Voters in the Democratic primary in Peterborough and Sharon have a choice to make Sept. 10. Three current and former state representatives are running in Hillsborough County District 33, where there are only two seats.

Incumbents Peter Leishman and Jonah Orion Wheeler hope to keep their spots in Concord, while former state Rep. Ivy Vann looks to regain her former seat. 

Undeclared voters are allowed to vote in the primary. People who wish to return to undeclared status after voting need to fill out a card or sign a list in order to do so.

Peter Leishman

Leishman, who has served for 12 terms, is on the House Finance Committee, where he has served for 16 years, as well as the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, which allocates federal funds across the state. He owns the Milford-Bennington Railroad and, before becoming a state representative, was involved in Milford’s local government as a Select Board and Planning Board member.

New Hampshire may need to tighten the purse strings next year, Leishman said. Federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, have run out, the state’s interest and dividends tax will end this year and some pending lawsuits could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We’re in for kind of a rough ride financially,” Leishman said.

Despite that, Leishman said he’s focused on doing more to support public education in the state. He’s against the Education Freedom Account program, which provides vouchers to subsidize families who choose to homeschool or send their children to private schools. Leishman said tax dollars should be saved for public schools, including charter schools.

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After learning that life is short when his sister died at a young age, Leishman said he strives to make a difference. He believes he has done so in the Legislature.

“I think constituent services is very important,” Leishman said. “My strength is being available [and] getting some good legislative bills passed that make a difference. I strive in trying to make people’s lives better.”

Ivy Vann

Vann served as a state representative from 2014 to 2022 before losing to Leishman and Wheeler in the 2022 primary. She said she is running again because Granite Staters have a need in her area of expertise -- housing. In a recent poll from the University of New Hampshire, 36% of respondents said housing is the top issue on their minds.

Vann, who used to serve on the Peterborough Planning Board, is now a town planning consultant and helps towns figure out how to make housing more affordable and available. She sponsored several ill-fated bills in her last term that would’ve expanded on tenants’ rights, and she’s a proponent of reimagining zoning laws to allow more types of housing to be built. She supported legislation in the House that would’ve done so.

“I’d like to go back and continue that work,” Vann said.

Another important issue for Vann is education funding. She argues that the current model disproportionately affects some areas, and said the level of funding, and the quality of public schools, is inextricably tied to local property values and taxes.

“There’s no way that it can be fair,” Vann said. “Towns that are property-wealthy have a lot of money to spend on their students. Towns that are property-poor are taxing themselves punitively in order to do the bare minimum. It’s just not fair, it’s not right.”

Outside of those issues, Vann said she just wants to serve to help her community.

“We actually can make things better,” Vann said. “If you get elected to an office, it’s your job to spend your political capital, however much it is, however great or small it is, on doing things to make other people’s lives better. Why else would you do it?”

Jonah Wheeler

One of New Hampshire’s youngest legislators is seeking reelection. Jonah Orion Wheeler, 21, hopes to return to the State House to work on public education funding, 

Wheeler expects next year will be a “hard fight,” as some lawmakers will want to slash the budget, but he said his No. 1 focus is passing his public education funding bill, HB 1583. The bill, which was tabled for interim study, seeks to raise the state’s share of money spent per child. Wheeler said he and many of his colleagues are trying to find roughly $200 million in the state budget to inject into public schools without raising taxes.

He’s also passionate about creating a fair and just criminal justice system and wants to continue that work in the House next term. Wheeler served on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee this past year.

“We have to make sure that New Hampshire is working of, by and for the people of our state and not just the corporations or extraordinarily wealthy,” Wheeler said. “We need leaders who are working class, who know what it’s like firsthand to live paycheck to paycheck, and who know what the people of this state are going through to be able to bring that voice to the halls of power.”

That’s a perspective he hopes to provide. Wheeler was born in the Monadnock region and raised by a single mother, who he said worked hard to keep a roof over their heads. He got into politics when he found that organizing and community work lifted him out of the apathy he felt as a teenager.

Wheeler wants voters to know that “I don’t stop working.” He’s proud of getting 13 bills to the governor’s desk in his freshman term, and he emphasized that he’s available to talk to anyone who reaches out.

“You could disagree with 100% of my votes, but if you still need help, come reach out, and I will absolutely help you,” Wheeler said.

Candidates to debate in Peterborough Sept. 5

GoMonadnock and Peterborough Town Library will hold their fourth Peterborough Parley and Debate featuring Leishman, Vann and Wheeler Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. in the 1833 Room. 

The debate will include a round of moderated questions, time for candidates to question each other and live questions from the audience. Chris DiLoreto and Zoe Wroten-Heinzmann of GoMonadnock will moderate the debate.

The event is open to the public. There will not be a virtual offering, but the debate may be recorded and posted to GoMonadnock at a later date. For information, visit peterboroughtownlibrary.org/event/11703052.

Local candidates

The following are candidates, both opposed and unopposed in the Sept. 10 primary, who are running in this year’s election:

Governor

Republicans

Kelly Ayotte  

Chuck Morse 

Democrats

Joyce Craig 

Jon Kiper 

Cinde Warmington 

U.S. Congress, New Hampshire 2nd District

Democrats

Maggie Goodlander 

Colin Van Ostern 

Republicans

Bill Hamlen 

Vikram Mansharamani 

Lily Tang Williams 

Executive Council

District 2 (Dublin, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon)

Mary Rose Deak (R)

Kim Strathdee (R)

Mike Liberty (D)

Karen Liot Hill (D)

District 5 (Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Mason, Milford, New Ipswich, Rindge, Temple, Wilton)

Dave Wheeler (R – incumbent)

Shoshanna Kelly (D)

Melanie Levesque (D)

State Senator

District 8 (Antrim, Bennington, Francestown)

Ruth Ward (R – incumbent)

David Trumble (D)

District 9 (Greenfield, Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Sharon, Temple)

Denise Ricciardi (R – incumbent)

Matthew McLaughlin (D)

District 10 (Dublin, Hancock, Peterborough)

Donovan Fenton (D – incumbent)

Rick Merkt (R)

District 11 (Milford, Wilton)

Shannon E. Chandley (D – incumbent)

Tom McGough (R)

District 12 (Greenville, Mason, New Ipswich, Rindge)

Kevin A. Avard (R – incumbent)

Ben Ming (D)

State Representative

Cheshire 13 (Dublin, Jaffrey)

Richard “Dick” Ames (D – incumbent)

Donald R. Primrose (R)

Cheshire 14 (Rindge)

John B. Hunt (R – incumbent)

Deni Dickler (D)

Cheshire 18 (Dublin, Jaffrey, Rindge – two seats)

Jim Qualey (R – incumbent)

Rita Mattson (R)

Hannah Bissex (D)

Jed Brummer (D)

Tom Hsu (D)

Hillsborough 27 (Francestown)

Susan Kane (D)

Mary Murphy (R)

Hillsborough 30 (Antrim, Bennington, Hillsborough – three seats)

Riche Colcombe (R – incumbent)

Jim Creighton (R – incumbent)

Jim Fedolfi (R – incumbent)

William Bryk (D)

Marjorie Porter (D)

Michael H. Schamel (D)

Hillsborough 31 (Greenfield, Hancock)

Molly C. Howard (D – incumbent)

Jarvis Martin Adams IV (R)

Hillsborough 32 (New Ipswich, Temple, Wilton – three seats)

Diane Kelley (R – incumbent)

Jim Kofalt (R – incumbent)

Shane Sirois (R – incumbent)

Jennifer Bernet (D)

Kermit Williams (D)

Hillsborough 33 (Peterborough, Sharon – two seats)

Peter Leishman (D – incumbent)

Jonah Orion Wheeler (D – incumbent)

Ivy Vann (D)

Kimberly Thomas (R)

Hillsborough 36 (Greenville, Mason – two seats)

Diane Pauer (R – incumbent)

John W. Suiter (R)

Peter A. Cook (D)

Carol Schreck (D)

Hillsborough 37 (Milford)

Megan A. Murray (D – incumbent)

Pamela D. Coughlin (R)

Hillsborough 42 (Lyndeborough – three seats)

Keith Ammon (R – incumbent)

Gerald Griffin (R – incumbent)

Lisa C.M. Post (R – incumbent)

Sarah E. Chadzynski (D)

Brian Paquette (D)

Andrew Stokinger (D)

Hillsborough 45 (Greenville, Mason)

Karen Calabro (D – incumbent)

Jack Flanagan (R)

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.