Tasker Launches Bid to Unseat Shurtleff

When Penacook voters go to the polls in November, they'll get the chance to vote for governor, Senator, and also state representative, as a young Republican has come forward to challenge House Majority Leader and at-Large Concord City Councilor, Steve Shurtleff.

Ben Tasker launched his campaign on June 24, at The Draft on South Main Street with a fundraiser and meeting with supporters, including the Granite State Solutions Political Action Committee, where he formerly worked as a researcher and co-chairman, and former House Speaker, William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon.

Tasker, who recently graduated from UNH with a bachelor’s degree in health management and policy, which he earned in three years, said he was running because he felt Penacook had historically been neglected. He was also upset about the removal of the David Poulin memorial and gazebo to be replaced by a roundabout. The House, he added, also needed new energy and new leadership.

“I think we can make Penacook prosperous again,” he said.

State Rep. Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, said he was a little surprised when, at a hockey game, Tasker said he wanted to run for state representative. When Tasker mentioned that he would be running in Penacook, Sweeney was even more surprised, noting that Shurtleff was a powerful Democrat in a city that is Democratic.

“He’s unbeatable,” Sweeney recalled saying.

“Right … but I can beat him,” Sweeney said Tasker told him, and that was enough to get the campaign started.

Sweeney said there was a long list of issues Shurtleff was wrong on like increasing the gas tax, Medicare expansion, and the attempt to repeal Stand Your Ground. Tasker, he added, had been doing research since he was in his teens to save the honeybee and preserve the environment while bringing energy and vitality to the race.

O’Brien agreed.

“It’s impressive when he talks about a local bridge that has been under construction since before he was born,” he said. “I think this is a person who really knows the pulse of the district.”

State Rep. Daniel Itse, R-Fremont, who was also at the kick-off, added that Tasker “exhibited the intelligence necessary to deliver positive change to the state.”

Follow along with all our Campaign 2014 posts and stories in the Patch Elections section.