Why run for N.H. Legislature? It's not for $100, fame or a license plate
Whether looking for local prestige or wanting to give back to their communities and state, you can be certain the $100 annual salary isn't what draws most to run for a seat in the New Hampshire Legislature.
With the fall election season drawing closer, incumbents and newcomers have begun campaign efforts to seek office in the state House or Senate, which both pay $200 per two-year term.
While the hours may be long and the pay among the lowest in the nation, the Legislature's 400 seats makes it one of the easiest bodies of its kind to get elected to.
There are 24 senators. Both representatives and senators serve for two-year terms.
Experts say the accessibility of New Hampshire's Legislature is a big draw for those looking to test the political waters, but with low pay and huge membership come drawbacks for those with grander political aspirations.
University of New Hampshire Associate Professor of Political Science Dante Scala says, unlike other states, those elected to the Legislature in the Granite State have an uphill battle being recognized, making it tough to parlay a House seat into a lobbyist position or a higher-ranking elected position, whether it be governor or a congressional seat.
"There are examples where people can move upward, but others try to convert State House seats and have failed," Scala said.
New Hampshire has the distinction of not only having one of the largest legislatures in the English-speaking world, but also a constitutional mandate that they be paid only $100 a year plus mileage for what can be long hours of service.
Legislators here are among the lowest paid in the country, with the meager salary producing a body whose makeup is far different from states like Massachusetts, whose lawmakers often are career politicians.
Scala said New Hampshire's citizen legislature often is made up of older residents who have the time and financial standing to serve.
"They really run because they can. Unlike in states with professional legislatures, the barriers to entry are very low in New Hampshire," Scala noted.
Experts say the low pay and many members also benefit those with political aspirations because potential candidates don't need to have established a name for themselves before running or have a huge war chest to mount a campaign.
"You just need to have time on your hands," Scala said.
Scala said serving in the Legislature is often viewed as something akin to community service.
"In another state someone might be volunteering for a private institution, but here you can volunteer in a public capacity," Scala said.
The time commitment that goes along with being a legislator can be substantial depending on what and how many committees a senator or House member is assigned to.
Officials in the N.H. House Clerk's office said representatives were responsible for being in Concord for 21 legislative session days between January and June of 2010, with that number not including special sessions.
Legislators often have to travel to Concord several times each year during days when the full House or Senate is not convening to attend committee meetings and public hearings on upward of 1,000 bills each year.
Some may enter the Legislature to fulfill ideological goals or to gain prestige.
Scala said being a legislator is viewed as a status symbol by some, with members getting a special license plate.
"Unlike a lot of volunteer opportunities, you are more in the public eye, and some people would enjoy that. You are distinguished, and it's an honor to be elected and be part of the House. In the absence of material rewards, they could be motivated by that," Scala said.
There are examples of individuals using state legislative seats as a launching pad to more lofty positions.
Scala noted Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen began in the state Senate before being elected governor.
Now State Sen. Jeb Bradley served six terms in the House representing Wolfeboro, Brookfield and Wakefield before he ran for and was successfully elected to a District 1 congressional seat that he held from 2003 to 2007.
Bradley said he didn't seek election to the state Legislature with the idea that he wanted to land in Washington.
"I didn't really have any thought of anything higher for the first seven, eight years. People can serve in the New Hampshire legislature for years and not be well known outside their district ... it's the nature of the beast," Bradley said.
He said it wasn't until he became chair of the Energy Committee that he began to make the contacts he credits with helping him launch his political career upward.
The Wolfeboro resident said his efforts to reduce electrical rates in New Hampshire helped him make a successful bid for a seat in Washington.
He said being elected to the state Legislature does carry some weight on a local level, but stressed that volunteerism remains at the heart of why most people run.
"At the end of the day whether you are far on the Republican side, far on the Democrat side, or smack dab in the middle, you are nothing more than a volunteer with a glorified title," he said.
Scala said some might enter the Legislature with grand aspirations and find their support is largely local.
"They think their status means a lot outside of Concord, and it isn't necessarily so," Scala noted.
Longtime Portsmouth House Rep. Jim Splaine — who ran for the state Legislature in 1968 at age 21 after being affected by an urban renewal project that saw several of his neighborhood's homes demolished — said many people run simply to make a difference and change laws.
"During the 1970s and 1980s there were a number of people who ran for the House because of the horrible way in those days that we treated people with mental disabilities ... we actually warehoused people with retardation," Splaine noted.
He also recalled that many now notable Seacoast-area politicians — including Shaheen and Beverly Hollingworth — got into state politics in the 1970s amid one company's efforts to build an oil refinery on Durham Point.
Splaine said there are certainly some who aspire to the state Legislature for other reasons.
"They may wish to promote their own name brand. They might be an up-and-coming businessperson or lawyer wanting recognition in their community, or they decide they want a political career and they have no particular reason to run other than self-promotion. Others run because they enjoy the social events they are invited to," Splaine said.
However, he said, even those people can get caught up in important issues that find them leading the charge on worthwhile endeavors.
"There are about 1,000 bills and issues every Legislative term, and the seductive nature of learning about a problem and wanting to do something about it to help people is very strong," Splaine said.
Splaine — who has served in both the House and Senate — agreed that the pay certainly isn't a motivator.
He said legislators sometimes find that pay and reimbursement for miles doesn't cover their expenses even if they are invited to functions that afford them opportunities for free dinners.
"You receive a legislative license plate, but you have to pay an extra fee upward of $8 a set. They allow you to go through New Hampshire tolls at no cost, but keep in mind that they also advertise that you're a public official, so you'd better drive extra carefully," Splaine said.
Longtime Portsmouth representative Laura Pantelakos, 74, will soon be seeking her 17th term, and the Democrat laughed in noting she has only made $3,200 total for what has been countless hours of service.
"I know people probably think that's crazy, but at least the members aren't on the take," Pantelakos said.
She said she has made the trek to Concord for years and said her drive up Route 4 has become instinctive.
The longtime legislator has seen a lot of representatives come and go, but she said most seem to run as a way of giving back.
"It's a way of changing things that need to be changed and understanding why government runs the way it does," she said.
If Pantelakos is elected this fall, she will become the longest-serving Democratic woman in the New Hampshire House.
"It's a citizen legislature and they feel they can go there and make a difference. The pay doesn't matter ... what I get out of it is just feeling good about it," she said.