Pantelakos to Seek 19th House Term

Rep. Laura Pantelakos, the Dean of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, will run for a 19th term this fall.

Pantelakos, D-Portsmouth, says a highlight of her time in Concord is the passage of the bill to ban drivers from using hand-held cellphones – a bill she has sponsored for some 10 years.

"This is very much a safety issue," she said in an interview. "There's a time and a place for a phone call, and it's not driving."

The bill now goes to Gov. Maggie Hassan who has indicated she will sign it into law.

Pantelakos, who has a Nokia cell phone, cited State Police statistics about fatalities and driver accidents due to distracted driving. She has conducted her own observational studies, such as standing outside the Discover Portsmouth Center and watching the number of drivers with one hand pressed to their ear.

"Just count the cars going by you with drivers on their cellphones," she says. "It's almost become a part of people."

Pantelakos, 78, is a former Portsmouth City Councilor. She sat on the Portsmouth Fire Commission. She is a member of the Seacoast African American Cultural Center. Her legislative priorities include reducing property taxes, workforce housing for the Seacoast, and alternative sentencing for non-violence crimes. She is currently chairwoman of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Besides her experience, this straight-talking and multi-tasking mother of seven says she brings something else to the table in Concord: consensus-building.

"I can talk with those across the aisle," she says.