By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Karen Liot Hill has ample experience in the New Hampshire government, and now the Democrat is setting her sights on the District 2 Executive Council seat currently being held by gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington.
Hill is a 20-year city councilor in Lebanon and the former mayor, while also being having eight years as the Grafton County Treasurer under her belt.
On the campaign trail, Hill has been sharing the story of her mother, Lynne, who died when she was six years old. Her mother was only 33, and died of cervical cancer, which Hill noted is typically discovered in routine reproductive health care.
“It’s that kind of reproductive health care that the Republican majority on the executive council has been voting to defund repeatedly,” she said. “When my father was left with three kids under the age of seven; I had a younger sister and younger brother; he was able to keep our family and small business afloat thanks to the help of social security.”
Hill pointed out that there are survivor benefits for anyone under the age of 18 when a parent dies, and that helped the family get through a tough time. Later, she was in college and facing an unplanned pregnancy. Her daughter, Marina, was born 10 weeks early. Hill was able to go back to college and finish her studies at Dartmouth thanks to Medicaid that covered her daughter’s stay in the NICU.
Hill said this is why she is excited to not only bring her knowledge of government and skills to the table, but also knows from experience that her input and votes can have on the lives of Granite Staters.
“I know firsthand the power of government to improve peoples’ lives,” Hill said. “That is why I’ve dedicated my career to public service, and that’s why I’m really passionate about government.”
Hill currently lives in downtown Lebanon and has two children but is about to be an empty nester. Her daughter, Marina, is 25 and living in New York, while her daughter, Zoey, is heading off to the University of New Hampshire this fall.
Hill was in Claremont last week to do a walking tour of the city with local officials like Mayor Dale Girard, Rep. Hope Damon and Councilor Wayne Hemingway. She is no stranger to the city, saying it is somewhere she has visited for years to see friends. There are 77 towns and Claremont is one of four cities in her district, and Hill said it is important for her to have knowledge of specifically what constituents need.
“Most of the work that executive councilors do is really non-partisan,” she said. “There are some things like family planning contracts, and those are very important to me. But most of the work is constituent services, and also advocating for projects in the state’s 10-year highway plan. In order to do that effectively, you have to know what is on the ground and what is happening in the community. I’ve got 35,000 miles on my car in the last 10 months, and I’ll get more, but I think that’s a big part of the job: being on the ground and learning about what issues are affecting communities.”
Hill said this kind of feedback helps her make improvements.
Her top three issues are housing, child care costs and judicial appointments. She said housing has gone from a problem to a crisis in Lebanon. It is an important issue she wants to tackle at the state level, as she has seen it from a local vantage point already as a city councilor.
“We can make progress at the state level and I’m excited to be part of that,” she said.
Another important issue involves judicial appointments, Hill explained. She said overturning of Roe vs. Wade two years ago at the federal level showed this importance, and Hill said this goes right down to the state level, as well.
Climate change is high on her list, saying she has been working hard on this at the city level. Lebanon is a founding member of the Community Power Coalition, and she feels a lot more can be done at the state level.
“We can do things that are good for the planet, good for the people, and good for the pocketbooks,” Hill said. “I believe in the power of government to improve peoples’ live.”
Hill can be reached on her website at karenliothill.com, and through Facebook and Twitter (X).
