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Along with voting for gubernatorial candidates, representatives to the US Congress, New Hampshire State Senate and House, Granite Staters will make a choice on who the executive councilors from their respective districts will be on Nov. 5.
What is the Executive Council?
Together with the governor, the Executive Council approves expenditures of state and federal funds, and any contracts in the state that exceed $10,000. The executive council also approves appointments such as judges, commissioners, and heads of agencies and commissions.
There are five executive council districts throughout the state, and each councilor represents one-fifth of the population or approximately 263,000 residents. To find which district you live in, view the map here.
Do Executive Councilors get paid?
Yes, executive Councilors are paid a salary of roughly $20,000 annually, set to expenses.
Why does the Executive Council election matter?
The five-member council—made up of four Republicans and one Democrat—has rejected family planning contracts for Planned Parenthood, and two other health centers five times in the last three years.
The consequence? Planned Parenthood ended the most recent fiscal year with a $5 million deficit, and is projecting a budget deficit of almost $8.6 million over the next three years.
Republicans on the council declined to fund the contracts on grounds that, in addition to a wide variety of health care services, the providers offer abortions. That’s despite the fact that the funding in question doesn’t go toward funding abortions—it’s allocated towards providing basic essential care to low-income individuals at a free or discounted rate in the state. Over the past three years, New Hampshire’s Planned Parenthood health clinics have served 11,223 patients for 15,717 visits.
Furthermore, the New Hampshire Executive Council districts are heavily gerrymandered, which reduce the ability of Democratic-leaning voters to elect favorable candidates. Read more about that here.
Read more on Executive Council races from each district:
District 1:
Democrat Emmett Soldati and Republican Joseph Kenney will face off from District 1—that includes parts of Carroll, Coos, Grafton Belknap and Strafford counties.
Owner of New Hampshire’s popular coffee shop, Teatotaller, Emmett Soldati is a local community activist and entrepreneur. Originally from Somersworth, Soldati is the son of Lincoln Soldati, former Strafford County Attorney, Mayor of Somersworth, and candidate for US Congress, and Kathleen Soldati Executive Director of League of NH Craftsmen and Portsmouth Historical Society.
Soldati has a degree in Cultural Studies from the London School of Economics.
Joseph Kenney, the incumbent councilor from the district, grew up in a small business family in Wakefield. Kenney has a degree in history from the University of New Hampshire, and has previously served in the Marine Corps.
| Emmett Soldati (Democrat) | Joe Kenney (Republican) | |
| Abortion | Will protect the right to abortion, and ensure funding for reproductive healthcare facilities. | Supports a near total ban on abortion.
Voted to defund Planned Parenthood multiple times. |
| Education (book banning) | Wants to secure equitable public education for all Granite Staters.
Does not support book banning in schools. |
Believes in New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts program that distributes taxpayer-money funded grants to families to send their kids to religious and private schools. |
| Housing | Believes the only way to reduce the burden on current property taxpayers and to address the burgeoning housing crisis is to build, renovate, and bring more units online. | Does not believe in encouraging local zoning laws to accommodate housing development, despite the ongoing housing crisis in the state. |
| Marijuana legalization | Supports the legalization of marijuana. | Does not support legalization of marijuana. |
District 2:
Democrat Karen Liot Hill and Republican Kim Strathdee will face off from District 2—that includes parts of Cheshire, Sullivan, Grafton and Merrimack counties.
Democratic Karen Liot Hill, a 20-year Lebanon City Councilor and former mayor, is running against Republican Kim Strathdee, a part-time cook.
Liot Hill stepped up as a candidate, after former District 2 executive councilor Cinde Warmington decided to campaign for governor on the Democratic ticket, but lost to current Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig in the Sept. 10 primaries. Warmington is the only Democratic voice on the five-member council.
Strathdee has unsuccessfully sought the office three times before, in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
| Karen Liot Hill | Kim Strathdee | |
| Abortion | Will protect the right to abortion. Promises to keep family contracts renewed for Planned Parenthood. | Promises to restore funding for Planned Parenthood. Supports New Hampshire’s current abortion law. |
| Education (book banning) | Will improve funding for public schools, does not support book banning. She will support fair funding for public education to take the burden off of local property taxpayers. | Believes the Claremont decisions that constitutionally require New Hampshire to fund public education is an “unfunded mandate.” Does not have a firm plan on how New Hampshire should fund public education. |
| Housing | Promises to fight for affordable housing. Wants to see the federal resources be maximized for various essential programs, including housing, childcare and food assistance like SNAP benefits. | Believes the state should repurpose abandoned buildings to meet rising demands for housing. |
| Marijuana legalization | Supports legalization of marijuana | Supports legalization of marijuana |
District 3:
Democrat Jon Morgan and Republican Janet Stevens will face off from District 3—that includes parts of Rockingham and Hillsborough counties.
In District 3, Brentwood resident Jon Morgan is running against Republican candidate, and incumbent Janet Stevens.
Morgan has formerly served as a State Senator and selectboard member from Brenthood, and is currently employed by a Silicon Valley-based cybersecurity firm.
Stevens, a Seacoast resident of 30 years, has been serving on the executive council since 2021, and is a former small business owner.
| Jon Morgan (Democrat) | Janet Stevens (Republican) | |
| Abortion | Promises to protect reproductive freedom. | Voted to reject family planning contracts for Planned Parenthood multiple times. |
| Public Education | Supports expanding funding for public schools. | Supports New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts. Program that provides taxpayer-funded grants to people to send their kids to religious or private schools. |
| Taxes | Opposes sales and incomes tax, and wants to reduce property tax to reduce burden off taxpayers. | Wants to reduce taxes and regulations for businesses. |
| Housing | Believes expansion of affordable housing is key to ensuring progress and success for all Granite Staters. | Has supported programs like InVest NH—funded through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act—which will add 3,000 housing units in NH. |
District 4:
Democrat Jim O’Connell and Republican John Stephen will face off from District 2—that includes parts of Stafford, Belknap Rockingham, Merrimack and Hillsborough counties.
Ted Gatsas, Republican incumbent from District 4 is retiring, and vying for his seat are: Democrat Jim O’Connell and Republican John Stepehen.
Manchester resident O’Connell has led the fight for public schools for more than 25 years, and is the vice chairman of Manchester school board. He also led the fight to implement a $15 minimum wage for hundreds of workers in Manchester.
Stephen is the former commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and is the founder of Manchester-based management consulting firm The Stephen Group.
Stephen is facing backlash for his tenure as DHHS commissioner during which he was responsible for overseeing the state’s youth detention center, where almost 1,200 victims allege to have been physically, sexually and emotionally abused.
| Jim O’Connell (Democrat) | John Stephen (Republican) | |
| Abortion | Promises to protect reproductive freedom. | Is endorsed by a pro-life group. |
| Public Education | Supports expanding funding for public schools. It endorsed by National Educators Association and American Federation of Teachers. | Supports New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts. Program that provides taxpayer-funded grants to people to send their kids to religious or private schools. |
| Taxes | Opposes tax reductions for the rich, and wants to lower property taxes. | Wants to reduce taxes and regulations for businesses. |
District 5:
Democrat Melanie Levesque and Republican Dave Wheeler will face off from District 5—that includes parts of Hillsborough, Cheshire, Sullivan and Merrimack counties.
In District 5, Nashua native Melanie Levsque is running against Republican candidate, incumbent Dave Wheeler.
Levesque is a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and served in the State Senate from 2018 to 2020. She was also the first Black woman to serve in the State Senate. Levesque was also a member of the Senate Transportation and Senate Judiciary committees.
Milford resident Wheeler, an anti-abortion, incumbent councilor, is running for his eighth term on the council. He is the owner of Maranatha Carpet and Miracle Acres Farm, where he grows christmas trees and sells maple syrup.
| Melanie Levesque (Democrat) | Dave Wheeler (Republican) | |
| Abortion | Promises to protect reproductive freedom. | Voted to reject family planning contracts for Planned Parenthood multiple times. Believes in a near total abortion ban. |
| Public Education | Supports expanding funding for public schools. | Supports New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts. Program that provides taxpayer-funded grants to people to send their kids to religious or private schools. |
| Taxes | Believes businesses should be taxed depending on how the economy is doing. Would levy taxes on capital gains, that is, any profit made from selling an asset. | Wants to reduce taxes and regulations for businesses. |
Are you ready to vote? Make sure to check your voter registration status, see who’s on your ballot, and make a voting plan here.
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