Secretary of State, AG say commissioner hopefuls can run wherever they want

From left, Joi Pitre, Cliff Newton and Deanna Rollo (Courtesy photos)

CONCORD - Candidates for Strafford County commissioner do not have to run in the district where they live, a Secretary of State spokesperson said today.
"Both the Attorney Generals Office and the Secretary of State's office said they don't have to run in the district in which they live," said Secretary of State spokesperson Anna Sventek.
Commissioner hopeful Cliff Newton, a Republican, recently cried foul over Strafford County Commissioner Deanna Rollo's decision to run in District 3 while she lives in District 2.
Rollo told The Rochester Voice today that she spoke with the Secretary of State's Office before filing for a run in District 3 while domiciled in District 2.
"The AG's Office and the Secretary of State's Office have already said it's perfectly legal to run that way," Rollo said. "They checked thoroughly."
Rollo, a three-term Democrat commissioner who formerly ran at-large till a bill changed the voting to district, said she never filed to run in District 2.
Newton, a five-term state rep and lifelong resident of District 3, believes the ability to represent a district you don't live in flies in the face of logic and state statute.
"How can you run for a district you do not live in," he said on Friday. "That would seem to disenfranchise the voters by asking them to cast a ballot for someone who lives outside their district. State law says a person must have a domicile in the district from which he is elected at the time of their election."
Newton and another commissioner candidate, Joe Pitre, of Farmington, filed a complaint with the Secretary of State's Office last Tuesday in which they ask the Ballot Commission to decide whether it's legal to run for a district you're not domiciled in."
Pitre, a seven-term Republican state rep, said, "It seems disingenuous for candidates to run for districts they're not registered in. State laws say you must be domiciled in the individual district."
Sean Leavitt of Dover, a Republican, is also running in District 3 while living in District 2.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Chairman George Maglaras is running in District 2, his home district, while current commissioner Robert Watson is not seeking re-election.
A hearing to determine if Rollo and Levitt should be able to run for a position while living out of district has been scheduled with the Ballot Law Commission for Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Concord.
Rollo said she doesn't know what Newton and Pitre expect to accomplish as the state has already said it's OK to vote in any district you choose, but added she'll be there to testify if asked.
If the commission allows Leavitt to run in District 3 he will face Newton in a GOP primary on Sept. 10.
Leavitt were not available for comment today.