ELECTED OFFICIALS

Governor John Lynch

Inaugurated as New Hampshire's 80th Governor in January 2005, John Lynch is bringing a renewed spirit of bipartisan cooperation to the State House and working to make progress on the issues important to New Hampshire families improving education, reducing health care costs, protecting the environment, and creating good jobs.

As Governor, John Lynch has kept his promise to bring Democrats, Republicans and Independents together to address New Hampshire's major challenges.

Lynch is a strong fiscal manager for New Hampshire. He has made sure that New Hampshire has had a balanced budget each year he's been governor. He has held the line against new taxes and increased the state's Rainy Day reserve fund to record levels. And when the national economic downturn hit New Hampshire, Gov. Lynch took prompt action to trim spending while preserving essential services.

At the same time, New Hampshire has made important investments in expanding access to health care, job creation and economic development, and in education at all levels.

In his second term, Gov. Lynch worked with Democrats, Republicans and Independents to help parents better protect their children from Internet predators; pass a new plan to help small businesses better afford health insurance for their workers; to join a regional effort to fight global warming; to help more young people graduate from high school; and to build New Hampshire's economy. Under Gov. Lynch, New Hampshire created a research-and-development tax credit to encourage businesses to innovate; a new tax credit focused on bringing jobs to the struggling North Country; and a job training fund to help workers and businesses compete globally. And Gov. Lynch is working to put New Hampshire at the forefront of new energy industries and jobs with the Renewable Energy Act.

This builds on the accomplishments of Gov. Lynch's first term, which included putting in place one of the nation's toughest laws to protect children from sexual predators; new laws to reduce mercury emissions and protect groundwater; and comprehensive ethics reform, including creating the first ethics commission for the executive branch.

Gov. Lynch's commitment to putting the interests of people first is an extension of his work as a business and community leader.

As the President and CEO of Knoll, Inc., a national furniture manufacturer, he transformed a company losing $50 million a year into one making a profit of nearly $240 million. Under his leadership, Knoll created new jobs, gave factory workers annual bonuses, established a scholarship program for the children of employees, created retirement plans for employees who didn't have any, and gave workers stock in the company.

Gov. Lynch has also served as chair of the University System Board of Trustees, where he worked to keep tuition increases to a minimum; as Director of Admissions at the Harvard Business School, where he made ethics one of the criteria for admissions; and as president of the Lynch Group, a business-consulting firm in Manchester.
Long a community leader, John Lynch has served on the board of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, on the board of the Capitol Center for the Arts, is the past president of the UNH alumni association, and a longtime coach of youth soccer, hockey, softball and baseball.

Gov. Lynch was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on November 25, 1952, the fifth of William and Margaret Lynch's six children and attended the local public schools. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father ran a local Boys' Club.

Working his way through college, John Lynch earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1974. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

He and his wife, Dr. Susan Lynch, a pediatrician who specializes in fighting childhood obesity, live in Hopkinton, and have three children, Jacqueline, Julia and Hayden.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter

Carol Shea-Porter is the first woman elected to national office in the history of the state of New Hampshire. Carol's large family has deep roots in New Hampshire, going back many generations, and she now resides in Rochester. Carol graduated from public high school in Durham, New Hampshire and then worked her way through the University of New Hampshire, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Social Services and later a Master of Arts in Public Administration.

Carol married Gene Porter, an Army officer stationed at an Army medical center in Colorado during the Vietnam era. After her husband left the service, they moved to New Orleans and then to the Washington, DC area where she continued her career as a social worker and teacher. She founded and directed a program to provide services to senior citizens, taught political science at a community college, and also taught politics and American history to retired federal employees.

After returning to New Hampshire with her husband and their son and daughter, the Congresswoman became active in local politics serving as Chair of the Rochester City Democrats and Strafford County Coordinator for state representative races. During the 2004 Presidential primary, she volunteered and then worked for General Wesley Clark.

Carol decided to run for Congress after serving for over a month as a volunteer in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. She saw first-hand the inadequate response of the federal government to meet the needs of citizens after this tragedy and decided that the voice of hard working families needed to be heard in Washington. The voters of New Hampshire listened to her pledge to "represent the other 99% of us" and built a district-wide grass roots network that elected New Hampshire's first Congresswoman, astonishing state and national pundits.

Carol was sworn into office on January 4, 2007. She is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Education and Labor.

Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, who is serving his fifth term representing District 20, is the Vice President for Finance in the New Hampshire Senate.

The senator is chairman of the Finance Committee, vice chairman of the Capital Budget Committee, vice chairman of the Wildlife, Fish and Game Committee, vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and a member of the Rules and Enrolled Bills Committee.

D'Allesandro has been a familiar face in New Hampshire government for many years. He served the people of New Hampshire for three terms as an executive councilor and for two terms as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

In addition to his career in public service, the senator has enjoyed professional success in the field of education. He holds an honorary doctorate from Daniel Webster College as well as degrees from the University of New Hampshire and Rivier College. He won the Caroline Gross Fellowship to attend the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Governments at Harvard University and two other post-graduate programs there.

An active member of the local community, D'Allesandro has served in many civic capacities, including as a volunteer with the National Council on Alcoholism and as a member of the Manchester Board of School Committee. He is a member of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Inc., and is a director of the New Hampshire Hockey Hall of Fame. Additionally, he currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Manchester Community Health Center and is the former vice chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's board of directors.

Most recently, D'Allesandro served as chairman of the New England Board of Higher Education, a congressionally authorized interstate compact designed to encourage cooperation among New England-based colleges and universities. Established in 1955, the organization and its programs are principally focused on the relationship between New England higher education and regional economic development.

D'Allesandro lives in Manchester with his wife, Patricia. They have three children and eight grandchildren.

SenatorBetsi DeVries is a dedicated leader with a genuine commitment to her community and a strong record of public service. Betsi's experience includes a twelve year career on the Manchester Fire Department. After her retirement in 2001, Betsi decided to further her commitment to the city in which she lives by becoming an Alderman.
Betsi has served three terms on the Board of Aldermen where she has developed a reputation as a committed and responsive advocate for the neighborhoods she represents and the city at-large. 
In addition to her elected positions Betsi also serves on the board of directors of the Heritage United Way, and the Manchester YWCA. She is past president of the Manchester Area League of Women Voters, a member of the Crystal Lake Preservation Association and a member of the Pine Island Pond Environmental Society.
She lives in South Manchester with her husband Walter Becht, also a retired firefighter. She has two step children and one three year old grandchild.

STATE REPRESENTATIVES

Ward 1/District 8
Jeff Goley
Dan Sullivan

Ward 2/District 9
Dave Scannell
Sandra Smith

Ward 3/District 10
Jean Jeudy
Pat Long

Ward 4/District 11
Nick Levasseaur
Tony Simon
Mary Sysyn

Ward 5/District 12
Roger Hebert
Frank Sullivan
Hector Velez

Ward 6/District 13
Ben Baroody
Steve Johnson

Ward 7/District 14
Pat Garrity
Bob Haley
Mike Reuschel

Ward 8/District 15
Mike Farley
Maureen Nagle

Ward 9/District 16
Jesse Martineau
Maurice Pilotte
Barbara Shaw

Wards 10,11,12/District 17
Jane Beaulieu
Mike Brunelle
Armand Forest
George Katsiantonis
Joel Winters

ALDERMAN
Chair Mike Lopez
Dan O’Neil
Mark Roy
Peter Sullivan
Jim Roy
Ed Osborne
Bill Shea
Betsi DeVries
George Smith
Russ Ouellette
Kelleigh Domaingue

WELFARE COMMISSIONER
Paul R.R. Martineau

SCHOOL BOARD
Chair Katherine Labanaris
Debra Gagnon-Langton
Kathleen Kelley
Joyce Craig
Chris Herbert
Donna Soucy
Dave Gelinas
Steve Dolman
Jonathan Cote