Arsenault files for senate

Beth Arsenault made it official yesterday, filing papers to run as the Democratic candidate for the District 4 seat in the New Hampshire Senate.

“I decided months ago to run,” Arsenault confirmed yesterday afternoon. “The filing formalizes the decision.”

Arsenault, a two-term member of the Laconia School Board and chair of the Belknap County Democratic Committee, does not expect a challenger in the primary. “No one has stepped forward mentioning an interest in running, so I don’t anticipate a contested race for the Democratic nomination,” she said, “but there’s still time left to file so I can’t rule it out entirely.”

District 4 covers a territory that includes Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, Gilford, Gilmanton, Laconia, New Durham, Strafford, and Tilton, and is currently represented by two-term Republican Rob Boyce of Alton, who defeated Arsenault two years ago in her first attempt to unseat him.

“Rob Boyce has had four years to prove to District 4 voters that he cares about the issues that are important to them,” Arsenault said. “But ask around and you’ll find most people view him as the stealth senator — he’s invisible in the District.”

That low profile contrasts sharply with Arsenault, who has gained substantial name recognition through her active involvement in an array of community organizations and endeavors. In addition to serving on the Laconia School Board, the Laconia native has served on the Board of Laconia Main Street, is on the Board of Trustees of the Belknap Mill Society, and is an incorporator of LRGHealthcare and the Laconia Endowment Education Fund.

Following 9/11, she was one of the coordinators of the Respite Program, which arranged for New York firefighters, police officers, and families of victims of 9/11 to spend some time in the Lakes Region, and she has devoted countless hours to the Citizen's Santa Fund.

Married to West Point graduate and now retired army officer Jim Arsenault, the Laconia High School graduate traveled around the country and overseas to Germany as she shared his career. With what eventually became four sons in tow, Arsenault recalls that each successive move became more challenging and she was always looking toward the day when they'd return home to Laconia.

"Since we got back in 1996 I've enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen my roots to the community," she said. "Being away made me that much more aware of how important Laconia and the Lakes Region are to me, and how much influence they have had in shaping who I am."

With two sons in college and two in high school, Arsenault says she is especially sensitive to the struggles facing families, from the cost of college tuition, to the everyday living expenses that seem never to abate.

"The cost of living continues to rise making it difficult for families to hold on, much less get ahead," she said. "And if we want our children's futures to be as open to opportunity as our lives have been, we have to ensure they have the educational opportunities that will prepare them for what lies ahead."

Noting the continuing decline in state funding of education, the Laconia Democrat criticized Senator Boyce. "More and more costs are being shifted to the local property taxpayer," she said, "and I haven't heard one word from Rob Boyce."

That silence, coupled with his failure to be an advocate in the Senate for his Lakes Region constituents is what Arsenault says prompted her into the race. "State government is not responding to the needs of our families and our communities," she said, "because Rob Boyce and many of our Representatives in the N.H. House are silent."

"I intend to made sure the voices in the Lakes Region are heard in the corridors of power in Concord," she vowed.