It’s the highly contested race that almost no one knows about.
While the presidential and gubernatorial campaigns are currently at the forefront, voters will find on their ballots Sept. 13 numerous primary races for the other executive body in New Hampshire: the Executive Council.
To any Granite Staters scratching their heads, don’t worry – it’s the only council of its kind still existing in the United States. It stems from the Colonial era, when there was a profound distrust of any executive officer in the 13 colonies.
That distrust, apparently, still exists here. In that historical spirit, the five-member body still opens each session with a prayer. After their nod to the past, executive councilors then set to helping New Hampshire’s governor determine the future of the state.
Formally speaking, this means councilors watch over state budget spending, vote to approve all contracts worth $25,000 or more and decide whether to support the governor’s nominations – from high-profile picks like judges and commissioners right down to notary publics and justices of the peace. Executive councilors are tasked, too, with overseeing the state’s 10-year Highway Plan.
The body has unusual power to make both nominal decisions about small gifts – such as $100 worth of books to a local youth detention center – and to influence national discourse with its decision to approve contracts with certain providers, such as Planned Parenthood.
With a constituency of roughly 263,000 residents per councilor, each member has a not-insignificant responsibility to reach his or her voters. This sometimes means driving thousands of miles during one term in office to find, listen to and properly represent their interests.
To that end, the Executive Council also conducts all business in meetings open to press, voters and in rare cases, parrot-dressed political activists.
Last week the Republican Party sent someone in a red-furry jumpsuit to hold up a sign reading “Maggie Hassan = Hillary’s Parrot.”
Though the Executive Council is nonpartisan in its duty to ensure the executive branch of New Hampshire’s government is “fiscally conservative” and “above reproach,” party control is up for grabs every two years.
This year, the Republican-controlled body loses Councilor Colin Van Ostern, in District 2, and Councilor Chris Sununu, in District 3, who are not seeking re-election as they both run for governor.
Eight candidates are fighting for those seats, including a three-way Democratic primary in District 2. In District 1, Republican Councilor Joseph Kenney faces a primary challenge, and in District 4, two Republican candidates are battling to face Democratic Councilor Chris Pappas in the general election.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)