Two Republicans are competing to face incumbent Karen Liot Hill in the race for the 2nd District Executive Council seat — the only one of the five seats in Democratic hands.
Both GOP hopefuls, Kim Strathdee and Tobin Menard, have run unsuccessfully for office several times previously.
Liot Hill, who lives in Lebanon, is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
The Executive Council decides whether to approve state contracts and has oversight of the state budget. It also decides whether to confirm most appointments by the governor, including judges.
Both Strathdee and Menard emphasize that more funding is needed for roads, bridges and similar infrastructure in the less-populated western region of the state. District 2 stretches from Concord to the Connecticut River and from the Massachusetts border north to Littleton.
Strathdee, who lives in Plymouth, has run for the office four times. She has emphasized the need to increase housing through methods such as using abandoned buildings and state-owned land. In past races, she has cited her education in hospitality management and accounting, and her family experiences, as reflective of her ability to do the job well.
In 2024, Strathdee lost to Liot Hill, 57% to 43%, in her fourth run for the office.
Tobin Menard, who lives in Newport, says he wants “to bring small-town values right up to the governor.”
“The Executive Council has a lot of influence on the state and direction it goes,” he said, such as appointing judges.
“I want to make sure that people are being appointed based on their merits, not based on how they feel about specific subjects,” and would note base decisions on personal feelings. As an example, he named immigration targeting sanctuary communities. “The law says if you came in illegally, you get deported; a lot of people are holding people back.”
Menard has twice lost races for state representative in Sullivan County as a Republican. He ran as the Libertarian candidate in 2018 for the District 1 Executive Council seat at a time when he said the party “had not lost their minds completely,” and calls himself a conservative with libertarian leanings.
Menard says his work in customer service for Home Depot and transporting patients for hospitals gives him “a different perspective” on the need to respond to people’s concerns.
