Frank Tilton is running for County Commissioner

LACONIA — State Rep. Frank Tilton will seek a seat on the Belknap County Commission in this fall's election.

The Laconia Republican announced his candidacy for County Commissioner to The Citizen on Tuesday and will file when the period opens in two weeks.

Tilton said he will seek the seat currently occupied by Philip "Bud" Daigneault, who is not running for re-election.

"The budgets are tight, all the counties are being scrutinized," Tilton said. "We need to be well-managed so I have a lot of government experience."

LACONIA — After two-terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Frank Tilton is retiring to run for the seat on the Belknap County Commission opened  by the pending retirement of chairman Philip “Bud” Daigneault.

Tilton said that 42 of the 46 years he has spent in government service — 32 in the United States Army, 10 as Director of Public Works in Laconia and 4 as a state representative — have been in the executive branch. “County commissioner is a necessary function,” he said. Noting that as member of both the House of Representatives and the Belknap County Convention “I’ve been wearing two hats, but when I’ve had to choose between the state and the county, I’ve clearly been on the side of the county.”

[snip]

“Frank is a great candidate, who will do a good job,” Daigneault said. Tilton serves on the executive committee of the County Convention as well as on a working group with Representatives Alida Millham (R-Gilford) and Jane Wood (D-Laconia) to review the statutes and procedures governing the operation of county government. Laughing at the prospect of giving up his seat in the House, which pays $100 a year, for the prospect of earning near $9,000 as a county commissioner, Tilton agreed “that’s a pretty good pay raise, but I won’t be able to go through the toll booths for nothing.”

Tilton is one five representatives and three incumbent Republicans elected to the House in Laconia. He also chairs the Belknap County Republican Committee. He said that his decision not to seek re-election would not weaken the GOP ticket in the general election this fall. “We’ll probably have six candidates for the five seats in the city (running in the September primary election),” he said. The filing period for the primary election in September opens on Wednesday, June 4 and closes on Friday, June 13.