Grafton County Commissioner Linda D. Lauer’s decision not to seek reelection this year has given two longtime public servants the chance to win the District 2 commission seat.
The candidates for the open seat on the Grafton County Commission have decades of experience in state and county government between them.
Democrat Martha Strope McLeod, of Franconia, was first elected to the state legislature in 2006 and re-elected in 2008. Haverhill Republican Glenn Libby, a self-described “county man,” has worked in county government around New Hampshire his whole life.
That level of experience has also fueled something of a wedge in the race: Libby’s wife, a longtime Grafton County employee, would be subject to his oversight.
“We’ve been doing this a long time, it hasn’t been a problem before,” Libby said.
But McLeod thinks the potential conflict of interest could be a problem.
“A conflict of interest, or even a perceived one, could undermine the public’s trust in the government,” she said.
Outside that point, though, there are few differences between the candidates, and each believes the challenges the county faces stem from a workforce shortage.
“Some of the biggest issues facing the county, just as they are with many employers in this area, are [hiring] qualified help,” said Libby. The candidates say the shortage is felt across many county services such as elder care and the jail.
“The workforce has not kept up with enrollment [in the elder care program], and more people are choosing to receive care in their homes rather than go to the state,” McLeod said.
There has been a shortage of nurses in the healthcare system, according to the New Hampshire Hospital Association. A report published in 2021 puts nurse vacancy rates around 18% for all nurses, says the report, which collected data from 11 of the 26 hospitals across the state. These high vacancy rates, in combination with low unemployment, have resulted in a significant increase in contract nurses across the state.
“People are expecting a level of service as they age that may not be available,” McLeod said.
Libby also thinks bail reforms and investment into drug courts have resulted in the county jail having fewer inmates and that has affected the county’s ability to use prison labor to “reduce the burden on towns.”
Both candidates believe the county plays a larger role in everyday life than most citizens realize, and they hope to change that.
Libby has served in county governments across the state for over 30 years, across Grafton, Belknap and Sullivan counties. He started as a corrections officer in Belknap County and worked his way up to sergeant. He then transferred to Sullivan County and served as assistant superintendent to the Department of Corrections and eventually became superintendent of the DOC for Grafton County.
“For some reason during the course of my history with county government I seem to be asked to do jobs outside of corrections,” he said.
When he was superintendent of the Grafton County jail, he said, he organized prisoner work crews to take care of small projects around towns.
“We did things like paint the fire station, clean up the town beaches, reclaimed cemeteries that [Bristol residents] didn’t even know they had,” he said.
In New Hampshire, county governments manage the elder care and jail systems and set property tax rates that fund services such as Medicaid. New Hampshire consistently has some of the highest property tax rates in the country.
“Our legislators hate raising taxes, so it ends up on the county,” McLeod said.
There are 20 towns in District 2: Bath, Benton, Bethlehem, Easton, Franconia, Haverhill, Landaff, Lincoln, Lisbon, Littleton, Livermore, Lyman, Lyme, Monroe, Orford, Piermont, Sugar Hill, Thornton, Waterville Valley, and Woodstock.
Lauer is a Democrat from Bath. The other two commissioners are chair Wendy Piper, D-Enfield, and Omar Ahern, R-Wentworth.
Ahern faces a challenge from Democrat Marcia Morris of Alexandria while Piper does not have a challenger.
