Hatch to run for Meredith /Gilford House seat

MEREDITH — Mike Hatch yesterday announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for one of the four seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives representing Meredith and Gilford.

Hatch said that "recent events in the (Belknap) County Convention have convinced me that it's time to run for office myself."

In a letter to The Daily Sun last month Hatch wrote that he would not call Rep. Colette Worsman (R-Mredith), who chairs the convention a "dictator, but Russia's Mr. Putin could learn a lot from her" and in a subsequent letter likened the performance of the convention to the Red Sox of 2012.

A lifelong resident of Meredith, Hatch served in the United States Navy as a corpsman and worked in the construction industry until breaking his heels in an accident. He worked for the postal service in Center Harbor and as a custodian at Inter-Lakes Elementary School. He has belonged to American Legion Post No. 33 for the past 46 years and served as its commander. An avid outdoorsman, he has hunted and fished since he was a young boy and believes strongly in safeguarding the natural beauty and resources of New Hampshire.

Describing himself as a fiscal conservative and champion of the Second Amendment, he has volunteered in a number political campaigns, but never run for office himself. "I can write all the letters I want, but I decided it's time to try and show them how to run things better," he said. " I want to go to Concord to bring common sense to local politics," he continued. "The taxpayers of Gilford and Meredith deserve to have leadership who will lead with integrity and get things done .I it's time want to bring common sense to local politics," he said. "I am a plain talking guy and I mean to talk plain in Concord."

The four seats in the district are currently held by Reps. Worsman, Bob Greemore and Herb Vadney, all of Meredith, and Democrat Lisa DiMartino of Gilford.