House candidates go it alone

Casey Farrar
Sentinel Staff

Five Monadnock Region candidates for N.H. House won’t appear on the Democratic or Republican primary ballots in September.

In an election year deeply divided by partisan politics, these candidates have decided to go it on their own.

Dana A. Glow of New Ipswich, Ruth Michelson of Fitzwilliam, Reece J. Roberts of Peterborough and Lois M. Corcoran of Charlestown all filed letters of intent to run unaffiliated with any party for seats in their district.

Thomas R. Simmons of Fitzwilliam also filed a letter of intent, but has since decided to run as a write-in candidate on the empty Republican ticket for Cheshire District 5, which covers Fitzwilliam and Richmond, he said.

They represent less than 8 percent of the 65 Monadnock Region candidates for House, but a higher number than in the last two elections. In 2004, two local candidates filed as undeclared and in 2006, there were none, according to records from the N.H. Secretary of State’s office.

Beniks: Package deal?

Three members of a Keene family seek office

Jessica Arriens
Sentinel Staff

From the dinner table to the Statehouse.

Or at least, that’s the plan.

The Benik family of Keene has always been politically engaged, though never through holding political office. Dinner-table debates between brothers, sometimes heated, could last for hours, while other family members chose to volunteer on campaigns.

It’s a form of experience that has paid off: Three of the Beniks are now running for state representative in Cheshire District 3, a seven-seat district that covers Keene.

Sununu touts alternative energy

Says wood pellets should be treated like solar, wind

David P. Greisman
Sentinel Staff

JAFFREY — With Americans facing the combined consequences of rising gas prices and a struggling economy, U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu says the national government should help its citizens transition to renewable sources of energy.

Sununu, R-N.H., traveled Friday to the New England Wood Pellet manufacturing plant in Jaffrey. After touring the facility — the region’s largest manufacturer of the fuel — the first-term senator discussed his energy policy.

Vermont Yankee issues probed

Jessica Arriens
Sentinel Staff

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to work harder to keep New Hampshire officials in the loop about the safety and status of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, two Granite State legislators said Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Paul W. Hodes, D-N.H., and state Sen. Molly M. Kelly, D-Keene, were briefed by NRC officials in Washington, D.C., Thursday, in the wake of last Friday’s cooling tower leak at the power plant in Vernon, Vt.

Both lawmakers said the meeting was informative, though they still have questions about the plant. The briefing marked the first time New Hampshire legislators have taken action on Vermont Yankee by meeting with NRC officials about the plant.

Straight ticket may be gone, but it’s not forgotten

David P. Greisman
Sentinel Staff

From the candidates gunning for the Oval Office to the options for voting, this November’s ballots in the Granite State will break from tradition.

The 2008 presidential election, featuring presumptive nominees Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will be the first in 56 years not involving a sitting member of the previous administration.

And after several decades, straight-ticket voting is gone, ending an option that let people pick all of the candidates from a single political party by checking just one box on the ballot.

State legislators chose to do away with straight-ticket voting last year. And while political experts say the practice had diminishing influence in recent elections, members of the state Democratic and Republican parties believe the change could prove beneficial.