Tilton, Sanbornton House candidates running on cooperation, limited government

The district currently representing Tilton and Sanbornton has two seats, one held by Rep. Juliet Harvey-Bolia of Tilton, and the other held by Rep. Tim Lang of Sanbornton. Lang is running for state senate, and redistricting has reduced the representation for that area to one house member instead of two in the new District 3.

In the Republican primary for that single seat, incumbent Harvey-Bolia faces challenger Scott Morrow.

Harvey-Bolia is a first-term state representative currently serving Sanbornton and her hometown of Tilton in the old District 4. Prior to her first run for state office two years ago, Harvey-Bolia worked in Tilton town government as a member of the planning board and town budget committee.

Harvey-Bolia moved to Campton 18 years ago, at the conclusion of her husband’s military service, and moved to Tilton in 2012. She and her family settled in New Hampshire over Massachusetts, where she is from, because it is more affordable. 

Harvey-Bolia also worked as the station manager at Pemi Baker TV, a public broadcast organization, for 10 years, which is what piqued her interest in politics. At Pemi Baker, she recorded many of the town meetings for Plymouth and surrounding towns.

“It was a fascinating process to see all of that,” Harvey-Bolia said. After observing planning boards, she decided to run. She said her time in Tilton government helped her learn the ropes of holding public office and launched her to the heart of land use issues affecting her constituents such as cyanobacteria and PFAS. She recommended anyone interested in politics start on a planning board. 

She now applies that knowledge and experience as a member of the Resources, Recreation and Development Committee. 

When it comes to finding political solutions, Harvey-Bolia said she’s truly open to hearing out all sides and ready to work with all players in good faith.

“It comes down to fixing problems, which is more important to me than waging an ideological war based on assumptions,” Harvey-Bolia said. 

Harvey-Bolia pointed to her efforts to get Winnisquam schools to reopen in person in the fall of 2020 as an embodiment of her approach.

Local parents, including her, were becoming alarmed at how at-home learning had hit the mental health of their children. Harvey-Bolia worked with school counselors, parents and school board members to overcome the obstacles faced by the district in order for it to reopen in-person. 

“I took a proactive approach,” Harvey-Bolia said. When schools said they needed more substitutes in order to reopen, she placed an ad herself, gathered resumes and candidates, and delivered them to the district. “A week later, they announced a reopening plan,” she said. 

Harvey-Bolia is also passionate about generating confidence in elections by supporting evidence-based election measures. Similar to the issue with schools, she felt the best way to address declining voter confidence was to pursue solutions, rather than repeat complaints.

Harvey-Bolia said her pragmatic approach has led some constituents to wonder if she’s clear on where she stands. She asserts that she can both have convictions and cooperate pragmatically.

“I will never hide where I stand on an issue,” she said. “But I will work with all players to come to a solution, because I think the solution is what constituents want from us.”

Scott Morrow is a retired law enforcement officer who lives in Sanbornton. He did not return multiple requests to interview for this story. 

According to Morrow’s Facebook page, he is a former deputy sheriff at the Merrimack County Sheriff's Office, where he worked for about a year starting in 2006. He also worked as an officer at Houston Police Department in Texas, Sugarcreek Borough of Police and Franklin Police Department in Pennsylvania. According to his profile, he attended school in Pennsylvania and received a degree in police science and criminology from Mercyhurst College. 

Morrow filled out the Citizens Count candidate survey, a nonpartisan voter resource that tracks legislation and researches candidates. 

According to his responses, Morrow is in favor of New Hampshire adding a first-trimester abortion ban, marijuana legalization with private sales instead of state-run, the educational freedom account program, zoning changes to increase housing development, and conditional ballots for voters without identification. Also per his responses, Morrow is against climate change action, gun control, mail-in voting, broad-based income taxes, increases to how much state revenue is shared with local municipalities, and an increase to the minimum wage.

Morrow unsuccessfully ran for the Tilton Selectboard in the spring of 2021, earning just under 10% of votes cast.

Morrow’s Facebook posts express views critical of student loan debt forgiveness, the CDC’s pandemic restrictions, coronavirus vaccines, the FBI seizure of documents from Mar-a-Lago, and firearm registration. He has shared posts quoting and praising Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and author of "The Fountainhead" Ayn Rand.

Posts calling the 2020 outcome, the Jan. 6 insurrection, and the coronavirus pandemic hoaxes have been shared by Morrow.

Morrow also appears, based on his profile, to enjoy hiking in New Hampshire’s mountains with his family and his dog.

State representatives serve two-year legislative terms in the 400-member New Hampshire House. It is a nearly volunteer post, paying just $100 per year plus mileage. Representatives in Belknap County also perform duties in county government as part of the Belknap County Delegation. The 18-member delegation is responsible for approving the county budget, which is drafted by the County Board of Commissioners. The delegation also appoints members of the GAC, the five-member, nonpartisan body tasked with overseeing mountain operations, similar to a board of directors.

The state primary is Sept. 13 and the general election is Nov. 8.