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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.

The first woman in history to be elected a Governor and a United States Senator, Jeanne Shaheen has been involved in all levels of New Hampshire life. Shaheen was elected Governor of New Hampshire in 1996, serving three terms from. In 2008 Shaheen became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from New Hampshire.

Although neither of Senator Shaheen's parents graduated from college, her father worked his way up to a management position in the shoe manufacturing business and her mother worked as a secretary in their local church. They instilled in their daughter the values of determination and hard work that have guided her throughout her life. After attending public schools, Senator Shaheen received a bachelor's degree from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and a master's degree from the University of Mississippi.

A champion of middle class families, as Governor, Shaheen worked to make college more affordable, made public kindergarten a reality for over 25,000 additional children, and extended affordable health coverage to tens of thousands of New Hampshire children. Her focus on the economy led to the creation of nearly 67,000 new jobs during her six years as Governor and the third-highest high tech employment in the nation. Recognizing that for New Hampshire's middle class to prosper we must be able to compete in an increasingly global economy, she was the first New Hampshire Governor to lead a trade mission outside of North America. A former small business owner, Jeanne Shaheen understands that small businesses are the backbone of the New Hampshire economy.

Never afraid to stand up to powerful interests, Jeanne Shaheen took on the utilities and led the fight to bring competition to the New Hampshire electric industry. She stood up to the insurance industry, first as a State Senator, when she championed legislation to prevent premium discrimination against small businesses that employ sick or older workers, and then as Governor, when she pushed through her HMO Accountability Act.

A consensus builder, Shaheen brought Republicans and Democrats in the New Hampshire legislature together to pass the Clean Power Act, first-in-the-nation legislation reducing power plant emissions, and the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, which has helped preserve 250,000 acres of open space and 88 historic places. Energy efficiency programs initiated by the Shaheen administration have saved New Hampshire families and businesses over $400 million.

Senator Shaheen is committed to fiscal responsibility. As Governor, Shaheen proposed balanced budgets and insisted on fiscal discipline, enabling the state to nearly triple its Rainy Day Fund. New Hampshire maintained the lowest state tax burden in the country the entire six years Shaheen was Governor.

Shaheen also signed historic civil rights laws, including legislation making New Hampshire only the 10th state to add sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination laws and establishing a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ending New Hampshire's status as the only state in the nation not to recognize Dr. King's birthday as an official holiday.

In 2005 she took on the challenge of forging a new generation of public leaders when she became the Director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.

She and her husband, Bill, live in Madbury, New Hampshire, and have three daughters, Stefany, Stacey and Molly, and six grandchildren.

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter

Carol Shea-Porter is the first woman elected to federal 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, and is currently serving her second term. 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 sixth term representing District 20 (Wards 3, 4, 10, 11 and Goffstown).

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.

Senator Betsi DeVries is in her second term serving the residents of District 18 (Wards 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and Litchfield).

Betsi is a dedicated leader with a genuine commitment to her community and a strong record of public service. Her 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.

BOARD OF ALDERMEN
Chair Mike Lopez
Dan O’Neil
Mark Roy
Peter Sullivan
Jim Roy
Ed Osborne
Bill Shea
Betsi DeVries
George Smith
Russ Ouellette

DEMOCRATIC ELECTED OFFICIALS