Up north, Ray Burton has several unofficial nicknames. Supporters call their executive councilor "the undisputed champion of the North Country" and "a schnauzer on the pant leg of bureaucracy."

For 27 years, Burton has kept voters in District 1 happy through his dedication to North Country residents and their interests. He pushes for projects he thinks will bring jobs to the economically depressed region and seeks out residents from his district to serve on volunteer boards and commissions.

Even when Burton, a Bath Republican, admitted last year that he knowingly hired a convicted sex offender as a campaign aide, his support in the North Country held strong. Despite pressure from Gov. John Lynch and New Hampshire's congressional delegation to resign, Burton stayed on and looks poised to win a 15th term on the Executive Council.

"There was a tidal wave of pressure on Ray that hit the mountains of the North Country, and the whole thing just went away," said Brien Ward, a Littleton attorney and member of Littleton's Economic Development Council. "He's just done so much for so many people, it wasn't enough to disqualify him."

Burton's supporters and critics agree that he's the best in the business for constituent services. He returns every call, no matter how small the problem. Whether a person is having trouble paying an electric bill or doesn't understand the permits needed to build a garage or is angry at a judge's ruling, people know they can call Burton and he'll try to help.

But that same tenacity that wins over voters in his district can feel like heavy hand when he exerts his influence on a project that others oppose.

"Usually when he wants to play hard inside the State House, he often gets what he wants there," said Tom Elliott, who opposes expansion of commercial development on Mount Sunapee, a project Burton supports.

Last spring, Burton backed Mike Nolin, the outgoing commissioner of Department of Environmental Services, in his decision to allow the Laconia Airport Authority in Gilford to fill 14 acres of wetlands labeled by the town as "prime" for special protection.

Airport officials wanted to make runway improvements and meet a deadline for a federal grant. Critics said the permit bypassed important laws that prohibit construction on prime wetlands. Rick Russman, president of the Granite State Conservation Voters Alliance, said the airport could have asked the Legislature to consider amending the laws in question.

Last fall, Burton supported a plan for the state to spend $2.16 million to buy nearly 7,500 acres near Berlin and set it aside for use by all-terrain vehicles. He urged his fellow executive councilors to approve the ATV park project, which he said would boost the North Country economy with tourism money.

But some councilors, including Debora Pignatelli, didn't want to vote on the issue before a public hearing was held.

"I had some questions about the process that was gone through to purchase this land," Pignatelli said. She wanted to be sure that people had their say on whether they wanted the park or thought it was the best use of the land.

"He just stuck to his guns and wanted this purchase and wanted it to be done," Pignatelli said. Burton, she said, insisted to the other councilors, "We need it up there and get over it and just do it."

The council held the hearings and approved the purchase.

Pignatelli, a Nashua Democrat running for her second term as executive councilor, said she hopes to emulate some of Burton's style: He's polite, but dogged.

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