Former Selectman Seeks Return to Board After Election Defeat

[Story originally posted at 12 p.m. on Jan. 23. Updated with additional candidates at 4:46 p.m.]


The Hampton Board of Selectmen race got a little more crowded and interesting Thursday morning, as former Chairman Rick Griffin officially became a candidate for one the three available seats on the board.

Griffin had sought his fourth consecutive term as selectman last March, but was narrowly defeated at the polls, losing 1,197-1,106 to Mary-Louise Woolsey.

Griffin couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Griffin filed his candidacy paperwork at the Hampton Town Clerk's Office on Thursday, joining current Hampton School Board member and "Citizen of the Year" Rusty Bridle and incumbent Selectman Mike Pierce in the race for a three-year seat on the board.

Dick Nichols, the current chairman of the board, is also up for reelection for a three-year term, although he hasn't yet filed paperwork. Nichols told Patch on Thursday that he is "not going to decide until sometime next week" whether to run for reelection. 

Griffin had expressed interest in the seat that Ben Moore vacated over the summer following the controversial removal of Phil Bean as chairman. 

Mike Plouffe was ultimately appointed to Moore's seat, and the final year of that position's term is also up for grabs in the town elections on March 11. Plouffe and former Republican State Rep. Jim Waddell have already filed candidacy paperwork for that position.

Hampton Town Clerk Jane Marzinzik said incumbent town Treasurer Ellen Lavin, incumbent Hampton Budget Committee member Sunny Kravitz, and incumbent Hampton Falls representative on the Winnacunnet School Board Wayne Skoglund also filed candidacy paperwork on Thursday, bringing the total number of declared candidates so far to 16.