Greenfield and Hancock are part of a new state House district this year – Hillsborough County District 31 – where Democrat Molly Howard is squaring off against Republican Jarvis Adams IV, a former state representative.
Howard is originally from Alaska and moved to New England in 1984. While pursuing careers as a cook and then in higher education and urban planning, she raised two sons – one of whom was posted in Poland for five months with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division – in the Boston area.
A lifelong Democrat, Howard said her interest in politics started with discussions at her family’s dinner table, and she believes elected officials have responsibility to ensure the well-being of their constituents and the power to improve their lives.
Howard said it was her excursions to the White Mountains and countless weekends with close friends in Cornish that planted the seed for her move to New Hampshire, first to the Upper Valley to work at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and then to Hancock.
Over the last four months, Howard said she has been meeting with voters in Hillsborough District 31 and closely studying New Hampshire’s government and politics.
She said she is eager to serve the community that has been “so welcoming since my arrival in 2019.”
When she’s not campaigning, Howard said she writes, gardens and wrangles chickens as caretaker at the home of friends.
Adams is a fourth-generation New Hampshire native who has raised seven children with his wife Dorene in Greenfield.
Adams has served on the ConVal School Board, the Greenfield Select Board and as state representative from 2002 to 2006. He currently serves on the Greenfield Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Adams has owned and operated his plumbing business since 1987. When not working or spending time with his family, he said he enjoys playing music locally and supporting his community.
“[I] chose to run for office after seeing the influence of progressive policies in other states,” Adams said. “These policies have brought an unwanted economic decline resulting in higher taxes, a violation of individual rights and a greater need for public safety.”
Adams said that as a representative he pledges no sales or income tax, to curb wasteful spending and to keep New Hampshire a safe place to live.