Meet New Hampshire State Representative Steve Darrow

Let us introduce Representative Steve Darrow, vice chair of the New Hampshire House Committee on Environment and Agriculture, and a first time attendee to the ERC Annual Meeting. Steve is a member of the CSG/ERC Agriculture and Rural Affairs policy committee.

Representative Steve Darrow, New Hampshire

Representative Darrow has been a resident of New Hampshire for 45 years. Darrow has a degree from Franconia College in literature. He has been involved in local government, and is the current chair of the Pemi-Valley Republican Committee; he served as selectman in Grafton for 12 years.  In addition, Steve was a member of his district’s school board, and has been active with the area trail maintenance volunteer group.

Steve was treasurer as well as member of the board of directors of the Mascoma Valley Health Initiative, a non-profit organization whose mission is to make health care more accessible for local residents by helping with everything from providing transportation to lobbying for a new local health center. Steve explained that the area in which he lives is very rural, and, because of that, access to healthcare is limited.

Representative Darrow retired from UPS after 28 years, during which time he spent nine years in sales, nine years in operations, and finally nine years in industrial engineering where he helped UPS become more technologically advanced.

We asked Steve what piece of legislation made him most proud, and he mentioned three items: HR7, a resolution to limit campaign contributions from any entity that would not be ineligible to vote in the next election; relief for New Hampshire dairy farmers, which provided $2.1 million to help offset the devastating impacts of 2016’s drought; and, although not a bill, Darrow said he is very proud to sometimes buck the system and vote against the wishes of his party —  he prides himself in being able to decide for himself what is best for his constituents.

When asked what he likes most and least about being a legislator, Steve responded that he really likes being a part of such an historical body and process. He likes being able to speak up for what he supports or opposes. Steve further commented that he loves committee work. He further noted that the New Hampshire House and Senate have a lot of great people with whom he is proud to serve. However, he went on to say that he what he disliked the most was the obstructionists in both parties, a situation he sees as becoming more and more prevalent over the years.

We asked what attracted Steve to the Agriculture Committee, and he said he has always had an interest in agriculture and gardening, and likes being able to promote local agriculture and to support small farms. Since the New Hampshire House Committee on Environment and Agriculture also handles solid waste, it further attracted him, since he is a licensed transfer station operator and worries about our disappearing landfill capacity.

We asked Steve what he expected from his first ERC meeting. He said he is looking forward to networking and being able to meet with other legislators and learning from them what their states’ issues are and what they are doing about them.

Representative Steve Darrow is just one of the members of the ERC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Policy Committee coming to the Annual Meeting August 13 through 16 in Uncasville, Connecticut, this summer. Join them by registering at www.csg-erc.org.