Douglas A. Ley (July 3, 1958 – June 10, 2021) was an American educator and politician who served in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

from Cheshire District 9 from 2013 to 2021, as a member of the Democratic Party. During his tenure in the state house he served as Majority Leader from 2018 to 2020.

Early life and education

Douglas Ley was born in Long Island, New York and grew up in

Valley Stream, New York Valley Stream is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 40,634 at the tim ...

, and

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown ( ) is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 census, its p ...

. Ley graduated from Newtown High School. He graduated from Gettysburg College in 1980, with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history. He graduated from with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in history from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1983, and with a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in history in 1990. He became a history professor at

Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional development, professional preparat ...

in 1991. He served as president of his local

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 pe ...

union from 2013 to 2021, and as president of the state American Federation of Teachers. He married Mary, with whom he had two children.

New Hampshire House of Representatives

Elections

In 2012, Ley ran for a seat in the

from Cheshire District 9 with the Democratic nomination and won in the general election alongside Richard Ames out of four candidates. Ley and Ames won reelection in the 2014 election out of four candidates in the general election. They won reelection in the 2016 election out of four candidates in the general election. They won reelection in the 2018 election out of three candidates. Ley and Ames won reelection in the 2020 election out of four candidates in the general election.

Tenure

During Ley's tenure he served on the Labor committee from 2013 to 2018. He defeated Representative

Dick Hinch Richard W. Hinch (May 1, 1949 – December 9, 2020) was an American politician. A Republican, he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2008 until his death in 2020. He was speaker of the New Hampshire House of Represent ...

in the vote to become Majority Leader of the state house by a vote of 237 to 152 in 2018. He served as Majority Leader from 2018 to 2020.

Death

Ley was hospitalized in May 2021, after cancer spread to his liver. Ley died on June 10, 2021, at the age of 62 at his home in Jaffrey, and was the third member of the state house to have died in the 2021-2022 session of the state house after Speaker Hinch and Representative David Danielson.

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ley, Douglas 1958 births 2021 deaths Deaths from cancer in New Hampshire Franklin Pierce University faculty Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives People from Valley Stream, New York People from Jaffrey, New Hampshire University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni People from Newtown, Connecticut 21st-century members of the New Hampshire General Court