In my quest to visit every U.S. State Capital, I stopped in Concord on my way to the Whites from Vermont. Concord is home to the oldest Capitol building where the legislators meet in its original chambers.
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| House Chambers |
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| House Chambers with portraits of Hale, Lincoln, Washington, Pierce and Webster |
A few years ago, when I did some volunteer work in New Hampshire, I learned that New Hampshire had one of the largest legislatures in the world. It's lower house has 400 members making it the 4th largest in the English speaking world. Only the British House of Commons, the US House of Representatives and the Parliament of India are larger. The Senate has only 24 members, making it much smaller in comparison.
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| Senate Chamber |
The resident of New Hampshire is one of the most well represented in the world. One House member represents about 3,300 residents. In New York, one assembly member represents about 130 thousand New Yorkers. If New York were to get similar representation, the Assembly would have to be expanded to almost 6,000 members! I'm all for this. Especially if it includes a pay cut. The New Hampshire legislators are paid $200 a year plus travel allowance which is under a thousand dollars. The New York legislators by contrast make $80k a year at a minimum!
I hope to make a few more trips here as there are some sites to see. I mostly walked around the capitol and spent some time inside near the chambers. The building dates to 1819 and is a dome that is gold plated. While touring the inside, one can get relatively close views of the dome.
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| Close look at the dome |
Soon this town will be infested with the leaches as they make their rounds for the 2016 presidential nominations, as New Hampshire is the first state to hold its primaries. This will make New Hampshire one of the more interesting places in the country in the following year.
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| A giant in American politics in the early half of the 19th century |
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| Revolutionary War Hero. "Live Free or Die!" |
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| Franklin Pierce, the only president from NH |
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| The west side of the capitol |
The House Chambers looks small considering the size of the legislature. $200 per year? Is that right?
ReplyDeleteYou're down with the history. You should have been a history teacher.
Yes, it is correct. Most states' legislators do not get paid much. New Hampshire's is the norm. New York is either the highest or second highest in the U.S.
DeleteNew York's legislature isn't even full time. For much of the year they are not in session. One of the local assemblymen in the Hudson Valley has a dental practice. How is an $80k salary justifiable when one is spending the vast majority of their time running their practice?