Mayor Lozeau to Star in Republican Women's Summit

Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau is the keynote speaker for a Republican Women's Summit being organized, in part, by outgoing Republican National Committeewoman Phyllis Woods.

The event is scheduled for May 12 at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

It is designed for any woman thinking of running for public office, and for anyone seeking more information about resources available for becoming a candidate or becoming more active in the Republican Party, according to the event's description on the Republican State Committee's website.

It is set to run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a lunch followed by the keynote address. It is free and open to all Republican women, though pre-registration and RSVP is required, according to the GOP.

The summit was in the works before the "war on women" barbs being traded on the presidential campaign trail. And it's part of the state GOP's outreach to women – voters and would-be candidates – that has seen greater attention to local groups, such as the Seacoast Republican Women.

Lozeau, who was elected Nashua Mayor in November 2007, has a long resume. She was first elected as a state representative in 1984. Among other accomplishments, she is a former Deputy Speaker of the House, serving alongside another well-known Republican woman, former Speaker Donna Sytek of Salem.

Other high-profile Republican women leaders in New Hampshire include: U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, another Nashua native, in-coming Republican National Committeewoman Juliana Bergeron, Deputy House Speaker Pamela Tucker of Greenland, and state Rep. Laurie Sanborn, the founder of the New Hampshire House Business Coalition.