NH GOP: First-ever transgender state rep should resign over hidden criminal past
7:55 PM 11/26/2012
Matthew Boyle
Investigative Reporter
http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/26/nh-gop-first-ever-transgender-elected-official-resign-over-criminal-revelation/New Hampshire Democratic State Representative-elect Stacie Laughton was for a brief moment a celebrity for Democrats across the country after becoming the first-ever openly transgender person to win an election in the United States. It didn't last long.
The Laconia Daily Sun reported over the weekend that Laughton is a felon. No one discovered Laughton's criminal history until after the election, though, because she was legally named Barry Charles Laughton, Jr. when she pleaded guilty to criminal charges in court.
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Laughton didn't think it was necessary to tell the people she was asking to elect her, but she now says she would have talked about it if somebody ever figured it out and asked.
"I didn't feel it was necessary to tell [constituents], but I felt like if it came to light – which it has – I was going to be honest," Laughton told Nashua Patch after the story broke. "I was prepared for it to come out during the campaign. I don't want to step down; I want to serve the people – that's all I've wanted to do, and regardless of my past, I can do it and serve them."
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Republican House leader from Nashua calls for resignation of felon lawmaker
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN
Staff Writer
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/985054-469/republican-house-leader-from-nashua-calls-for.htmlCONCORD – The top House Republican called upon a new Nashua Democratic legislator to resign immediately for failing to inform voters she was a convicted felon in Laconia.
The Laconia Daily Sun and The Telegraph reported last week that state Rep.-elect Stacie Laughton served four months in jail in 2008 on conspiracy to commit credit card fraud.
"While I believe in a person's ability to be rehabilitated and become a productive member of the community, I also believe it is a candidate's duty to fully disclose their personal history to allow the voters an opportunity to make an informed decision," House Majority Leader Peter Silva, R-Nashua, said in a statement.
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November 26. 2012 10:33PM
Nashua legislator who served time refuses to resign
By SIMON RIOS
Union Leader Correspondent
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20121127/NEWS06/121129348NASHUA - Outgoing House Majority Leader Pete Silva, R-Nashua, is calling on state Democratic leaders to join him in asking the state's first openly transgender state representative to resign in light of recent revelations of a criminal record.
"If I lived in the district I would be extremely disappointed to learn, just days after the election, that my neighborhood was going to be represented by a person that only four years ago was convicted of a felony charge involving conspiracy and fraud and served time in prison," Silva said Monday in a written statement.
Stacie Marie Laughton, 28, says she will not step down. One of three representatives of Nashua's Ward 4, Laughton and two fellow Democrats topped two Republicans for the seats. She's also a selectman for Ward 4.
