Two GOP candidates square off in House District 9

LACONIA — Two candidates, one a 26-year-old business adviser and the other a 61-year-old architect and builder will compete in Tuesday’s Republican primary for Belknap County's House District 9, which takes in Belmont and Laconia.

The winner will face Democratic Rep. Charlie St. Clair in the general election.

Travis O'Hara, who has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, is a profitability and growth adviser for small businesses.

COVID-19 has touched his family.

“I’m not one of these Republicans who say this is fake,” he said. “It is real.”

His wife came down with the disease in January in the same week she gave birth to their son. Doctors didn’t know she had the virus until a test was developed and it became clear that was the problem.

“She was literally like on her deathbed,” said O’Hara, who also has a 10-year-old daughter.

“I understand its toll. It was hell. For two weeks, I never left her side. I fully agree with a lot of Sununu's regulations.”

O’Hara said he would like to become involved in helping veterans.

A close family friend suffered traumatic brain injury in the Iraq war and has post traumatic stress disorder.

O’Hara would also like to get involved in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

“I grew up in Laconia and knew there was a huge opioid problem,” he said. “It needs to be fixed.”

He said a family member has had addiction issues.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” O’Hara said. “The problem needs to be more open, less stigmatized.”

“There needs to be more rehabilitation centers in small, local areas,” he said. “People don’t want to leave their family to get help. There needs to be more local support to get more people off drugs.”

He also said he is an advocate for education.

“In general the reason I'm running is that I want to make Laconia and Belmont the best place to raise a family, a place where you don’t have to worry about drug issues and a lot of other school issues — anything that would deter people from leaving.”

He also said he is a believer in the “New Hampshire Advantage.”

“New Hampshire is the best place — no income tax, small government trying to stay out of our way. That’s what I agree with.”

The other candidate in the race, Brad Kirby, spoke Friday afternoon after descending from scaffolding on a building project he is involved with. He said the building business has been very busy.

He calls himself a “moderately conservative.”

Kirby said abortion, the Second Amendment and taxes and are all issues that motivate him.

“I am not happy with the way things are going in the statehouse and haven't been happy in a long time,” he said. “With the majority Democratic leadership in our House now, there's a lot of fiscal irresponsibility that needs to be corrected.”

Kirby said he would like to see every state agency cut its budget by 5 percent over the next 10 years.

“I would like to see the government lose the tax and spend mentality that the Democratic party clings to,” he said. “If it wasn't for Chris Sununu we would have had a sales tax and an income tax.”

He said business people like himself are “nickel and dimed” by state government fees and hit hard by taxes. Kirby also questions why boaters have to pay launch fees.

“We've already paid the state their money to maintain the Marine Patrol and launches,” he said. “Any New Hampshire resident who registers a boat should have free access to any lake and pond, unless its private land.”

Kirby, the father of seven, said he feels strongly about abortion, favoring a ban on the procedure once the fetus has a heartbeat.

He said taxpayers should not have to support the cost of abortions.

“Why should we as taxpayers be held responsible?” he said. “People make mistakes. But it’s not my mistake so it shouldn’t be a taxpayer responsibility.”

Kirby said he’s a strong advocate for the Second Amendment.

“We need to protect the constitutional rights of citizens,” he said. “It’s not about owning a hunting rifle, it's about tyranny. When the government takes away guns through confiscation, the citizens are victims to criminals and government abuse.”