Sad won't run for re-election after five terms in NH House

It began on a whim: a challenge from a friend to branch out into politics and run for office. It blossomed into a decade-long career of fighting for local farmers, statewide education funding and mental health provisions for prisoners.  Now Tara A. Sad, of Cheshire House District 1, is readying her exit from New Hampshire politics. The Democratic representative from Walpole won’t run for re-election to the statehouse. For Sad, political enthusiasm has never been in short supply. Over five terms in the House, she built a career characterized by strong support for local agriculture initiatives and a steady opposition to suburbanization of New Hampshire farmland. That passion paid off, vaulting Sad to the chairmanship of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee in 2011 and later its ranking member. It helped her establish a rapport across the aisle as a willing negotiator with principles, and it endeared her to her constituents along the Connecticut River, delivering her five elections with comfortable voting margins.