.png)
Anything BUT Politics
A groundbreaking new podcast, Anything BUT Politics, is redefining how we view political figures by focusing on everything about them—except their political careers.
Anything BUT Politics
From French Roots to Granite Roots
Meet Karen Liot Hill, a woman whose life story reads like a uniquely American journey with a French twist. Born in Brittany to an American mother and French father, Karen's path led her from the east end of Long Island to New Hampshire's Executive Council, with fascinating detours along the way.
Karen opens up about growing up as the oldest of six in a blended family, losing her mother at age six, and overcoming domestic violence both in childhood and adulthood. These challenges shaped her perspective but never dampened her optimistic spirit. After attending Dartmouth College (where she graduated "with honors in government and a three-year-old"), Karen fell in love with New Hampshire and made it her permanent home.
What makes this conversation fascinating is Karen's ability to connect her personal journey to her professional calling. Her twenty years on Lebanon City Council and current role on New Hampshire's unique Executive Council reflect her deep commitment to public service. Using the acronym CARS—Contracts, Appointments, Roads, and Services—she demystifies this powerful five-member body that serves as a check on the governor's authority and manages everything from million-dollar contracts to roadside mailbox repairs.
Beyond politics, Karen reveals her passion for music (piano, organ, and singing), her experience owning a restaurant for eight years, and her love of sailing. Her life philosophies—"work hard, play hard" and "why make it either/or when it can be both/and?"—demonstrate the balanced approach that keeps her grounded amid the demands of public office.
Whether you're interested in New Hampshire's distinctive governmental structure, curious about paths to public service, or simply enjoy hearing from someone who radiates authentic joy in their work, this episode offers wisdom, warmth, and wonderful stories. Listen now and discover why Karen believes that despite life's challenges, there's always room to find connection and make a difference.
Hi everyone, I'm Tiffany Eddy.
Speaker 2:And I'm Tom Prasol.
Speaker 1:And we are so pleased to welcome you to another episode of Anything but Politics. And today we have a wonderful episode. We're so excited about this next guest and can't wait to tell you all about her.
Speaker 2:Tom. Yeah, today's guest is someone who's, I think. If you looked up public service in the dictionary, you might see a picture of her. She has been a city councilor for 20 years, former mayor of Lebanon and currently an executive councilor in District 2. So, without further ado, we'll introduce Councilor Karen Liohill.
Speaker 3:All right, liohill, liohill, that's Hi, leo Hill, that's right. That's right, actually. Thank you for intentionally messing it up so that we could talk about how to pronounce my name because a lot of people wonder.
Speaker 1:Right, I thought, and please forgive me, but I always thought when I read you, read about you in the paper, I always thought it was Liot Hill and so it's not. It's spelled L-I-O-T. That's right, but it's pronounced.
Speaker 3:It's pronounced Leo, like Leo the lion, roar, roar, and the T is silent. It's French, so it's a little sneaky like that, and so the T is silent. I was born in France and actually my father's branch of the Leos are the only ones in this country. So pretty, I guess. A little fun fact about me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, tell me a little bit about being born in France. So when did you come to the United States? And brothers, sisters, family, still there? Do you have a French?
Speaker 3:passport, like that's so cool. Yeah, so I have dual citizenship. My mother was an American college student doing a study abroad. She met my father, who is French, and he lived in Rouen, which is the second largest city so Paris is the biggest city in France and then Rouen is in Normandy and that's where his family is from and so they met in college and she decided she didn't want to come back to the States and she actually got permission to stay there and they did a lot of the you know hippie traveling the world. And then, I guess, when they got pregnant with me, they moved. They went back to France and I was born in Brittany, which is really near the ocean. So I definitely have like a strong connection. They were sailors. Actually. They had a dream of sailing across the world one day Actually, they had a dream of sailing across the world one day and then we moved to the States. When I was, my father did roofing school, because that was kind of like they got pregnant. They went to Brittany so he could go to roofing school in Brittany and then he came when I was about two years old.
Speaker 3:We moved to the States and my younger siblings I have five younger siblings were born here and we lived on the east end of Long Island. That's where I grew up, in Sag Harbor, a small sailing town. My mom sadly died when I was six years old, so she had two more kids I have, so there were three of us and my dad was. My dad had, you know, three kids and a roofing business. He does slate and tile roofs and metal roofs, so really nice homes in the Hamptons. And then he got married. So I have a great stepmom and she had a kid. So that was four of us and then they had two kids. So we've got the whole yours, mine and ours blended family and I'm the oldest. So I'm the oldest of six.
Speaker 1:So your family gatherings or holiday gatherings.
Speaker 3:They must be wild, that is for sure. We do make a point to get together every year for Thanksgiving. Almost everyone makes it. I do have most of them still live on the east end of Long Island my dad and my sister Michelle, and my other sister Erin, and then my sister Hannah and my brother Silas actually, but then my other brother Matty. He lives in Chile, in South America, and so I don't know. I think we're all hoping that maybe in the next couple of years he's going to host Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3:And my dad bought a boat. He did not get to sail around the world with my mother, that didn't work out, but he always kept that dream alive and so he just sold his roofing business last year and bought. He sunk quite a bit of my inheritance, it happens oh well Into a beautiful boat, into a beautiful boat, and so, who knows, maybe there'll even be some sailing to South America in the works. But we'll see that would be so cool.
Speaker 3:It would be pretty amazing. That's kind of lifetime bucket list stuff, but he's doing it. He spent the summer sailing with like one of his high school best friends, Arnaud, and they've been sailing up and down the Eastern seaboard and so I'm hoping next summer I might be able to get to sail with them a little bit he seems to be living his best life and I'm really happy for him.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. Now can you sail? Yeah, we grew up. We had a small sailboat growing up and you know Sag Harbor had like races every Wednesday night. You know it was a big part of like life um life on the East end, and so it's kind of the one thing I miss living in New Hampshire, cause I live in Lebanon, so all the way on the West coast, on the Vermont border, so, um, no ocean there but you got the Connecticut river.
Speaker 2:You just sailed down the Connecticut river and Sanepi Lake Sanepi and Lake Maskoma.
Speaker 3:So my kids did some sailing when they were little in Mascoma Lake and, yeah, sailing is really special, that feeling of freedom and I always find it like. Whenever I can go to the ocean, I find it incredibly grounding. You know, like, whatever's going on, I always feel like if I'm at the ocean and I look out and I see the horizon and it's just there's something awesome, like literally awesome.
Speaker 3:It fills me with awe and also it fills me almost like with a sense of like, um, content, serenity you know, and so I find like I always try and get to the ocean at least once or, you know, a couple of times a year, a year, because it just makes me feel good.
Speaker 1:Something about that smell too. You know, it kind of hits you and you're like, oh, that just, it's so wonderful.
Speaker 2:And the ocean water helps with the tan. Yeah 100%.
Speaker 3:Oh, plus, it's also like it's really medicinal. Did you know it's like really ocean water, salt water is really good for poison ivy, like any kind of skin rashes and stuff like very good for that. So you know it's. It's also. I like things that are like really you know that meet multiple goals.
Speaker 2:So the ocean is just wonderful to me. Yeah, no, I love the ocean.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned having kids, so please tell me a little bit about your family. You have how many kids and how old are they?
Speaker 3:Are they? Around and yeah, I have two adult children, which is kind of wild to me. You don't look old enough. Oh well, thank you. Yeah, I kind of got a jump start on things. My daughter, marina, was born while I was in college. So I like to say I graduated with honors in government and a three-year-old, which was really hard.
Speaker 2:Probably not easy yeah.
Speaker 3:It was really hard, but I'll tell you what. I was a much better student after she was born. I bet Time management right Totally and it forced me to really you know know what my priorities had to be.
Speaker 2:And grow up.
Speaker 3:It really did and also it gave me like an incredible sense of purpose.
Speaker 3:And so I just like I was really. I feel so fortunate that she came along when she did, and I think she's really made me a better person. Certainly her birth was a big part of why I decided to pursue public service. So she is now 26 years old and she actually just took a job in Los Angeles. She works in finance. So she lived in New York City after she graduated college for the last few years and she just moved cross country. So I got to go out and help her move into her apartment over the Mother's Day weekend and that was nice. But we talk regularly, like almost every day.
Speaker 2:Probably not big enough to host Thanksgiving, though right.
Speaker 3:No, no, I don't think we'll be going to her apartment for Thanksgiving, but that would be fun, um. And then my younger one, zoe, is 19 and um, both of my kids went to Lebanon, um, public schools, um, and so Zoe graduated last year, did a little bit of college, but that wasn't the right choice last year and so I got a roommate now and um, and that's really fun actually Having adult children. I've loved being a mom over the years. All the different phases of kids is really special. I just hadn't anticipated how awesome it is to have adult kids. You just kind of interact in different ways. It's been really, really special, and Zoe has been, I would say, like over the last two years, with running for the executive council and then now serving on the executive council. We've put about 70,000 miles on my car, wow, and we've done a lot of that together, and Zoe got their license during that time, and so now I get to live my best life as a passenger princess which is really nice.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you a mom question, because I think you and I we have children that are about a similar age. But my daughter just moved out and she's now living on her own. And she's now, you know, living on her own and it's a weird transition because all of a sudden you go from being needed and they're there all the time to like hello, hello, you know she's not, but have you, have you had any difficulty, especially? I mean, my daughter's still in New Hampshire, but about an hour away, but like having her across the, you know, the whole United States, like how do you, as a mom, like adjust to? You know she's now an adult, she's on her own, she doesn't need you as much anymore.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and also it was like a really big change. Like New York city, you know you can still jump in your car and get there. You know like, if something goes wrong or like there's an emergency, you can be there and and. And. It's not like that happened, you know like, but I knew in my head like I could physically get myself there if I needed, and so this is totally different Like being across the country. There's a lot more like like I have to breathe sometimes.
Speaker 3:And just remember that like OK, like you can't. That like okay, like you can't, your Marina is going to have to. She's she's going to have to figure things out on her own and she can, like she's doing it. She successfully moved herself cross-country and started a new job and bought a car and like is doing all these interesting things and, um, I'm super proud of her. But it definitely is an adjustment to like, feel, like to just feel that kind of separation, but like healthy separation. But yeah, there's a little like it's a transition and I think it's a little there's something bittersweet about it. But I also do feel just a lot of pride and you know you want your kids to be happy and you want them to be able to live without you, right, like right, that's our job, so that's our job.
Speaker 3:Well, you obviously succeeded.
Speaker 2:I mean, she's a strong, independent woman feeling comfortable enough to move across the country.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now real question, quick question Uh, marina, is that name based on your love of sailing, or?
Speaker 3:Well, it's obviously got this. You know, marine vibe. Um, I have a friend that I grew up with and her name was Marina and I actually, when I was pregnant with Marina, I was so persuaded in my head that she was going to be a boy that I had only thought of boy names. And then she was born. She was actually born 10 weeks early. She was only three pounds when she was born. It was a lot, and she was in the neonatal intensive care unit for five weeks, and so I had some time to come up with a name, but it took me probably about a week, and so then I was like Marina, could I name my baby after you? And she was like I'd be honored. And then it turned out this was really cool is that St Marina is the patron saint of Brittany, where I was born, and so it felt pretty neat.
Speaker 3:And the other thing I noticed is that it's a very multicultural kind of global name, so it can be Russian, it can be Spanish, it can be it's just a very a Greek. It can be Greek as well. So I think it's pretty neat. It's a beautiful name, thank you. It really be Greek as well, so I think it's pretty neat.
Speaker 1:It's a beautiful name, thank you it really is a beautiful name.
Speaker 3:I love taking pictures of marinas and sending them to her. Whenever I see a marina sign, it's fun.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic, and you mentioned that you had her while you were in school Now, so you went from Sag Harbor to Dartmouth.
Speaker 3:I did, yeah, where you got your degree in government, I believe.
Speaker 2:That's right, and so is that what brought you to New Hampshire.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly. So I've got the granite of New Hampshire in my muscles and my brains. That's part of our alma mater at Dartmouth and you know I really fell in love with. Well, at first I was like, oh my goodness, this is another small town with like super wealthy people, and like it felt very similar to the Hamptons to me actually.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Where you have these dynamics of, like the local people and they love to hate the people from away, and there's all these and it's one Main Street, Sag Harbor, one Main Street, Hanover, one Main Street. You know, it was like like literally a small town and then Marina was born and I was like, actually this is a really special place to raise a family and I ended up writing my. I wrote a thesis when I was an undergrad on public education in New Hampshire and Vermont and so they were both. This was in the nineties. They were both undergoing education reform. There were lawsuits in both states, New Hampshire and Vermont and so that's what I studied in college.
Speaker 3:I'm like literally the biggest nerd, okay, Especially about education funding. Okay, Like confessions from Karen, I am a huge education funding nerd. And yeah, so it was in Claremont. So that was when the Claremont decisions were happening and I wrote my thesis on public education funding in New Hampshire and Vermont. I interviewed principals and superintendents up and down the Connecticut River, from like I paired up communities like Keene and Brattleboro all the way up to Littleton and St Johnsbury, and I interviewed the superintendents and all of the principals in all of these districts and I just knew it was.
Speaker 3:Then Marina was, you know, a toddler at that point, and I just knew I was going to spend the rest of my life in New Hampshire and working in some way to in public service to try, and, you know, make things better. I really believe in public education as being the great equalizer, and so it was that, you know, that kind of academic work that made me fall in love with the state and also fall in love with with public service in New Hampshire. And you know it's an incredible state because a regular person can get involved and make a difference, and I did that on the city council for a long time, and now I have a even bigger seat from from which I get to get to be a part of, you know, solutions and solving problems.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really interesting that you paired up those towns like Keene and Brattleboro, and without spoiling your thesis, what did you find out?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I know I have to go dig it up because I'm thinking maybe for my I've been like working on a master's degree that I haven't finished. But I'm thinking maybe for my math I've been like working on a master's degree that I haven't finished, but I'm thinking maybe I need to revisit my old my undergrad one for this.
Speaker 3:Um, what I found at that time was that, um, what's interesting? Because New Hampshire and Vermont similar geographically in size, but Vermont is about half the size population-wise and it is about twice as poor, so they are smaller population-wise and a lot poorer. New Hampshire is a wealthy state relatively speaking, when you look at per capita income. And what I found at that time, they were both taking super different approaches to education, funding and reform at that time and in New Hampshire, well, they basically have refused to have not dealt with it for the last 30 years in a sustainable way. In Vermont, they put some reforms in place that actually offered a lot more technical assistance, where they gave more funding to states based on what the students you know, what the need was, so like socioeconomic factors, whether you know the higher free and reduced lunch, for example, communities that have higher poverty. So they targeted some funds but they also brought in some technical assistance, meaning that if a community was struggling or had higher needs, they would actually bring in resources.
Speaker 3:A state would almost be like a consultant for the school districts and what I found was that the school districts in New Hampshire and Vermont all school districts that have like that are pretty wealthy, that have a high, you know, achieve high educational attainment of the parents, right, like when you have smart parents they're going to raise smart kids. You know wealthy districts, everyone's doing fine. But I did find that in Vermont, the in the poorest towns, which in Vermont the poorest towns, are even poorer than our poor towns, that you could look at, for example, claremont and Springfield, that, and you could look at, for example, claremont and Springfield. So Claremont, new Hampshire and Springfield, vermont, that the kids in Vermont the worst, the kids in the worst off school districts, those ones were doing better, so kind of providing that safety net, and the state seemed to be finding, at least at that time, ways to help out the kids that were really falling through the cracks. In Vermont and in New Hampshire we're still kids have been just straight up falling through the cracks for the last 30 years.
Speaker 3:So fascinating I mean fascinating studies Interesting, that you decided to get into public service, and so your first role was at city council or yeah yeah, I was a big Howard Dean supporter actually during the 2004 presidential primary you know one of the perks of living in New Hampshire and when he dropped out of the race I was like an uber volunteer. It was really like my first political love was Howard Dean, and when he dropped out he said this thing it was great. We were all so depressed, I swear Dean supporters were really, really upset and I remember he said you know what? You can't drop out, you have to stay involved. In fact, you know voting isn't enough. You get a D for voting, you get a C if you give money to a campaign, you get a B if you knock doors for a campaign and you get an A if you run for office.
Speaker 3:And so that year, in 2004, I helped. I figured out that I really loved managing campaigns actually. So I helped manage campaigns for our state reps in Lebanon. It was the first year that Lebanon sent. All four of our state reps were Democrats the first time that that happened. And then that following year, in 2005, the city council elections were coming up and I said, well, I guess it's my happened. And then that following year, in 2005, the city council elections were coming up and I said well, I guess it's my turn, and so I stepped up to run at that time, and and I did it for the next 20 years oh wow, good for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, good for you. And then, what was it that so obviously you're in your first term as executive counselor? What made you decide? You know at what point were you like? You know what I'm going to run for executive counsel.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that is a great question.
Speaker 2:We only ask good questions. Yeah, obviously.
Speaker 1:No, this is fun.
Speaker 3:That's all we do all day long and I really like answering questions, so fun. But Ray Burton was the first executive counselor that I knew. He was like a legend in New Hampshire.
Speaker 3:He used to give out potholders that said no issue is too hot to handle, exactly and combs. He used to give out combs everywhere. He was really special and he was my executive counselor before redistricting, so in the district that he was in Lebanon was part of it and he used to come to town. He would do an airport tour and he would come to town. He would do an airport tour and he would come to town. Lebanon's got an airport so he would fly in and we would meet up. You know, some of the city, councillors or whatever, would meet up and he would say councillor and I would say councillor and so I just, and I remember how, how effective he was.
Speaker 3:And so, you know, I kind of was aware of the executive council for a long time and I think I probably at some point in the last 10 years or so I sort of thought I think that's what I would. You know, that feels like the next thing for me, like I'd like to serve in that role, and because executive council, it turns out, is just like city council, it's just for the whole state. And so then later on, you know, a few years later, there was redistricting. Michael Kryans was running.
Speaker 3:Mike Kryans ran several times and he was a good family friend of my now ex, but of the Hill family, and so I never was interested in running against him. And so I thought, you know, I'll see when the time comes up. And so then when Councillor Warmington, cindy Warmington, announced that she was running for governor, I said, all right, this is my time. Like I'm coming up on 20 years on the city council. I can look back and look at things that I've been a part of different housing, different environmental protection, a lot of infrastructure investments and just a lot of work that I could look back and feel good about, kind of passing the torch, and so I was really excited to take that opportunity and run.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to ask a question because the executive council in New Hampshire is pretty unique to New Hampshire and I know we've got a lot of listeners from across the country. So can you take a couple minutes and just tell us what an executive counselor does in New Hampshire and their role in the government?
Speaker 1:I think you mean internationally.
Speaker 2:Internationally as well.
Speaker 3:Whoa yes, Canada, Mexico, across the pond. I think you mean internationally.
Speaker 2:Internationally as well. Whoa, yes, canada, mexico, across the pond, ireland.
Speaker 3:Yes, well, thank you. The executive council is unique to New Hampshire. It is, you know, all states in the United States for our international listeners watchers. All states have a governor. We're the only state to have a governor and an executive council. So there are five executive councillors and we are an additional check and balance on the governor and when I and, like I said, it's like a city council, literally we meet twice a month, we sit around a table, the governor sits at one end and then the five of us Councillor one, two that's my seat and then three, four and five and we and we conduct all the business of the state to keep the state running. I use the word CARS when I talk about the Executive Council. It stands for contracts, because we vote on all state spending. A is for appointments, because we vote on all gubernatorial appointments. So this includes the commissioners of our state agency, like we just have. We voted on an education commissioner recently, also the commissioner of corrections running our state prisons. We also vote on all judges. So coming up next week we're going to be having a hearing and then ultimately voting on a new Supreme Court justice. So all judges are voted on by the executive Council and then hundreds of boards and committees. There are literally thousands of people who serve our state in a volunteer capacity that come through the Executive Council. The governor will nominate them and then we vote on them. So that's appointments, ours.
Speaker 3:For roads, a major responsibility of the Executive Council is our state's 10-year highway plan, so all the roads and bridges, and the Executive council is our state's 10-year highway plan, so all the roads and bridges, and the executive council is responsible for updating that 10-year plan every two years. So this year, every odd year, we're in the process of identifying which projects are going to make it into the list, which ones are going to have to get cut. This year we have actually $600 million of cuts that we have to make because inflation has been going up and the projects are a lot more expensive. So that's going to be a lot of work this fall. And then we're responsible for all the other infrastructure. You know dams and the prisons. We're also responsible for hatcheries. There's all the infrastructure that the state owns, the wildlife management areas and stuff like that. The state parks Cannon Mountain and Mount Senepe, both in my district. So all that infrastructure.
Speaker 3:And then, lastly S, so cars, contracts, appointments, roads and services because we do a ton of constituent services, so helping communities, helping people. You know, if someone's got an issue, maybe it's a driveway permit or maybe it's a, you know, a federal grant, like it runs the gamut, and we help a lot of someone actually, um, they live on a state road and, um, their, their mailbox got taken out by a plow and I got it. They got in touch with me and that was, you know. So just like city council, honestly, just like city council.
Speaker 2:And when you say contracts, we're talking like in order for it to come to the executive council. It's not a high bar, Ten thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars. So if a state building needs new windows. Totally, that's you guys.
Speaker 3:That's right. It's a lot of reading. It is stacked.
Speaker 2:You should see these stacks of paper. It's crazy.
Speaker 3:And what's crazy is that we have our meetings are on basically every other Wednesday and we get our agendas on Friday, four days before or five days, but we end up having four days to review all of those contracts we might have, like you know, on city council. We would have like maybe a page or two for an agenda For executive council. It'll be like 26 pages or you know, or 15 pages and hundreds of items and um, so you don't have a lot of time, um, to do the work. But the commissioners are really great, they, they. You know I like to try and figure out my questions and ask them ahead of time, because those council meetings, once they start, I mean that agenda, it moves fast. People make motions. We got to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time and so you know, you, there's a lot that goes into preparation. Those four days are like really intense. Last week the governor actually gave us an extra day.
Speaker 3:Okay, no, it was like kind of I, and so I even said to someone. I said I'm feeling very generous toward the governor right now because she gave us an extra day and I thought that was very nice of her.
Speaker 2:So you know so that's a lot, that's a lot of work, it's a lot of reading. So and I know you're a funaholic, right Like we're- all funaholics here at this table. Um, so what do you do for fun? I know you love to sing right, and you promised me you're going to teach me how to play the piano at some point.
Speaker 3:Hey we're. I think you have this whole year right, don't you have like?
Speaker 2:a birthday related goal?
Speaker 3:Okay, All right. All right, we'll have to work on it. Yeah, I play piano and I sing and that's always been like music has always been a really important part of my, my life. I I was lucky, like my parents. Really, they really worked hard to make it so possible for me.
Speaker 3:You know, when there's six kids like there's not a lot of extras, and so I was pretty lucky that I got to have piano lessons. And then I grew up in church so I started playing piano in church a lot and that was kind of where I learned how to sing. We started doing some like contemporary music, so that was one that was sort of the gateway drug into rock and roll. So then I started playing.
Speaker 2:Was it Sister Act that got you guys into it? Probably that was a great movie, whoopi Goldberg I still watch it every time it's on. But anyways, go on.
Speaker 3:No, actually my siblings and I. We definitely thought that we were the Von Trapp family singers.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's adorable. A lot of sound of music.
Speaker 3:We did a lot of like dress up and reenactment. So Julie Andrews is like one of my idols and definitely where I learned to sing. I think I would credit her with that. So it's fun because over the years, you know, then I've played in church always. I've always been involved in that. You know, when I went to college I still played with one of the Christian groups on campus and played was the worship leader at First Baptist Church in Lebanon for 15, almost 20 years.
Speaker 3:Now I am the music leader for I play piano and I play organ at this small Lutheran church in Enfield, which is really fun because I don't play organ but I'm learning. I think it's good for my brain, especially during perimenopause I think you need to keep your brain going. So the and over the years I've played with different bands or played solo. I've done a lot of like apres-ski and you know kind of fun, yeah, like gigs. You know I've done music and it's always been sometimes a source of income, which has been great Like. I like to joke that I'm like the queen of the side hustle, but you know, when you're in public service in New Hampshire there's not a lot of compensation, and so over the years I've done a lot of different things, including being a musician, and so I love music when I find that it's an important outlet for me and it kind of feeds my soul.
Speaker 1:Are there any upcoming gigs that our international listeners might be interested in catching you at? That's great.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm sure there'll be some coming up, I'm going to have to do some. The holidays are coming up or they're going to be around the corner, but whenever there's a piano I'm always there. But I've got an idea of doing some music. We'll see. I might do a little something in Concord coming up this winter.
Speaker 2:I was at an event with a piano that counselor Leo Hill played Jeremiah.
Speaker 3:With the bullfrog. Yeah, joy to the world, baby.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you something I had never heard you sing before and I was just like blown away. It was so good. Well, thank you. And that's when I was like I need to learn how to play the piano, because tickling those ivories, I mean it just seems so cool.
Speaker 3:It is a pretty fun party trick. Actually it was really fun. For me, one of the traditions of the executive council is that we go year round. We don't stop, like the legislature, but in the summer we go on the road and each counselor and the governor get to host a meeting and you do it in your district. So it's a way to like show off. You know your district and then when you're the one hosting, you also are responsible for like doing the ceremonial things, like finding someone to do the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and you get to give out commendations and you also do a little music. There's always a little music before the council meeting, and so for my meeting that I just hosted earlier this month or last month I guess it was now at Sunapee I actually put together a little ensemble with Megan in my office.
Speaker 3:She's the executive council assistant and she's an incredibly talented singer, and then also Miles Madsen in the governor's office. He's the governor's legal counsel, so it was a little executive branch ensemble.
Speaker 2:What instruments does he play?
Speaker 3:He plays bagpipe.
Speaker 2:Get out, he's an incredible bagpipe.
Speaker 3:No, but like world class that's so hard to do.
Speaker 1:He doesn't mess around.
Speaker 3:He's profesh okay, and so when I found that out a few months ago, I've been kind of thinking like how can I? I want to jam with this guy.
Speaker 1:And he did it.
Speaker 3:I learned, like you know, those like Irish trad sessions where it's like a fiddle there's usually like fiddlers and stuff and so I learned. He taught me some I don't know if it was Irish or Cape Breton music, but in that tradition, Anyway, it was terrific. It was bipartisan and it was executive branch and that was fun to get to share that with the executive council too.
Speaker 1:That's wonderful. That sounds amazing. Like I'm going to start hitting these meetings just for the music, no, and also there's breakfast oh and there's breakfast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's usually a pretty good breakfast too.
Speaker 1:One thing I want to bring up, and I don't know if you're fully aware, but you and I are both in the company of greatness here.
Speaker 2:Oh well, I mean I was aware, but tell me more. Well, a lot of people Tom's kind of modest about this, but you know club champion.
Speaker 3:Oh no, it was member member champion. That was like last year.
Speaker 1:Champion is champion, but Tom is a golf champion, and you know, I'm sure there's the only legacy I'm leaving this world. So he is a big golfer and if you spend any time with Tom, he talks about golf a lot. Um, and also the club championship is coming up. But you mentioned that you like golf too, right?
Speaker 3:I do. I have always enjoyed playing golf. I was married to a golfer and so used to play with him, sometimes used to get invited to tournaments. And then my daughter, marina, was on the golf team in high school, so I spent a lot of time getting to go visit some nice golf courses around the state and Zoe and I, just a couple of years ago, we did some lessons together. That was fun. So, yeah, I'm good, hit me up people. There has been a remarkable lack of golf. I thought there was going to be more golf on the executive council.
Speaker 2:Don't threaten us with a good time right.
Speaker 3:Fall golf is actually like the best. I think Fall golf is the best Right. Oh, totally Fall is my favorite season, I think. Do you guys have a favorite season?
Speaker 2:Oh, summer 100%. Oh, really, Look at this tan.
Speaker 1:It's all about the tan you do look like a summer lover.
Speaker 3:Yeah, how about you?
Speaker 1:I'm fall, I love fall. Yeah, fall is my favorite. There's no humidity, the leaves are pretty. I get a little sad because winter's coming but fall's so beautiful here.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, yeah, and boots and sweaters make me so happy.
Speaker 2:Best outfits ever, totally. I like a good vest, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're ready. Come on, it's new. Maybe it's your second favorite season.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So a lot of work being an executive counselor, a lot of work being a city counselor, a lot of work being a mayor. But you have a motto. You live by. That I also live by.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I kind of alluded to it when I said we're all a bunch of funaholics, that's right. I mean, when you work really hard, you got to play hard, right? That's right, that's your motto.
Speaker 3:Work hard, play hard yeah, for sure, I mean. I think that that is. I do find joy in what I do, which is really nice, but it is a lot of it is a lot of hard work and especially, like the contracts review, it can just be very analytical right Like it. It really taxes a particular part of your brain, so I think it is important to have. Like you know, music is a great outlet for me. I love dancing. I have some girlfriends that I love to go out dancing, Like, um, they love jam bands. It's not my super favorite, but I love dancing and so I go out with them and we have a really good time. And and I also think that, um, like, I love being around people. I'm really lucky that my job includes both, um, you know, kind of an intellectual part, but also a real people part. Um, cause I love being around people, I love, I feel like I'm always trying to find a connection with someone.
Speaker 3:I'm always like, oh, I do that or oh, this, I'm like I don't know, and it's always. I'm always trying to find a connection and I guess it's because I think that people are more like there's a lot more that does connect us than doesn't you know, and I guess that's. I'm just wired that way to try and want to find out how I can connect with someone, but also like what matters to them and what's important to people. That's an important part of like I like doing that and it's an important part of my job. Being a good representative, being a good executive counselor, doing good constituent services. You have to know what's important to people and be interested in people. So I think there's also like a fine line you know, work hard, play hard, as you can kind of be working and playing sometimes at the same time.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, I feel really lucky. It's funny, though, because when you told me that that was your life motto, it reminded me of my elementary school principal, Mrs Patty O'Leary. Nice who was from like the Boston area, but we were in Western Mass, so she had a thick accent and every school assembly should always say remember, kids, you have to work hard, work hard, work hard, and then you play hard. And I always stuck with me since I was in, like you know, fourth, fifth, sixth grade.
Speaker 3:So three, and it sounds like she had a three to one ratio there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds like yeah, I mean's probably good, that's probably a good, I may have brought down the two to one. You know, in my life.
Speaker 3:But there's different chapters, there's different seasons too. Right Another one of my mottos I'm good for mottos. I like to say why make it an either or when it can be a both? And yeah. Oh, I like that. That's another one of my mottos.
Speaker 1:Did you?
Speaker 3:make that up, or was that from, I mean, I'm sure, other. I cannot imagine that I'm the only person in the world to have said it, but as far as I know, I made it up as far as we know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got it from you, heard it here first, that's right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and and also, and another motto I well with my kids, and I definitely did not make this one up, but, you know, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. That's another important one. And then another one that I talk about with my kids too is, you know, and I think for myself, we live in the world as it is, we have to live in the world as it is not, you know, not the way we want it to be, while at the same time we have to work to make the world the place that we want it to be. And so I think, for me, that kind of like it really encapsulates, I think, a lot of what motivates me of, you know, being a practical, pragmatic person and always, you know, just wanting to figure out how can we move forward, how can we make things better, and but being practical while still also trying to push for progress, and I guess that's, I see, kind of my calling in life.
Speaker 1:That's amazing, that's. That's very inspiring. No, I'm wondering like OK, so first of all I have to ask so what jam band concerts have you been at? I'm just curious personally, yeah, Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so lately there's this great band from Massachusetts that's been coming up Boomstock. Have you heard of?
Speaker 2:Boomstock.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, they're so good. They've played at Sunapee a bunch of times and I want to say like in Stratford, but they're great Boomstock. I would say that they're like a combination of like Grateful Dead, phish and Pink Floyd right, very interesting Kind of like that pink. And then do you know this band, pink Talking Fish, pink Floyd, talking Heads and Phish.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 3:They're really great. They played at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth a bunch. I would say also oh my goodness, this other. This is like a jam band, but I don't think anyone else I think I might be making this up too this is like a brass jam band. Do you know Trombone Shorty? I've heard of him.
Speaker 1:Yes, I have heard of him.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I love Trombone Shorty. Oh my gosh, I love Trombone Shorty so much. And yeah, trombone Shorty, he'll have, like I don't even know, 15 people up there, but I swear they're a jam band, they just are with all their brass instruments. So you wouldn't think of them, they're not you don't.
Speaker 1:They don't play Grateful Dead music, but they totally. They just like to get up there and jam and it's awesome. So, yeah, those are a few. It's fun to envision you, you know, like executive counselor. You know Leo Hill's like out there jamming around.
Speaker 2:Well, that's why she's so happy and I will say, I mean I've never seen you in a bad mood. I've always seen you very cheerful, very upbeat, positive, and I think that's something that's great, especially for an elected official to see joy in people. We see joy in everyone that comes on our show but that's because they're on our show.
Speaker 1:There's always a lot of joy as soon as they walk in the studio.
Speaker 2:But the power of positivity, I think, is really important and I know you embody that in your role and that's good. Yeah, thank you. You love what you do, I do, and that's good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you. You love what you do, I do, and that's important. Yeah, I really do love what I do. Like I wake up every day and I feel so lucky that I get to do this job Like I really do.
Speaker 3:And it's not that it's easy, right, like it's not, it's hard. There's a lot of hard work. You know, right now, like lately, and the other four counselors are Republicans and you know I'm the target of some Republican attacks more from people in the House. But you know I got a target on my back and that's okay. You know that comes with the job.
Speaker 3:So but I would say that you know, despite those things, I still like I love what I do. I feel so lucky that I get to spend every day trying to figure out how to make the world a better place. It's like such a cliche, but it's literally just the truth about, about me and um, and so I think you know I am happy and smiley and and positive, but it's, it's authentic and um, and I've experienced a lot of sadness in my life too. My mother died when I was young. We experienced domestic violence in my house growing up and then in my relationship as an adult, and so it's not to say that I haven't experienced pain and loss, but I think, in a way that is what you know it gives me perspective and it makes me really appreciate what I do have and it makes me really thankful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, makes you a good public servant too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can really understand the depths of what a lot of people have gone through, so thank you for sharing that with us yeah, I think lived experiences is really important and and I think that's part of what makes you know in an ideal way, that's what, like, deliberative democracy is about that everyone brings a different perspective and in theory, you know, no one has all the answers right.
Speaker 3:Like I get it that I think I'm pretty smart, I think I have some good ideas, but I also recognize that you know I come with what I know and that other people are going to come with what they know and have something to contribute, and so I think that's also why one of the reasons I loved being part of a city council and now being part of executive council is that you know, even if they're a different party than me or whatever, I still recognize that, like we all have something different to bring and I really value, value that and I think in the that's kind of the American ideal right Of our American democracy is that together having discussions, having debate, having dialogue, that that's how, ultimately, you can come to the best, come to something better than what any individual could do. So I really believe in that collaboration and cooperation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean, you do find common ground with your fellow counselors quite often. So, um, that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:I think so. Yeah, I'm wondering because you this is your first term as executive counselor, but obviously you're very passionate about public service and making a difference and, um, do you think that, uh, and and maybe you don't know but do you think that maybe you want to do more beyond executive council someday? Are you just kind of focused on this right now? But if you had to look ahead like five, 10 years from now, I might consider doing X, y or Z. Is that something that's possibly on your radar?
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think you know anything's possible for the future. I have no immediate plans. You know there are a lot of questions right now about you know what Democrat is going to run for governor. It will not be me. I am not planning to run for governor, you know, next year.
Speaker 3:This is a really big job and I think I saw this when I got onto city council in the beginning. I was like holy moly, I'm going to need two years to just even know what the heck I'm talking about. And I feel like, even though I bring 20 years of experience, I'm still a rookie. You know, I'm still learning all the state stuff and I think it's going to take me several years to know, to be able to become a really effective counselor, and I think I'm doing a pretty good job. But I know I've got a lot, a lot more to learn, and the more I learn, the more questions I have, and so it's going to take me a while. I, ray Burton, was an executive counselor for over 30 years and you know that's the kind of tradition that I I see myself walking in. I I hope that. You know I'll be a great executive counselor, and so that's what I'm focused on for now, but, you know, not going to rule anything out for the future, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:As long as you have enough time to teach me how to play the piano first, all right.
Speaker 3:Well, we're pretty lucky that there's a piano at Brothers Cortado. So you know in Concord there are some pianos. I tend to find them around, so we'll do it.
Speaker 1:I want to watch this. It's a promise.
Speaker 3:Hey, you know what Invite me to play some golf, and we could trade right.
Speaker 2:A little. Isn't that quid pro quo? Yeah, something like that. I think that's fair.
Speaker 1:I like that. That sounds like a fun one. You do other fun things, though, besides singing and going to jam band concerts. Um, so I believe that you do some cooking. We were talking a little bit before, and so I always love talking about my days as a chicken farmer, but, um, tell me about cooking.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I owned a restaurant for eight years, a little diner in downtown Lebanon.
Speaker 2:So basically I'm a yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm a. I'm a highly qualified short order cook and waitress and dishwasher I'm actually dishwasher was what I spent. A highly qualified short order cook and waitress and dishwasher I'm actually dishwasher was what I spent a lot of time doing. Yeah, no, I love cooking. And actually, you know, gosh those that chapter of my life it closed because of COVID and that was, and it was fine. My, my ex and I were no longer together. We were running the restaurant but we were not married and so you know it was time for that chapter to end.
Speaker 3:But there was a lot of fun. It was very stressful, I have to say. It was fun being around people, being a part of people's lives. You know you get to be part of their Saturday morning chores. You know they stop on their way to the dump or they come on Sunday or they celebrate birthdays or engagements, like we were really part of people's lives, which was super special. But I do not miss the stress of owning a small business. But yeah, I do, I love cooking. You know, I think food is one of the great pleasures of life.
Speaker 2:It's because you're French and you use butter for everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess In French, you know it's funny in French they have a um, a word for it, um you, we know the word gourmet, right, but in French they also have a word um gourmand. Gourmand, which is like the female version of you know someone who really appreciates food. So I am a gourmand, it's true.
Speaker 1:Favorite thing to cook?
Speaker 3:Ooh, that's a great question. For breakfast, I love making eggs benedict.
Speaker 1:Ooh, those are hard to make.
Speaker 3:Hollandaise sauce is like.
Speaker 2:I love a good Irish benedict. Oh yeah, a little corned beef hash.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh, our hash was so, so good. Getting hungry now?
Speaker 1:I know, I know, the squash was so, so good. Getting hungry now, I know, I know we need some snackies. It's almost dinner time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I know you've got to run because I know you've got a lot on your plate right now and I think you have a meeting. You have to travel.
Speaker 3:Got some constituents I've got to get to.
Speaker 1:Well, we're really grateful that you took some time out of your schedule to come down. Let us get to know you and share some of yourself with us and all of the listeners, both domestically and internationally.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and maybe we can Thank you for this incredible platform. And maybe in a year or so, maybe around April, we can get together and see what I've learned.
Speaker 3:All right excellent.
Speaker 2:Sing along by Tom huh, I don't know about singing.
Speaker 1:I thought it was just playing the piano. Oh, all right.
Speaker 3:Well, I think we're going to have a one-year bash to celebrate anything but politics. Maybe you could play piano with that. Hey, okay, okay, that's great, all right.
Speaker 1:Count me in. All right, awesome, we're going to hold you to that. So, executive counselor Karen Leo Hill, thank you so much for coming on. It's such a pleasure getting to know you, so really honored that you came on and you know incredible story. So thank you.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you so much for having me, you guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks so much, and that's it for our latest episode of.
Speaker 1:Anything but Politics.
Speaker 2:And we'll see you all next time.
Speaker 1:All right. Thanks for listening.