Election 2012

It's Final: Laughton Resigns State Rep Seat

After taking a day to consider her options, Stacie Laughton has decided it's not her time to serve in Concord.

As tumultuous as the past week has been, it is nothing compared to the soul-searching Stacie Laughton has been doing for most of her life. On Thursday, she ceremoniously signed her letter of resignation on camera, at the Access Nashua cable access TV station. State Rep. Ken Gidge, a fellow Democrat and friend, was her witness. It read simply, "I regret to inform you that I am unable to fill the State Representative seat for Hillsborough County District 31 to which I was recently elected." And then Laughton took about an hour to tell her story. "I just wanted a chance to defend myself," said Laughton, after the taping. Following her election in Ward 4 to serve as state rep, Laughton had to answer for her past as a convicted felon.  A story …

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One Man Wolf Pack

2:25 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012

State v. Patterson, 145 N.H. 462, 463 (2000) "A sentence has not been completed until the suspension period has expired, signifying that the sentence can no longer be brought forward." We already have law on what constitutes a completed sentence........ RESIGN NOW as Ward 4 selectmen and do not hold office until your sentence is complete.   more ›

Election 2012

Answers Needed in Laughton Case Before Special Election

City Clerk Paul Bergeron said clarification from the AG's office will determine how Nashua moves forward.

Adding a mind-bending twist to what has already been a wild election ride for Nashua voters would be this scenario: Depending on how the state Attorney General's office defines the language of a state voting statute, it's feasible that Stacie Laughton and ex-wife Lisa Laughton, who both served time in jail for a felony conviction, could preside as ward selectmen over the special election required to fill the State Representative seat being vacated by Stacie Laughton. Confusing? Yes, said City Clerk Paul Bergeron, who has been wading through the state's election law looking for answers since this unusual case took shape over the weekend. On Tuesday Laughton, a newly elected state rep in District 31, announced she would resign – that …

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News Follow-Up

Laughton Will Resign State Rep Seat

Stacie Laughton has announced she will resign after conferring with party leaders.

Despite her resolve to take office next week, the case of State Representative-Elect Stacie Laughton has taken a legal turn, forcing her to resign her seat. Based on the language of NH RSA 607-A:2:1  it appears Laughton, a convicted felon who served four months in Belknap County House of Corrections, would have been ineligible to serve for six more years had she not decided to step down. The case had just been referred to the NH Attorney General's office. Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Brown was already in the process of reviewing the case when he was told of Laughton's resignation. "It's more complicated than we first thought, and we haven't figured it out yet, but based on what I've seen so far, it's just as well that she's …

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News Follow-Up

Republicans Call for Laughton to Resign

House Majority Leader Pete Silva says newly elected legislator should have come clean on her criminal history.

House Majority Leader Pete Silva, R-Nashua, is calling on newly elected State Rep. Stacie Laughton, D-Nashua, to resign her post after "not coming clean" with constituents about her past conviction in 2008 for credit card fraud, for which she served four months in Belknap County House of Corrections. That news came over the weekend in a story published by the Laconia Daily Sun. The Daily Sun's Gail Ober, who wrote the story, said that while Laughton's criminal history was well known in Laconia, she was unaware Laughton was running for office in Nashua until after the election results came in. "None of us realized it until two or three days after the election," Ober said. "I also didn't realize he'd legally changed his name to Stacie …

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Nashua Rep Did Jail Time in Laconia

NH's first openly transgender state rep was convicted in 2008 of credit card fraud while living in Laconia as a man.

Stacie Laughton does not deny her past – that she served four months in prison in 2008 on conspiracy to commit credit card fraud charges. That story, published in the Nov. 24 Laconia Daily Sun, is true, Laughton said, during a phone interview Saturday morning. "Yes it's true –  I knew I was going to run into this," said Laughton, when asked this morning about the story. Laughton said the situation leading up to her arrest "is complicated," and that the dispute with another woman that led to the felony conviction was, in part, "a set up." She also said she does not want to resign her newly-elected state rep seat. "They elected me to do a job and that job, I'm going to do with honor and with valor, regardless of what's in my past. My past …

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P.Robison

4:23 pm on Thursday, November 29, 2012

Well Ms. Laughton, I am unfortunately one of those 1588 and I now wish I was NOT Voted for her....I asked for background info and was given a skimpy little piece of paper with a few scant descriptions of well, kind of lame accomplishments...I have since researched the said " Culinary School" and have found it not to be in business anymore...great place it must have been.....Stacie Laughton won …   more ›

Who's Running for Office

Candidate Bio: Stacie Laughton, Democrat for State Rep

Stacie Laughton is running in Ward 4.

Age: 28 Your background/education: I have experience in public service, civic involvement, and non-profit volunteer work. My educational background includes a high school diploma from  Nashua High School class of 2002, Culinary Arts, American and Japanese flower art as well as business experience. Experience/Occupation: Selectman/H.E.A.R.T.S Peer Support Center Member Advocate Small Business Owner. Prior elected office: I was an elected delegate to the Democratic Convention 2012. Currently serving a 2-year term as a Selectman in Ward 4 Nashua NH. Personal: I am a lifelong resident of Nashua. Nashua is where I was first inspired to get involved in politics. I live at home with family and my miniature dacshund Winston. I am the first openly …

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Election 2012

VIDEO: 'If You're Not Bold, You'll Never Get Anywhere'

Stacie Laughton is the first openly transgender candidate to run for a state office in NH.

Nashua, NH – Every election is historic, but if Stacie Laughton wins a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives this fall, she'll make history. She would become the state's first openly transgender legislator. Laughton was going to declare her candidacy for Ward 4 state representative ceremoniously on the first day to file Wednesday, but she's waiting until tomorrow, when she can arrive at the City Clerk's office with her fellow Democrats, in unity. She did make the trip to City Hall on the first day of filing, just to pick up her paperwork, deliver a brief speech to the three people who came for her big moment, and consider the possibilities ahead. "I'm not sure what historically it means," she said. "When I lived in Laconia, I …

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