Timothy Robertson (politician)

Robertson was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, on June 6, 1932, the son of Ellis and Dorothy (née Drynan) Robertson. He moved with his family to Keene, New Hampshire, in 1936, and graduated from Keene High School. He attended Harvard College for one semester, then earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Hobart and William Smith Colleges after serving in the U.S. Army. He married Elsie "Talu" Hartlieb in 1958, and they had three children. He joined his father in running Robertson Motor Co., a business founded by his grandfather.^[1]

He ran for the New Hampshire House of Representatives as a Republican in 1976 and 1990, losing both campaigns. For 20 of the 24 years from 1992 to 2016, he represented Keene in the state house as a Democrat. Elected in 1992 and re-elected three times, he lost re-election to Republican Chandler Fairbanks in 2000.^[2] In 1996, he introduced a constitutional amendment that would have allowed counties to impose an income tax in order to provide property tax relief, altering the state's status as one of the few without a state income tax.^[3] In 1997, he became the first New Hampshire legislator to propose allowing the farming of hemp and the medical use of marijuana.^[4] He won a seat again in 2002 and was re-elected three times before seeking the gubernatorial nomination in 2010.^[2] He characterized his gubernatorial campaign as raising issues surrounding "a tax system heavily aimed at those least able to afford it."^[5] After taking just 6.6% against incumbent governor John Lynch, he won a seat again in 2012, was re-elected in 2014, and retired in 2016.^[2] In 2015, he introduced a bill that would have allowed municipalities to set their own minimum wages and another that would have set the state's minimum wage at $16.^[6] He also served on the Keene city council and Keene school board.^[7]

Robertson died at the age of 92 at a retirement home in Keene on January 29, 2025.^[1]

Elections in which Robertson achieved at leave 1% of the vote: