Jaffrey State Representative Douglas Ley will serve as the new majority leader.
Ley, a Democrat, has represented Cheshire District 9 for the past six years. the district includes the towns of Jaffrey, Dublin, Harrisville and Roxsbury.
After the November mid-term elections, the House of Representatives saw the majority party change hands from the Republicans to the Democrats. This week, Steve Shurtleff, D-Penacook, who has been serving the Democrats as the minority leader, was elected House Speaker for the 2019-2020 session, winning against Merrimack Rep. Dick Hinch in a 237-152 vote.
It is the responsibility of the Speaker of the House to assign the role of majority leader, a leadership position where a selected representative leads the caucus, helps to manage bills as their being presented to the House, and communicate between committees and the Speaker. The majority leader also participates in determining party priorities.
“We’re going to work more from the Democratic platform, which sets out our priorities and concerns,” Ley said.
Ley said the platform issues Democrats ran on in November, including maintaining Medicaid expansion, continuing to fight the opioid crisis and mental health resource shortages, and voting rights and education funding will all likely be viewed as party priorities in the coming session.
“We had a lot of new voters this year. They were highly energized in the state elections, in part because of national politics, which we benefited from. But there were also some controversial issues on the state level last year that really got people out to vote,” Ley said.
In particular, Ley said, changes to voting laws and the proposed education “voucher bill” were big motivators for Democrats at the polls this year.
“Those really motivated a lot of people,” Ley said.
Ley said he was approached by Shurtleff in mid-November. With Shurtleff presumed to be the candidate for Speaker of the House, the party would need a new Majority Leader. It wasn’t a complete surprise, Ley said. He expected this year to be asked to step up to a floor leader, or to chair the Labor Committee, where he has been a ranking minority member.
“Instead, I’ve been charged with greater responsibilities. It’s going to be a challenge, but if you don’t take on challenges, things don’t stay interesting,” Ley said. “I enjoy the work, and helping to manage the floor and working with my colleagues in both caucuses, so I think it’s a good fit for me.”
Ley is an associate professor of history at Franklin Pierce University. He has a Ph.d. in U.S. History from University of Wisconsin-Madison and specializes in New Hampshire state politics and labor, African American and slavery history and the history of New England. He credits Franklin Pierce University for allowing him the flexibility to serve in the state House while teaching courses, particularly during the months the House is in session.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.