Concord 2012 Election Guide

As the voters face another election in November, Concord NH Patch is committed to bringing you up-to-date information about the candidates running in the Granite State and Concord.

This election cycle, Concord NH Patch will be looking at five key races and hot button issues:

The battle for the presidency: The two major party candidates – President and former Mass. Gov. – know how important New Hampshire’s are in this election. That’s why their campaigns are spending so much time and money here.

The 2012 presidential election is a toss-up which is why what happens in New Hampshire is so important to both campaigns.

The Obama campaign has had a number of local offices in the state, organizing get-out-the-vote drives and other events for months; Romney had a solid win in the first-in-the-nation primary and hopes to build on the momentum.

Also lurking in the shadows are Libertarian candidate who will be on the ballot here, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who faced off against Romney in 2002’s gubernatorial contest, and of Virginia. Johnson, libertarians say, will most definitely be on the ballot in New Hampshire, since they have been gathering signatures for months. It is unknown whether Stein’s team can gain ballot access in time.

Whoever becomes the next president, they will have a full plate of things to deal with, from the state of the stagnant economy, to trade policy, fixing the deficit and debt, and rebuilding trust with the American people at a time when the nation is completely polarized.

The corner office: Everyone knows that the next governor of the state of New Hampshire will have a tough job.

Last September, Gov. , D-Hopkinton, decided it was time to move onto other things after an unprecedented four terms in office and is leaving as one of the state’s most popular political figures.

The big-shoes-to-fill issue hasn’t stopped eight individuals from filing to run for the corner office. The Democrats have three candidates: “Granite Tough” former state Sen. , “The Pledge” candidate former state Sen. , and veteran and political newcomer .

Republicans also have three candidates: , who has unsuccessfully run for statewide office twice before, former Cornerstone Action director , and of Manchester.

Whoever wins the primaries will face off against Libertarian and Peter Cordatos of Bennington.

Also statewide, voters in New Hampshire will have a number of constitutional provisions to consider, including a proposal to call for a constitutional convention, which would allow changes to the state constitution, and possibly an , an , and a line-item veto authority amendment for the governor.

Will it be a rematch in the Second Congressional district?: Democrat is gunning for a rematch with U.S. Rep. , R-NH-2. In 2010, a landslide year for Republicans, Bass won. But it was a squeaker – about 3,000 votes, or three-quarters of a single Concord ward.

Bass would like one more term. However, he has to fend off challenges from Concord Republican Gerard Beloin, Will Dean of Amherst, Miroslaw Dziedzic of Windham, and of Lee, in the September primary. Lamare has already been criticized for being a “carpetbagger,” since he doesn’t live in the district. Constitutionally though, the only requirements for running for Congress are to be at least 25-years-old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and be a resident and voter of the state.

The winner of the Republican primary and Kuster will face off against Danny Keating of Nashua and Libertarian Hardy Macia of Canterbury.

Redistricting changes everything: The approved earlier this year have turned the electoral landscape of Concord upside down.

In the past, for example, state representatives were elected either in districts with a combination of wards or wards with floterial (at-large) districts. This year, the city is a hodge-podge of varying districts.

On the east side (Wards 8, 9, and 10), there are . In , there are ward district seats and two floterial seats. Ward 5 has been shoved into a district with Hopkinton. The Ward 5/Hopkinton district will have three seats.

Redistricting will usher in some new faces at the Statehouse for Concord. Both State Reps. Frances Potter and Robert Williams are not running again. Incumbents state Reps. Helen Deloge and are facing off in a primary. And State Rep. , the city’s only Republican, has been recalled to military service at the Pentagon and will not run again.

The also changed this year. District 15, which included Concord and Hopkinton, lost Pembroke and gained Henniker and Warner.

The seat has also been , into a gerrymandered semicircle from the coast of Maine to the border with Vermont.

Changes at the Concord School District: 2012 will be the last year that all of Concord’s School Board members are elected at-large. Starting in November 2013, board members will transition to a combination of district and at-large representation.

Incumbents this year are President , Chris Casko, and . Another open slot will be available to fill out the remainder of seat.

November 2012 will also be the first time that Concord is required to elect a treasurer to oversee the district’s books and a clerk. Both positions are currently held by appointed employees and have been for some time. However, when the district was released from Legislative oversight, it lost all of its special set aside provisions. A bill to continue the appointed positions provision was rejected on May 15.