Karen Liot Hill, who was sworn in last week as the new member of the N.H. Executive Council representing much of the Monadnock Region, said she will use the position to speak out about public health, housing and property taxes.

Hill, 46, a Lebanon city councilor and a radio DJ, succeeds Concord resident Cinde Warmington on the council, a unique institution that approves state and federal contracts and appointments. The governor conducts the meetings but does not vote.

Hill defeated Republican Kim Strathdee in the Nov. 5 general election and is the only Democrat on the five-member panel.

Over the past few years, Executive Council Republicans have rejected family planning contracts for organizations such as Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which has a clinic in Keene.

The council’s Republican majority includes David Wheeler of Milford, whose district also takes in several Cheshire County towns. He has said he won’t approve contracts for Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortion services.

State and federal law prohibit spending public funds for abortions. State auditors have documented that Planned Parenthood and the other organizations that were in line to get family planning contracts have not spent public funds for this purpose.

However, the contracts would have provided public money for cancer screenings, contraceptives, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and other services for people who otherwise couldn’t afford them.

Hill said she would support such contracts.

“My mother died when I was 6 years old,” she said in an interview Monday. “She was 33, and she had cervical cancer.

“I have a deeply personal connection to these family planning clinics because I know that the kind of health care that they provide is life-saving for people, and life-changing.”

Another new member of the Executive Council this year is John Stephen of Manchester, a former state health commissioner who said during the campaign he supports helping provide family planning services.

Hill hopes the Executive Council changes its stance on the issue, but three members of the five-person panel, Wheeler, Janet Stevens of Rye and Joseph Kenney of Wakefield, were reelected and have voted against this in the past.

“We will have new people at the table, including Gov. Kelly Ayotte, so it is my hope we will be able to find a way to restore funding for life-saving health care that is provided by the family planning health centers in New Hampshire,” Hill said.

“Hopefully there’s an opportunity to find some common ground, maybe take a different approach, but I think that most people agree that providing cancer screenings, STI testing and contraception to lower income people is good public policy.”

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Kayla Montgomery said the Executive Council may consider the family planning contracts again later this year.

“Planned Parenthood of Northern New England will continue to work with anyone to make sure public health is fully funded in the state of New Hampshire, and that the Executive Council prioritizes sexual and reproductive health,” she said Monday.

Hill also said she joins others in state government, including Ayotte, in looking for ways to encourage the development of more housing.

As a Lebanon city councilor, Hill says she has favored reducing red tape in approving new projects. She said the city has brought its permitting process online to improve efficiency and allow people to better track the approval process.

“We’re working to increase transparency and efficiency to streamline the process,” she said. “I’m eager to bring my background and experience to share that at the state level to see if we could streamline the process and encourage housing in communities that want it.”

Hill said that in her 20 years as a city councilor, she has seen first-hand how the state has shifted some financial responsibilities, including public employee retirement costs, to the local level, leading to increases in property taxes.

She said that federal COVID-19 pandemic relief money to cities and towns has been helpful in recent years, but she is concerned what will happen now that this source of funding has dried up.

“I will be an advocate for taxpayers with my first-hand knowledge of how state budget cuts can affect property taxes,” she said. “I’ll be looking for downshifting from the state and pointing it out when I see it happening.”

Hill, who has two grown children, is the afternoon DJ on The River 93.9 FM. She also plays the piano at church. Her term as a city councilor concludes in March, and she said she will not run again.

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