Soldati wants to bring fresh perspective to Kenney's District 1 Executive Council seat

The race for Executive Council in District 1 pits a longtime state lawmaker with vast experience navigating Granite State politics against a surging challenger enthusiastic about bringing a new perspective and fresh ideas to Concord.

Joe Kenney, of Wakefield, Republican incumbent on the Executive Council faces Democrat Emmett Soldati, a business owner from Somersworth.

Kenney, who served for 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and has been elected to various positions within the state Legislature, leans into his experience and connections throughout state and municipal government while campaigning for reelection. He said Soldati doesn’t have the experience in governance to be an effective executive councilor.

“Proven leadership and experience that’s been tested time and time again, and has always performed,” Kenney said of his background in an interview. 

And Kenney cites a long list of successes throughout his tenure on the Executive Council. He said he’s been instrumental in making sure the Laconia State School property sale moves forward.

“I’ve been instrumentally involved in the project,” Kenney said. 

Melding his career in the military with his post-military service to the Granite State, Kenney said he works closely with veterans and service organizations to further their goals and cited assisting the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton as one example of his support.

“I’m very attuned to the veterans' needs,” he said. 

But Kenney, who also has a background in small business, said paying attention to the needs of business owners as it pertains to regulatory issues, particularly food and liquor service licenses, and keeping the environment clean are some of his top priorities. He noted developing access to high speed internet will make a big difference for businesses and private residents alike. 

“I think in the next few years, we’ll see 100% coverage of high-speed broadband throughout the state,” he said. 

Kenney said investing in housing and support for child care is one of the more important issues facing the state, and finding solutions is another priority.

“Those are some of the issues that I’ve been working on that I think impact the area,” he said. 

Kenney, noting the state won’t have access to federal American Rescue Plan Act funding any longer and will have to manage their budget responsibly over the next term, said he has the experience and understanding to help New Hampshire succeed, ensuring tax dollars are used efficiently. 

“We know we’re going to have a slight economic downturn and the council is responsible for all the fiscal responsibilities over the State of New Hampshire,” he said. 

Kenney said his opponent, Emmett Soldati, doesn’t have the experience in government and isn’t prepared to be successful as an executive councilor. He said he’s been the chair of a local selectboard and a state senator in the past and highlighted it as a difference between the two.

“My opponent has no legislative experience,” he said. 

Soldati is the figure behind Teetotaller, a couple of cafes in Dover and Concord, and he says he’s got a good shot at flipping the district on Nov. 5 in the General Election.

Soldati, who was born in Rochester and grew up in Somersworth, earned his master's degree at the London School of Economics before eventually returning to his hometown. His father, Lincoln Soldati, was Strafford County attorney and once served as mayor of Somersworth.

Noting Somersworth experienced an economic depression in the 1970s and 1980s, Soldati turned his attention toward contributing to the area through opening a business, Teetotaler Cafe, when he was 23 years old. 

“Though I think New Hampshire is a place that celebrates people’s civil liberties and is sort of an affirming and welcoming place, we don’t have a lot of businesses, spaces and organizations that are kind of explicitly flagging their solidarity and commitment to the queer community,” Soldati said. “We just kind of have fun with that, it’s a little bit flamboyant — our storefronts are hot pink — but I think it’s made a lot of our neighbors feel like, regardless of who they are, that Teetotalers is a space where people belong.”

Soldati said the Executive Council can be hard to pin down for new voters, but it’s one of the most important aspects of state government, working as a check to the power of the governor, and his experience in business has given him useful perspective regarding the challenges facing Granite Staters and that despite past gerrymandering, Kenney’s district is the one most likely to flip.

“We now have four Republicans and one Democrat on the Executive Council,” he said. “Which is odd, because if you were to add up every Executive Council vote from the last election, 55% of Granite Staters voted for a Democrat and 45% voted for a Republican.

"That’s the explicit result of gerrymandering.”

And Soldati said he may be the one to do so. He said his focus on local issues could move the needle. His values are focused on people’s civil liberties and needs, he said, but he seeks to find the issues that most affect voters in their individual communities.

“I have worked to just improve people’s lives on the ground,” he said. “What my task is at hand is to make sure that I’m not showing up in a community in New Hampshire and telling folks what they need.”

He said he’d support the people of Laconia by advocating for beneficial development at the Laconia State School property if elected. 

“The state does have an obligation to the community and part of that means handing off some of the power,” he said.

Soldati said voters should support him over Kenney because he’s taken an active role in the state, believes small communities are proud of where they live and want opportunities to thrive, and that the state government exists to serve them. He cited his support for reproductive health care access and of public education as examples of his priorities. 

“Our government needs to be covering the basics,” he said. “It means that we need to be supporting and safeguarding access to health care, even in our most rural communities. We need to make sure that reproductive rights are established and strengthened in New Hampshire and that access to reproductive health care is available to any Granite Stater, regardless of zip code.”