The New Hampshire Executive Council is one of those peculiar state bodies that wields substantial influence despite relative obscurity. It approves state budgets, confirms judges, oversees infrastructure projects — and has just five members. Karen Liot Hill ’00 is the Democratic nominee for the second Executive Council district, which includes Hanover. She won her primary on Sept. 10 by nearly 11 points and, given the district’s heavy Democratic lean, is the overwhelming favorite going into November. While at Dartmouth, Liot Hill helped launch programs such as First-Year Fellows and the Policy Research Shop. Since then, she has remained involved in local politics as the longest-serving member of the Lebanon City Council and a board member of the Lebanon Pedestrian & Bicyclist Advisory Committee. She also participates in WISE — a nonprofit that supports victims of gender-based violence in the Upper Valley. The Dartmouth sat down with Liot Hill to discuss her ongoing campaign, past political experiences and continued involvement in the Dartmouth community.
Did you come to Dartmouth with the goal of working in government?
KLH: Government has been a part of my life ever since I was a little kid. My mother died when I was really young, and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My grandfather, who was a World War II veteran, really inspired me. My grandmother, Cookie, was a math major when she graduated from college in the 1930s — pretty progressive. I think that spending a lot of time with them definitely instilled in me a sense of civic duty and patriotism. Also, my father is French and became a citizen here after 40 years. I think that experience also gives me great appreciation for the American dream and the importance of democracy and voting and participating.
The Executive Council’s second district is enormous — spanning from the Massachusetts border to the Great North Woods. How do you balance overseeing 81 cities and towns?
KLH: Well, I’ve been getting a good look at that over the last year of campaigning. In the past year, I put 36,000 miles on my car, which is a lot of driving but part of the job. You have to actually be on the ground, learning about and seeing what’s happening in your district. You have to be out there traveling your district to know what’s important and what to advocate for.
In Concord, N.H., where the Executive Council meets, there are five executive councilors. In order to get your projects passed, you have to get two other executive councilors to vote with you. I’m ready to work on that, on a case by case basis, and make friends on the Executive Council and get projects done.
You have centered your campaign around reproductive freedom, housing and childcare, strong public schools, modern infrastructure and leading the fight against climate change. What makes these issues important to you, and how has being on the ground impacted these priorities?
KLH: My mother died when I was very young of cervical cancer — the kind of cancer that’s typically discovered in routine reproductive healthcare, and the kind of healthcare that Republicans on the Executive Council have been voting to defund. They’re really politicizing an issue that shouldn’t be a partisan issue — women’s health, reproductive freedom, people’s health.
When my father was left with three kids under the age of seven, he was able to keep our family afloat with a small roofing business and the help of Social Security. Tim Walz, our next vice president, talked about this during the Democratic National Convention — the same Social Security survivor benefits that helped my family when we were going through a hard time helped his family. Later on, when I was a student here, my eldest Marina was born 10 weeks early. I was able to come back to school and finish my studies with an infant and ultimately a toddler, but Medicaid covered her five-week stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. I know firsthand the power of government to improve people’s lives. It’s why I’ve dedicated my career to public service. I believe in the power of government to improve people’s lives.
Housing is also a major issue that we’re seeing here in the Upper Valley and across the state. It’s gone from a problem to a crisis. You guys feel it here on campus — there’s a housing crunch. We have a big, big problem, and it’s hurting businesses. It’s hurting the College.
This is your 20th year as a city councilor. How, if at all, has your approach to the job changed over the years?
KLH: I have learned an incredible amount about local government and how it functions. I recognize that things take a while, and that success is not a straight line. Sometimes it zigs and zags, and it doesn’t always look like what you expected, but you have to keep progressing. I think that’s how you make change on a larger scale. You have to keep going to make people’s lives better.
You say on your website that you’re running a “people-powered” campaign. What exactly does that mean?
KLH: People versus money is kind of the paradigm. Campaigns cost money, but I just won my primary, and was outspent four to one. My opponent, Mike Liberty, raised half a million dollars, and I won by nearly 11 points despite being outspent because I ran a grassroots, people-powered campaign. To me, it’s about building relationships. It’s about knowing what matters to people, and it’s about getting other people to talk about you, to vouch for you and to invite other people to join us.
What do you want young people to know about your campaign?
KLH: I want young voters to know that some of the most important things to me are free expression and saving the planet. I ran for office for the first time when I was 25 years old, because I know that you can make a big difference no matter how old you are. To my generation, Gen X — I think that we have an opportunity right now. The torch is being passed and that presents opportunities for all of us. I would encourage everyone to wonder, ‘What is your place in democracy?’
What lessons or takeaways from your time at the College do you apply in your life today?
KLH: I have been dedicated to social justice ever since I was here at Dartmouth. I remember specifically this sociology class that talked about social mobility. There was a chart about the likelihood of improving your outcomes if you’re born into a certain socioeconomic class. It turns out there are so many things that affect your outcome. The idea of a meritocracy I’d grown up with, where you get ahead based on how hard you work, is not how the world works. That is so wrong, and that is why I have dedicated my career to eradicating those inequities — or at least improving things. I feel very strongly, and I feel very grateful that this is my life’s work.
This article has been edited for clarity and length.
