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Shawn Sweeney (New Hampshire)
Shawn P. Sweeney is a former Republican member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Hillsborough 23 from 2012 to May 18, 2016.[1]
Biography
Sweeney earned his B.S. in Organizational Management from Daniel Webster College in 1998, and his J.D. from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2001. His professional experience includes working as an Assistant County Attorney and in his own private practice. He was admitted to the New Hampshire State Bar in 2001.[2]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Sweeney served on the following committees:
| New Hampshire committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Criminal Justice and Public Safety |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Sweeney served on the following committees:
| New Hampshire committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Executive Departments and Administration |
Campaign themes
2012
In an electronic communication with Ballotpedia, Sweeney described his political philosophy:[2]
"I have and will continue to spend my adult life protecting the rights and freedom of our citizens from the military to the law.
I believe that government has a crucial, but limited, role that should not extend to the micro-management of the daily lives of its citizens. That philosophy extends to education which is best stewarded by the people who care the most about the children effected [sic] by it. Local control enhances education and parental control enhances it even more.
Clear predictable laws, a well educated work force, and a low tax burden, are the foundations of New Hampshire's business advantage.
Government fees are taxes. Lately every state agency seems to have developed its own tax base. This trend must be reigned in.
Government tends to grow if nobody is paying attention. Government growth, by necessity, requires ever increasing funding and interferes increasingly in the lives of its citizens in order to justify its growth.
The safety and security of the citizens of New Hampshire is of paramount importance. Horrific and violent crimes are becoming far too familiar to the residents of Milford and the surrounding towns. We have lost far too many of our young people here in town tragically. We must focus on the cause of these events and make concrete changes to preserve the safety and security of our town and protect our children.
Preservation of our natural resources is simply self-preservation. From both a physical health and economic health perspective we need to be good stewards of our environment. This is a rare exception to the rule of market forces being the most effective method of finding the best result. Government must take a leading role in environmental stewardship.
"
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2014
Elections for the New Hampshire House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 13, 2014. Five candidates faced off in the Democratic primary, while four candidates were unopposed in the Republican primary.[3] The general election was contested by four Democrats and four Republicans. The Democrats were Elise deMichael, Dorothy H. Lindon, Herb Salmon, and incumbent Ruth Heden. The Republicans participants were Barbara Biggie, Bill Goulette, Carolyn Halstead, and incumbent Shawn Sweeney. All four Republicans were victorious over the Democrats in the general election.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Shawn Sweeney Incumbent |
14.2% | 2,681 | |
| Republican | Bill Goulette |
13.9% | 2,621 | |
| Republican | Carolyn Halstead |
13.8% | 2,596 | |
| Republican | Barbara Biggie |
13.7% | 2,574 | |
| Democratic | Ruth Heden Incumbent | 12.1% | 2,282 | |
| Democratic | Herb Salmon | 11.1% | 2,092 | |
| Democratic | Dorothy H. Lindon | 10.9% | 2,053 | |
| Democratic | Elise deMichael | 10.2% | 1,917 | |
| NA | Scatter | 0.1% | 13 | |
| Total Votes | 18,829 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Ruth Heden Incumbent |
22.7% | 333 |
| Dorothy Lindon |
21.5% | 315 |
| Elise deMichael |
22.7% | 333 |
| Herb Salmon |
19.1% | 280 |
| Mark Linn | 13.9% | 204 |
| Total Votes | 1,465 | |
2012
Sweeney won election in the 2012 election for New Hampshire House of Representatives, Hillsborough 23. Sweeney advanced past the September 11 primary and won election in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Willette Incumbent |
15.1% | 3,789 | |
| Democratic | Ruth Heden |
13.3% | 3,326 | |
| Republican | Shawn Sweeney |
12.7% | 3,187 | |
| Republican | Stephen Palmer Incumbent |
12.4% | 3,099 | |
| Republican | Andrew Seale | 12.2% | 3,048 | |
| Democratic | Andy Hughes | 12% | 2,997 | |
| Democratic | Roger Tilton | 11.4% | 2,845 | |
| Democratic | Herb Salmon | 11% | 2,748 | |
| Total Votes | 25,039 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Robert Willette Incumbent |
27.1% | 876 |
| Stephen Palmer Incumbent |
21.6% | 698 |
| Shawn Sweeney |
19.5% | 629 |
| Andrew Seale |
18.4% | 594 |
| Conrad Koch, Jr. | 13.4% | 433 |
| Total Votes | 3,230 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Hampshire scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 6 through June 1.
- Americans for Prosperity Foundation-New Hampshire- 2016 Legislative Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Cornerstone Policy Research: 2015-2016 Legislative Scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on 15 roll call votes in the House and seven roll call votes in the Senate during the 2015-2016 session.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation.
- New Hampshire Business and Industry Association: 2016 Legislative Scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on business legislation.
- New Hampshire Liberty Alliance: 2016 Liberty Rating report card
- Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes."
- New Hampshire National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 7 to July 1.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 163rd New Hampshire General Court, second year, was in session from January 8 through June 13.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 163rd New Hampshire General Court, first year, was in session from January 2 to July 1.
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Shawn + Sweeney + New + Hampshire + House"
See also
- New Hampshire House of Representatives
- House Committees
- New Hampshire General Court
- New Hampshire state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ girardatlarge.com, "RECAP Wednesday, May 18 in the NH House," accessed August 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Candidate bio submission, June 28, 2012
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2014 Filing Period," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 3, 2014
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Results," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Results," accessed May 15, 2014
