Kate Kerins '09 is running on the Democratic ticket for one of eight seats in Hillsborough's seventh district. Connor O'Brien, a junior from Windham, is one of 13 Democrats vying for a seat in Rockingham's fourth district. Sophomore Brian Poznanski, also a Democrat, lives in Nashua and is running from Hillsborough's 26th district. All three are politics majors, and cite their courses in the humanities, English, and philosophy as credits to their judgment.

Each sat down for an interview with Saint Anselm College junior Matt Fuller and are subjects of a video produced by sophomore Rebecca Damon on their candidacies.

"I think Saint Anselm has affected my views on politics in quote a profound way," O'Brien said. "I am a politics major, but we can go beyond that -- we can go to things like the humanities program and the whole liberal arts education. The whole idea that it should be comprehensive, well rounded, all encompassing -- that's what politics is. If affects every aspect of our lives, and we need to realize that in order to have effective government."

Kerins looks forward to "taking the job seriously and the role of representative to heart" in the general court.

"You don't have career politicians, you don't have people in there trying to make a buck," Kerins said. "If I get elected, I will be making $198 dollars for two years and they tax that, so I'm not really doing it for the money -- I'm doing it to make a difference for New Hampshire, Goffstown, and Weare."

Poznanski says it is important to bring a youthful voice to the state house.

"My campaign is about getting. . . youth involvement in New Hampshire politics," Poznanski said. "Me being nineteen, obviously it would put a little more youth into that and I believe that its necessary because we don't have representation, we don't have a voice, yet we are extremely affected."

The three candidates agreed that being students -- especially at a liberal arts college -- adds to their ability as legislators.

"We've been in the schools, we've seen some things first hand," O'Brien said. "I think that perspective is key to have in government."

"People look to age as an experience factor, which isn't necessarily the case," Poznanski said. "Youth can bring a different perspective, we're from a different era, with different morals, which is a good thing."

"For some reason our generation. . . Its one of the largest, but its also one of the most politically apathetic," Poznanski continued. "And that's really too bad, because we could sway any election one way that we wanted to. The best way that we can do that now is to utilize the sources that we have, which have not been available to us in the past: the internet, Facebook, Myspace. Facebook is. . . a pain, but it can also be a great tool to get out information and to network."

New Hampshire, said Kerins, tends to educate students and then loose them when they enter a today's 'real world.' But a more accessible world is also a good thing -- and has led her, O'Brien, and Poznanski, as well at Saint Anselm College classics professor David George to seek state office.

"Obviously the world is becoming more accessible to get involved in and certainly that’s the case for the four of us who are running," Kerins said.

"We can get more young people involved in the civic process, in government, in elections, by having civic education," agrees O'Brien. "I think the biggest thing is apathy -- this idea that no matter who gets elected it won't affect me. . . . Everyone has issues that they care about. In some form or fashion, government affects that. If you can find an issue that you are really passionate about you will be able to effect that in government."

He also sees a need for increased bipartisanship in Concord.

"I think the spirit of bipartisanship has really broken down, and if we're going to get through some of these things like the budget deficit, and education, we're going to need a bipartisan effort and we're going to need real solutions -- not just the partisan lines," said O'Brien.

Besides the size of state government, all three student candidates agree that Granite state government is a special place to be.

"They're very down to earth, they're very real people," Poznanski said. "They're not your typical politicians. Although a lot of them are retired at this point, they have real jobs. The joke in New Hampshire is that everyone has been a state representative at some point -- so I guess, why not start now?"

This article was published on November 3, 2008 on the website of WMUR.