NH election 2022: Tim Horrigan announces candidacy for Durham state representative

My name is Timothy Horrigan, and I am running for the new Strafford County New Hampshire House District 10, which consists of the Town of Durham.

If I am re-elected, I will be serving my eighth term in the New Hampshire House. I have represented Durham and Madbury for five terms since 2012, preceded by two terms representing Durham, Lee and Madbury.

My personal connection to the New Hampshire House goes back all the way to 1966, when I was 9 years old and my family moved to Durham. Our next door neighbor, Leon Crouch happened to be a state rep, and a decade later my father Dr. James Horrigan succeeded him. The town and the New Hampshire have changed a lot since then, but only superficially. The fundamental issues and challenges are still the same.

In 2008, I was swept into office along with my fellow Columbia College alumnus Barack Obama.

During the years leading up to 2008, I had been working as a private citizen on a variety of issues, especially voting rights and ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those wars happily have ended, insofar as any wars ever end, but the battle for voting rights has only intensified. I fear that we are seeing an outright war on our democracy. On a slightly less dramatic note, my No. 1 priority over the years has been (and will continue to be) to serve as an advocate for the people of Durham, by supporting education at all levels, by preserving our natural environment, and by ensuring that all institutions are responsive to the needs of the people.

I have been on the NH House Judiciary Committee since 2012, and I currently serve alongside Durham's two other incumbents, Cam Kenney and Marjorie Smith. We deal with a wide range of critical issues: not just the judicial system itself, but also “right to know” and “open meetings” law, personal privacy, landlord-tenant relations, and reproductive rights— and more! I may be biased, but I believe Judiciary is the House's most important committee. It certainly is the most interesting.

The last three years have been difficult for our state legislature, just as they have been difficult for every other institution. Things had been strange at the State House even before the world abruptly changed in mid-March 2020, and then of course things got even stranger. I enjoyed meeting the challenges of those three years, and I look forward to meeting the challenges of the next two. I love my job so much I have virtually a 100% voting record. I say “virtually” because I missed three recorded votes one day in 2021 because I participated in a procedural maneuver which backfired when not enough members of the minority caucus walked out. But, my record for the past two years (and for my entire career) still rounds up from 99% to 100%.

I don't what know my future voting record might be, but I can tell you this: if re-elected, my level of commitment will continue to be 100%. I humbly ask every Durham voter to vote for me on Sept. 13 and Nov. 8, 2022.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: NH election 2022: Tim Horrigan announces candidacy for Durham state rep