Redistricting Starting to Shake Up Concord State Rep Races

A contingent of most of the Concord Democratic delegation to the filed en masse on June 6 at the . However, the seats they are running for are being shifted around a bit.

Currently, there are 13 representatives focused on Concord in three districts made up of multiple wards. approved by the House changed the makeup into a myriad of different districts. Some representatives will be in wards, others will run for floterial seats, and some candidates will be running in both Hopkinton and Concord’s Ward 5.

The redistricting plan is currently in the courts, with many different interests suing based on their belief the plan is unconstitutional. .

But the lawsuits didn’t stop those people who want to represent Concord from filing.

At the end of business on June 6, 11 Democrats and one Republican filed to run to represent the city.

State Rep. , D-Concord, who currently serves Wards 1, 2, and 3, and is also an at-large city councilor, is running for the Ward 1 seat.

Democrat Paul Henle has filed to run in the Ward 2 seat.

State Rep. June Frazier, D-Concord, who currently serves Wards 1, 2, and 3, is running for the Ward 3 seat.

State Rep. , D-Concord, a former mayor and Republican, who currently serves Wards 4, 8, 9, and 10, is running for the Ward 4 seat.

State Rep. Mary Stuart Gile, D-Concord, who currently serves Wards 1, 2, and 3, is running for one of two floterial seats in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7.

State Rep. , D-Concord, has filed to run for one of the three Ward 5/Hopkinton seats. She currently serves Wards 5, 6, and 7.

Republican Debra Johnson has also filed to run in the Ward 5/Hopkinton seat.

Democrat Jane Hunt has filed to run in the Ward 6 seat.

State Rep. Helen Deloge, D-Concord, is running in the Ward 7 seat. She currently serves Wards 5, 6, and 7.

State Rep. , D-Concord, who currently serves Wards 4, 8, 9, and 10, is running for the Ward 8 seat, the same ward he serves in the Concord City Council.

State Rep. , D-Concord, who currently serves Wards 4, 8, 9, and 10, is running for the Ward 9 seat, the same ward she serves in the Concord City Council.

Democrat Christy Bartlett has also filed for the Ward 10 seat.

Chuck Gangel, the town clerk and tax collector of Hopkinton, reported that no candidates had filed there for the Hopkinton/Ward 5 seats. 

Current representatives Francis Potter, Robert Williams, Chip Rice, and , all Democrats, did not respond to emails about their plans. Lynne Bankenbeker, the only Republican representing Concord, has also not responded about her plans.

A conundrum exists for some of the other candidates who will be making decisions about their futures. Both Rice and Watrous, for example, live in Ward 7 with Deloge. In fact, they all live on the same street. If they want to stay in the Statehouse, they will either need to face off against her in a primary in Ward 7, or run for the extra floterial seat. Potter and Williams are in the same situation.

Concord NH Patch will be updating the list of candidates throughout the week. The filing period for state representative candidates ends at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15.