New Hampshire and co-author of the analysis.

What is driving that?

“I think the price increase is due to a mix of factors, although I’d be hard pressed to assign a share to any given factor,” said Jess Carson, director of the Center for Social Policy in Practice at UNH and co-author of the analysis.

The increased cost of rent, utilities, food, and cleaning supplies also affects child-care providers, she said. Plus, there are workforce shortages that can drive up wages to recruit and retain staff, she said. If they don’t have enough staff, providers have to decrease their enrollment – but that doesn’t necessarily bring a proportional savings in operating costs, according to Carson.

And, she said, now that pandemic-era aid has wound down, the only way providers can increase revenue is by increasing tuition. The economic impact can ripple out beyond the immediate families affected, taking parents who can’t afford child care out of the workforce.

“Families have to make compromises based on their economic realities,” said Parker.

“Maybe a family would like their child to be in care five days a week, but instead they have to opt for three days, and then one of the parents goes down to working part time just because the cost of child care is too high,” he said.

This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

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New Hampshire

Transportation officials warn N.H. customers of ‘smishing’ scam imitating E-ZPass invoice – The Boston Globe

Published

9 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Transportation officials warn N.H. customers of ‘smishing’ scam imitating E-ZPass invoice – The Boston Globe

Jennifer Lane received a text message Tuesday afternoon purportedly alerting her to an outstanding “toll invoice” in New Hampshire. If she didn’t pay her $4.15 balance promptly, then a $35 late fee would be added, the message claimed.

Lane knew right away it was a scam. She’s the chief communications officer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which manages the state’s E-ZPass electronic toll collection system, and her team had just sent out an alert a few hours earlier to warn customers about the con.

So she did exactly what the DOT’s heads-up had told the public to do if they receive such a message.

“I immediately reported it to my mobile carrier. I did not click on any links,” she said, adding that she would never give out personal or banking information when receiving a request via text message, email, or phone call.

If you know even the basics of cyber security, then you know “phishing” refers to the use of deceptive tactics online to trick someone into divulging sensitive information, such as by clicking a link in an untrustworthy email. When fraudsters use those tactics via texting — i.e., short message service, or SMS — that’s called a “smishing” scam.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said it was advised that an unknown number of Granite Staters are being targeted by an apparent smishing scam. It resembles cases that have been reported in other states in recent months, but the local messages are tailored to New Hampshire residents.

“It looks realistic, however the typos are obvious,” Lane said.

In this case, it seems the scammers are targeting phone numbers with 603 area codes, without any apparent insight into whether a number is affiliated with any of the state’s roughly 588,000 E-ZPass accounts, she said.

“Another employee in the office that does not have an E-ZPass received (a smishing message) as well,” she added.

New Hampshire’s E-ZPass will never send text messages requesting payment for tolls with late fees, according to the DOT’s message. Account holders should instead use the official NH Turnpike E-ZPass website or the NH E-ZPass mobile app.

If you receive a smishing text, you can alert your phone carrier by forwarding the suspicious message to 7726 (SPAM) and you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the DOT noted.

Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.

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New Hampshire

One killed, another seriously injured following fiery crash in NH

Published

16 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

One killed, another seriously injured following fiery crash in NH

Police are asking witnesses to come forward following a deadly crash on Wednesday night.

Troopers responding to a crash on I-93 near mile marker 32.4 in Bow around 5:41 p.m. for a report of a two-car crash found a white sedan and a blue SUV on fire in the woods off to the right side of the road, according to New Hampshire State Police.

An adult male who was driving the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being released at this time pending next of kin notifications.

The driver of the SUV, an adult female, sustained serious injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening. She was transported to an area hospital.

Authorities closed Two lanes of I-93 southbound near the crash scene and they say drivers should seek alternate routes.

Investigators say there were multiple vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash. Anyone with information about what happened is asked to contact the Troop D barracks.

Members of the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit and the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the crash. The Bow Fire Department and Concord Fire Department assisted at the scene.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on the deceased victim Thursday.

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