NH election 2022: Marjorie Smith announces run for Durham state rep seat

At the Sept. 13 primary, if you vote in Durham and are a Democrat or undeclared and choose to take a Democratic ballot, you will be asked to vote for four of the five candidates running to represent Durham from Strafford District 10 in the NH House. Since 1996, with one exception when I took a sabbatical, you have honored me by electing me. Once again, I ask you to vote for me to be your voice in Concord.

Of the five candidates, I have served with two. Tim Horrigan and Cam Kenney have been on the Judiciary committee with me, and we have worked well together.  We are joined in the primary by Peyton McManus and Loren Selig. Your job is to choose four of us.  My job today is to ask that you cast one of those votes for me. Ballot placement has me last, so please look for my name.

Many years ago, I began a similar letter by writing: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”  Today I could write: “The more things change, the more they stay the same."

But there have been significant changes.  In recent years the legislature has been invaded by a group that does not believe in government. With the cooperation of the governor, they have passed legislation that redirects public education funds to non-public alternatives that operate without standards or accountability.  They have weakened or eliminated any reasonable efforts to promote gun safety. They have challenged New Hampshire’s long established respect for personal privacy and reproductive rights. They do not recognize the climate crisis, nor do they believe that the government has a role in protecting the environment.

Nonetheless, we have persevered. Three times I sponsored legislation to create an independent redistricting committee. Twice the bill got to the governor’s desk where he vetoed it. The third time the bill died in the Senate. The gerrymandered districts that the Republican majority created in many areas are nothing short of bizarre.  For the previous 10 years we were in Executive Council District 2 that ran from the Connecticut River to the Atlantic.  Now we are in District 1 that runs from Coos, south through Strafford County, all in an attempt to limit a Democratic presence.

I was the lead and/or co-sponsor of several bills to protect access to abortion. There were ups and downs, but as of today we were able to block the most egregious changes that were proposed. One of my bills that did survive stopped the legislature from making decisions that should be made by the patient and the doctor. As ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, working with my colleagues, we were able to protect principles of transparency in government and address difficult landlord-tenant issues.

Here’s some information about my background. I have chaired the House Finance and Fiscal Committees as well as the House Judiciary Committee, and served on the Public Higher Education Advisory Committee and the board of trustees of the University System of New Hampshire. I chair public policy for the NH House Democratic caucus.

I was the first chair of the board of the New Hampshire Women’s Policy Institute (NHWPI). Before my election I was the national executive director of WAND (Women’s Action for New Directions), an organization committed to reordering federal priorities and to increasing women’s involvement in elective office.

I worked in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and chaired the Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. I worked on the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission, and was assistant to the first chair of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. I chaired the board of the Maryland Committee for Children, and subsequently served on the staff, advocating for availability of and standards for quality child care.

I was the first chair of the Durham Public Library, planning the transition from UNH, and served on several Durham Master Plan committees. I am the treasurer of the Durham Historic Association.

I earned the degree of master of public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

We do not know which party will be in the majority. It will take knowledge, experience, leadership, and relationships on both sides of the aisle to provide Durham with the strongest possible representation.  I believe I possess those qualities and ask, once again, that you send me back to Concord.

Incumbent Democrat Marjorie Smith of Durham is seeking a 13th term in the NH House of Representatives.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH election 2022: Marjorie Smith announces run for Durham state rep