Rev. Stacie-Marie Laughton, Nashua State Representative Candidate

Rev. Stacie-Marie Laughton

Age (as of Election Day)

38

Position sought (including district number if applicable)

State Representative Hills County District 3

Party Affiliation

Libertarian Democrat

Family

Barry & Nancy Laughton Sr Mother & Father Derry NH, Nathan Laughton Brother, Derry NH, They no longer live I. Nashua but lived in Nashua for over 20 years. My brother was born in Nashua as was I.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My Father in U.S. Army retired

Education

Nashua high school class of 2002, Atlantic culinary academy, CERT Trained by the city of Nashua.

Occupation

Online Radio Station owner / General Manager of Operations/content. Selectmen City of Nashua city Clerks office ward 4 Nashua.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I was elected in 2011 as a Selectman ward 4 & elected State Rep in 2012, However in could not serve my term as a State Representative. Was elected Selectmen again via write in vote in both 2019 & in 2021. Ran again for State Representative in 2020 got elected and now running for re-election.

Campaign website

N/A

Why are you seeking elective office?

To continue to work hard for my constituents. To continue to try to make a difference in my community in the areas of homelessness, social services, mental health reform, drug den alcohol criminal justice reform along with adjusting how we treat felons in the state to allow them to get better job opportunities and housing opportunities, has to allow them a chance at a better life and to become fully contributing members of society. This is my passion to serve the people in my community and across the state and I am a tireless advocate for the people that I serve.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing issue facing our district is A major lack in housing and our homeless population and I intend to work hard to make some changes in current law to make it easier for folks to obtain housing even with a less than perfect background and to change laws as it pertains to felons in the workplace. We my stomp housing discrimination for those with less than perfect credit or less that are perfect background. We need to start thinking as one people and we are all equal and we are all this community together. There’s so much more to say but I encourage those to reach out to me and ask me for more details.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Well does 3 three Democrats running in my district and as far as I know there was no Republican challenge. The differences between myself and my fellow Democrats running is I am the youngest out of the pack I am the only Democrat running in my district that is LGBT and the first openly transgender female to ever be elected to a state office in the entire country. My background is much different from those of my fellow Democrats as far as I know I’m the only Democrat running in this district who has experienced homelessness on two separate occasions in my past. I’m the only Democrat in my district that has a less than perfect past that is had to work hard to turn all of that around and leave a successful life working hard for my constituents and my fellow members of my community. However the other Democrats running in my district are very find candidates and they bring lots of great talents to the table. They both bring previous legislative experience to the table and I bring that as well.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Being an advocate for my community has been a very long journey. I have been a member of both major political parties and find myself as a Democrat today and have been so for at least the last 15 years. However I have a very independent right now platform of the traditional democratic party platform. I believe in being fiscally conservative while cutting wasteful spending and using that freed up money to spend on our social safety net programs and reinvesting in our communities. My campaign is based on my life experiences and similar life experiences from my constituency. I am an open and honest community servant and anything about my past is always open for discussion and critiquing. I am always willing to answer any question about myself and any issue that I have knowledge on however if I don’t have anything to offer on a certain question I will find an answer and I will get back to the individual. I love my community and I love my constituents as most of them are good personal friends and people I’ve known most of my entire life and it’s a pleasure and honor to be one of their representatives.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have been a long time community volunteer in the city of Nashua and across the state . I have volunteered for organization such as the Salvation Army, The Nashua soup kitchen in shelter, H.E.A.R.T.S Peer support Center or Greater Nashua as a member, volunteer, former members representative, and former vice president of their board of directors. I have volunteered for gate city community Garden as one of the first volunteers to build their community garden site that has been tremendously expanded since. Most people know that I have a long political history in the city of Nashua and I have a long history with mental illness and making certain mistakes in my past. I have been very successful in strengthening my mind and learning as much as I can about the daily effects of my mental illness and I would say I have come along way in that journey. I am an effective communicator and a great negotiator. I have been known to work with all people no matter what their political background or racial background is as I believe we all have something to offer.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

I would say the best advice I’ve ever been given by many different people is to never give up on myself and always try, as you never know what the outcome is going to be.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I’m very passionate about the work that I do and I will never stop fighting for what is right. I will never stop trying to be the best person I can be so I could be the best public servant that my community needs. If the community has not heard it yet I deeply regret the things of my past however I asked the constituency in the voters to look past that as they always have and to know that I am the best person for this position in this district in the state. Over the last two years I have been a freshman and state representative, Learning a lot about how things are done and what’s the best things to file for legislation that would help better our community. This is not about me any longer it’s about the community and the people of the state. My longtime motto is we will do all of these things while leaving no one behind. So please join me and I ask for your vote in the September primary and in the November general election in Ward 4 Hills County District 3.