Douglas Ley

Doug Ley
Doug Ley
Majority Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
	In office; December 5, 2018 – December 2, 2020
Preceded by	Dick Hinch
Succeeded by	Jason Osborne
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives; from the Cheshire 9th district
	In office; December 2012 – June 10, 2021 Serving with Richard Ames (2013–2021)
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Andrew Maneval
Personal details
Born	July 3, 1958; Long Island, New York, U.S.
Died	June 10, 2021 (aged 62); Jaffrey, New Hampshire, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary
Children	2
Education	Gettysburg College (BA); University of Wisconsin, Madison (MA, PhD)

Douglas A. Ley (July 3, 1958 – June 10, 2021) was an American educator and politician who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Cheshire District 9 from 2013 to 2021, as a member of the Democratic Party. During his tenure in the state house he served as Majority Leader from 2018 to 2020.

Early life and education

Douglas Ley was born in Long Island, New York and grew up in Valley Stream, New York, and Newtown, Connecticut. Ley graduated from Newtown High School. He graduated from Gettysburg College in 1980, with a bachelor's degree in history. He graduated from with a master's degree in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1983, and with a Ph.D. in history in 1990. He became a history professor at Franklin Pierce University in 1991. He served as president of his local American Federation of Teachers union from 2013 to 2021, and as president of the state American Federation of Teachers. He married Mary, with whom he had two children.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

New Hampshire House of Representatives

Elections

In 2012, Ley ran for a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Cheshire District 9 with the Democratic nomination and won in the general election alongside Richard Ames out of four candidates.^[6]^[7] Ley and Ames won reelection in the 2014 election out of four candidates in the general election.^[8]^[9] They won reelection in the 2016 election out of four candidates in the general election.^[10]^[11] They won reelection in the 2018 election out of three candidates.^[12]^[13] Ley and Ames won reelection in the 2020 election out of four candidates in the general election.^[14]^[15]

Tenure

During Ley's tenure he served on the Labor committee from 2013 to 2018.^[5] He defeated Representative Dick Hinch in the vote to become Majority Leader of the state house by a vote of 237 to 152 in 2018.^[16] He served as Majority Leader from 2018 to 2020.^[2]^[5]

Death

Ley was hospitalized in May 2021, after cancer spread to his liver. Ley died on June 10, 2021, at the age of 62 at his home in Jaffrey, and was the third member of the state house to have died in the 2021-2022 session of the state house after Speaker Hinch and Representative David Danielson.^[2]^[4]

Electoral history

Douglas Ley electoral history

2012 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 Democratic primary^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Ames	685	54.06%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley	582	45.94%
Total votes			1,267	100.00%

2012 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 election^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Ames	2,507	30.65%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley	2,364	28.90%
	Republican	Charlie Moore	1,758	21.49%
	Republican	Raymond J. Desmarais	1,542	18.85%
	Independent	Write-ins	8	0.10%
Total votes			8,179	100.00%

2014 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 Democratic primary^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	340	53.88%	−0.18%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	287	45.48%	−0.46%
	Democratic	Roger Creekmore	3	0.48%	+0.48%
	Democratic	Write-ins	1	0.16%	+0.16%
Total votes			631	100.00%

2014 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 election^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	1,806	29.73%	−0.92%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	1,713	28.20%	−0.70%
	Republican	Robert Bussiere	1,293	21.29%
	Republican	Roger Creekmore	1,262	20.78%
Total votes			6,074	100.00%

2016 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 Democratic primary^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	610	54.46%	+0.58%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	507	45.27%	−0.21%
	Democratic	Write-ins	3	0.27%	+0.11%
Total votes			1,120	100.00%

2016 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 election^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	2,424	30.22%	+0.49%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	2,199	27.41%	−0.79%
	Republican	Roger Creekmore	1,699	21.18%	+0.40%
	Republican	Christopher Mazerall	1,699	21.18%
	Independent	Write-ins	1	0.01%	+0.01%
Total votes			8,022	100.00%

2018 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 Democratic primary^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	948	54.89%	+0.43%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	771	44.64%	−0.63%
	Democratic	Write-ins	6	0.35%	+0.08%
	Democratic	Christopher Mazerall	2	0.12%	+0.12%
Total votes			1,727	100.00%

2018 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	2,255	38.53%	+8.31%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	2,096	35.81%	+8.40%
	Republican	Christopher Mazerall	1,498	25.59%	+4.41
	Independent	Write-ins	4	0.07%	+0.06%
Total votes			5,853	100.00%

2020 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 Democratic primary^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	1,122	50.13%	−4.76%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	1,111	49.64%	+5.00%
	Democratic	Rita Mattson	2	0.09%	+0.09%
	Democratic	Write-ins	2	0.09%	−0.26%
	Democratic	Leo Plante	1	0.04%	+0.04%
Total votes			2,238	100.00%

2018 New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire District 9 election^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Ames (incumbent)	2,651	29.50%	−9.03%
	Democratic	Douglas Ley (incumbent)	2,475	27.55%	−8.26%
	Republican	Rita Mattson	1,964	25.59%
	Republican	Leo Plante	1,894	25.59%
	Independent	Write-ins	1	0.01%	−0.06%
Total votes			8,985	100.00%

References

^ Douglas Ley-obituary
^ ^a ^b ^c "Former NH House Majority Leader, five-term state Rep. Douglas Ley dies at 62". WMUR-TV. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
^ "Questionnaire: Douglas A. Ley, NH House, Cheshire District 9". Sentinel Source. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Jaffrey Rep. Douglas Ley, former N.H. House majority leader, dies". Sentinel Source. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Jaffrey Rep. Douglas Ley, former N.H. House majority leader, dies". New Hampshire House of Representatives. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2012 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2012 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2014 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2014 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2016 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2016 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2018 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2018 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "2020 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.
^ "2020 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.
^ "Jaffrey Democrat picked as Majority Leader in the state House of Representatives". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. December 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

External links

Profile at Vote Smart

New Hampshire House of Representatives
Preceded by Dick Hinch	Majority Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives 2018–2020	Succeeded by Jason Osborne

[1] Douglas Ley-obituary

[life-2] "Former NH House Majority Leader, five-term state Rep. Douglas Ley dies at 62". WMUR-TV. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.

[3] "Questionnaire: Douglas A. Ley, NH House, Cheshire District 9". Sentinel Source. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[life2-4] "Jaffrey Rep. Douglas Ley, former N.H. House majority leader, dies". Sentinel Source. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.

[career-5] "Jaffrey Rep. Douglas Ley, former N.H. House majority leader, dies". New Hampshire House of Representatives. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.

[primary_2012-6] "2012 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[election_2012-7] "2012 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[primary_2014-8] "2014 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[election_2014-9] "2014 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[primary_2016-10] "2016 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[election_2016-11] "2016 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[primary_2018-12] "2018 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[election_2018-13] "2018 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.

[primary_2020-14] "2020 primary results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.

[election_2020-15] "2020 election results". New Hampshire Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.

[majority_leader_election-16] "Jaffrey Democrat picked as Majority Leader in the state House of Representatives". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. December 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]