Incumbent John Stephen, a Republican former assistant attorney general, faces Jim O’Connell, Democratic vice chair of the Manchester School Committee, in the Executive Council race that covers the eastern part of the Concord region. The pair previously ran against each other in 2024.
Both candidates raise concern about the highest-profile issue involving the council — replacing Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald after his resignation over payouts to a staffer —along with questions about what the other justices knew about the case. However, neither wants to change the long-standing system of judges being nominated by the governor and approved by the five-person Executive Council.
Stephen said his experience as an attorney told him that the problems roiling the state’s judiciary are a reflection of the secretive nature of the process, particularly once judges are on the bench.
“I do believe the system of accountability needs to be reviewed and looked at. I’d like to see changes, more public involvement, additional standard of review done,” he said. “I’m a big believer in public involvement and true transparency. I want to make sure that the court is acting in the best interest of the public at all times, that the [Judicial Conduct Committee] investigation is thorough and includes the public.”
O’Connell argues the problems reflect the Republican majority, which has dominated the state in recent years, too often makes appointments based on politics.
“It seems to be that appointing people because of their allegiance to one political party is particularly problematic. When you end up with a bench of judges whose primary qualification is they were former employees or contractors to one of the political parties of the state, that’s not a healthy way to go about it,” he said.
The Executive Council’s main jobs are approving all state contracts over $10,000, including the state’s 10-year Highway Plan, and approving people in certain positions after they are nominated by the governor, including state judges. Councilors serve all year round for two years. The salary is $18,699.
The border of District 4 runs from Londonderry up to Loudon and east to Lee.
A big-ticket item facing the council concerns fixing, expanding or replacing the state prison for men in Concord, which could cost up to three-quarters of a billion dollars.
“There is a definite need for upgrades and new structures, new facility, either a new prison or additions. The question is the price tag, location, the design, there’s just a lot of questions right now that we’re working closely right now, in a bipartisan way, with the commissioner of corrections,” said Stephen. “I don’t know the answer; I just know there weren’t enough alternatives looked at. At the beginning it was just a one-size-fits-all, and I think that’s what caused some concern early on.”
O’Connell said he doesn’t “have a nuanced view” of the issue, but he argues that it reflects a long-time failure in maintenance and planning that showed up in problems this fall on major highway bridges in Manchester and Nashua.
“We have done a poor job managing infrastructure, especially bridges, in recent times. There is not a plan to remediate those in the foreseeable future. It’s a terrible legacy,” he said.
Both candidates praised the legislature’s override of Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s veto of the 10-Year Highway Plan, which allows higher tolls on out-of-state vehicles to fund roads and bridges.
Stephen said he thinks the state Department of Transportation is doing a good job with the resources it gets: “How we allocate priorities, I leave to the recommendations of the Department of Transportation. They’re the experts.”
He did have one concern: Excess use of contractors, which he said raises costs.
“We’re not spending enough on growing our own workforce at the state level. … You’ve got to look at ROI [return on investment],” he said.
O’Connell said work on Exit 6 in Manchester and the highway interchange in Bow in the 10-Year Highway Plan are both badly needed.
He also emphasizes a topic that hasn’t gone anywhere in recent years, largely due to opposition from the Executive Council: a passenger rail. O’Connell argues that a railway line up from Massachusetts through Manchester and Concord could provide an alternative that would indirectly improve highway travel.
When it comes to doing the job, Stephen, 63, points to his experience as an attorney, as former commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, deputy commissioner of the Department of Safety, as well as assistant attorney general: “I know the ins and outs of state government.”
“Affordability is the key issue right now. We have to keep our hands on that at the council level,” he said.
O’Connell, 68, is a native of Ireland. He is a retired technology executive who says his experience in budgeting and overseeing hiring as part of the state’s biggest city is a strength.
“I am agitated by the Executive Council that has taken to regularly sending money back to the federal government that has been approved for spending … for ideological reasons. … I want to rid the Executive Council of its ideological stance and get down to results-driven pragmatic policies,” he said.
