Somersworth mayor brings track record of improvements to challenge Kenney's experience for Executive Council's District 1 seat

LACONIA — Voters have a choice between two enthusiastic candidates with long histories in political office in the race for Executive Council District 1. 

Republican incumbent Joe Kenney of Wakefield is running on his experience in the district and ability to serve full time. 

“Voters should think of public service, consensus builder, and volunteer when they see my name on the ballot,” Kenney said. “Someone who has devoted his life to public service trying to help people solve their problems.”

The challenger and Democratic mayor of Somersworth, Dana Hilliard, believes he can expand his track record in Somersworth to the rest of the district.

“Somersworth is a lot similar to Laconia, to Franklin, to Berlin. All of us have the same history,” Hilliard said. During his five terms as mayor, he said, “the city has had a great awakening,” from improvements to schools and infrastructure to attracting new businesses.

New Hampshire’s five-member Executive Council, up for election every two years, is among the most powerful bodies of its type in the country. The role has been a springboard for future governors and federal representatives — Gov. Chris Sununu and Rep. Chris Pappas both served several terms on the council. 

Acting as a further check on the governor’s power, the council votes on the vast majority of state contracts, on candidates nominated by the governor for commissioners to lead state departments, judicial seats and other key appointments, and on the state budget passed by the Legislature. It also has budgetary oversight of state departments and hears pardon requests.

Notably, the council also has the final say over the sale of the Laconia State School property. 

Kenney served as executive councilor in District 1 from 2014 to 2018. After losing to Democrat Michael Cryans in 2018, Kenney reclaimed his seat in 2020. Prior to his time on the council, Kenney served five terms as a state representative and then three terms as a state senator. Kenney is also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with time on his resume in education, marketing and sales.

“I believe having a diversified background, working with multi-agency heads, and being a veteran has helped me understand the needs of a vast constituency base,” Kenney said. 

Kenney highlighted workforce and, upstream of that, housing shortages, as well as substance misuse as the top issues facing his constituents.

He highlighted funding he secured for key regional projects — from the Ray Burton Fire and EMS Academy in Bethlehem to the NH Fish and Game boat launch facility in Alton Bay — and his relationship with constituents as demonstrative of his ability to deliver.

“I have assisted and helped hundreds and hundreds of constituents with their needs concerning state government,” Kenney said. 

Beginning in 2015, Kenney, with the efforts of former mayor and co-founder of The Daily Sun, the late Ed Engler, also spearheaded the council’s resolution to sell the State School property. He hopes to continue as a steward of that endeavor, currently in the stages of finalizing a development proposal from a potential buyer, with reelection.

“I would like nothing more than to continue on as your executive councilor to advance this project for the City of Laconia and the state of New Hampshire,” Kenney said. 

Hilliard, a lifelong Somersworth resident, also has a lengthy resume of public service. At 20, Hilliard was elected as a state representative, where he served five terms. Since, Hilliard has played the field of local government, spending time on local boards and commissions and the Somersworth City Council before being elected as new Hampshire’s first openly gay mayor in 2013. Hilliard’s professional career has been in education, beginning as a paraprofessional, then a teacher, then a principal. He is now director of school district operations.

Hilliard said this background makes him a collaborative and bipartisan worker, because of the nonpartisan nature of local politics, and an effective advocate for the needs of towns and cities in Concord. 

“It is imperative at the state level — and particularly on the Executive Council — that you have an understanding of town and municipal government, and an understanding of the great successes that towns and cities can have when they are supported,” Hilliard said. 

“In the first years of my mayorship,” Hilliard continued, “I was able to build that team from the bottom up that embraced the concept of ‘when we work together, we move together' — regardless of our differences, regardless of what side of the aisle we sit on. That’s the great thing about municipal government.”

Hilliard accused the current council of failing to effectively serve municipal interests by turning away federal pandemic relief money, defunding reproductive health care facilities and neglecting the needs of the public school system, specifically through its confirmation of Education Commissioner Frank Edelbut. 

Because of the district’s sprawling geography, both candidates put an ability to be present and in touch with constituents as essential to success in this seat — and throughout the campaign have sought to outshine the other’s work ethic. 

Each councilor represents a fifth of New Hampshire residents. Where district lines are drawn for that apportionment, however, can greatly affect the makeup of the council, the key issues and projects of each district, and the towns and cities that are the heartbeat of a constituency.

Because of how population density is spread across New Hampshire, districts representing the northernmost part of the state tend to be geographically much larger than those in the South. District 1 today spans from Vermont to the Maine border and includes almost every town north of Tilton.

The new boundaries of the district still pose a challenge to keeping in touch with constituents — and voters on the trail — encompassing the eastern half of the state, including most of Coos, Carroll, Belknap and Strafford counties. Hilliard’s hometown of Somersworth was added to District 1 in the redistricting process: it’s currently in District 2.

Notably, both Kenney and Hilliard said they model themselves after former Councilor Ray Burton, who held the seat from the late '70s until he died in 2013.

“I tend to institute the old Ray Burton policy,” Hilliard said, brandishing a signature Burton comb. “Where, if three or more were gathering, Ray was one.” Hilliard said that, when he was in the Legislature, Burton was a mentor. 

“How he was as a public servant is something that everyone can aspire to,” Hilliard said.

Kenney, Burton’s successor, said he better fulfills that legacy.

“In the spirit of Ray Burton and myself, District 1 needs a full-time councilor,” Kenney said. Hilliard’s work in education, he argued, would take time away from his service. “The territory from Pittsburg to Durham is too large to address the needs of District 1 with a part-timer.”

Hilliard asserted that his energy-level and dedication would make him “a kitchen table name.”

“I will live and breathe this role if elected,” Hilliard said. “I’m known for being approachable, a good listener, and being present.”

District 1 historically has been synonymous with “the North Country.” Now, with the western half of northern New Hampshire — almost all of Grafton County — moved out of District 1, there could be room for the district’s identity, and what it means to be an effective advocate for it, to evolve. Burton, whose service was defined by robust advocacy for the North Country, lived in Bath — now part of District 2.

Hilliard defined the district through a shared socioeconomic trajectory.

“We are really woven together by this giant needle and thread,” Hilliard said. “Most of us have a mill history,” and with economic evolution over time, “were all left wondering what our next chapter was going to be.”

He said his on-the-ground knowledge of such economic circumstances — and how to do the work of rebounding from them — makes him the best candidate for the new District 1.

Most of the current district, with the exception of a few cities in the southeast, are current constituents of Kenney. The benefits of his incumbency, he said, shouldn’t be understated. 

“I bring many years of personal relationships ... that my opponent does not have,” Kenney said. “These relationships are important in order to get things done for District 1. [There’s] no time to figure out who has the answer when you already know who does.”

More details on the candidates policy positions can be found on Citizens Count and candidate websites. The general election will take place on Nov. 8.