Three incumbents look to defend their seats in District 7

There are only three seats in New Hampshire House District 7, all of which are currently occupied by experienced members of the House. District 7 serves Alton and Barnstead.

Reps. Barbara Comtois of Barnstead, Paul Terry of Alton and Peter Varney of Alton have been in their positions for six, seven and two years, respectively, but that doesn't seem to bother newcomer and challenger David Hershey of Alton.

“I'm running on the issue of accountability,” Hershey said referencing this summer's Gunstock Mountain Resort conflict as a catalyst for his political bid. “Unfortunately for this latest significant vote, meaning Gunstock, not a single representative from District 7 voted. That troubles me.”

Hershey was referencing an Aug. 1 Belknap County Delegation called by a quorum of members. During the meeting, the delegation appointed Denise Conroy to the Gunstock Area Commission, and accept the verbal resignation of David Strang.

Hershey has never run for office in local politics, but stated that he has been “very successful” in business. Hershey currently works as a risk manager for Lexa International.

“From a local perspective, I can assure I will vote on every topic,” Hershey said. “Not make an individual decision on what I think is important or not.”

Comtois has been in her seat since 2016. She was not able to be reached for this article, but recently submitted a column to The Daily Sun about the Gunstock issue, criticizing the management team's walkout as “political theater” and “disrespectful toward Belknap County citizens.”

In her column, Comtois reiterated that it was not possible for the county delegation to sell or lease out Gunstock to a private entity, despite countywide discussion of that concern.

According to a Citizens Count survey, Comtois is opposed to minimum wage increase, instituting sales and income tax, mail-in voting, extending New Hampshire's renewable energy portfolio, marijuana legalization and repealing the state's 24-week abortion ban.

Comtois is in favor of decreasing business taxes, banning abortion during the first trimester, and conditional affidavit ballots for new voters who did not possess identification. Comtois also voted to keep the education freedom account program.

In addition to her six years of service as a member of the House, Comtois has over 20 years of agriculture experience running Sticks and Stones Farm in Barnstead. She is also on the Environment and Agriculture Committee.

Varney, according to the Citizens Count survey, expresses disfavor for mail-in voting, repealing the 24-week abortion ban, expanding renewable energy, increasing minimum wage, implementing sales and income tax, and imposing stricter gun control laws. Varney is against a business tax decrease.

The survey stated Varney is in favor of conditional affidavit ballots for new voters, and banning abortion in the second trimester.

Varney has seven years of office under his belt, and sponsored HB 295 in 2015 and 2016, which corrected “a reference in the housing law to municipal agreements regarding the construction of parking facilities.”

Outside of politics, Varney is the fire chief of the New Durham Fire Department and owns several businesses, including Granite State Armory and ATS Applied Technical Services, LLC, according to his Facebook page.

Varney could not be reached for comment for this article.

On his website, Terry writes, “As a lifelong conservative Republican, you will be able to count on me to ensure that the voices of Alton and Barnstead citizens will be heard in Concord, partnering with other local elected state office holders, town officials, and a stronger Republican majority to make our state and towns even better places to live work and raise families.”

On Terry's site, he describes himself as a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, writing that he will “oppose any efforts to weaken your constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms,” as well as a commitment to vote for lower personal and small business taxes. Terry also touted his support for the parents' bill of rights, as well as well as school choice

Terry is strongly pro-life. His site mentions his support of Presbyterians Pro-Life, Bethany Christian Services, Students for Life, Cornerstone New Hampshire and Care Net-RI.

Terry's background includes a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Union College, and a master's of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.

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