Senator Peter Bragdon is a Republican from Milford serving his fourth term. He was elected the 127th President of the New Hampshire state Senate on December 1, 2010. Since the founding of the Senate in 1784, he is only the second lawmaker from Milford to be given this distinction by his colleagues.

Due to the fact New Hampshire does not elect a lieutenant governor, the Senate President also serves as "acting governor" whenever the governor is out of state or otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office.

Bragdon was first elected by the voters of District 11 in 2004. From 2009-2010 he held the position of Minority Leader. He also served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives for one term from 2000-2002.

For the current 2011-2012 Session, the senator serves on the Fiscal, Finance and Internal Affairs Committees. His legislative priorities include: balancing the state budget without raising taxes, passing a constitutional amendment regarding educational funding, creating a business-friendly environment and increasing transparency and openness in state government.

In addition to his responsibilities with the Senate, Bragdon is active in local government. He has been a member of the Milford School Board since 1997 and previously held the position of school board chairman - a post to which his fellow board members elected him to 12 out of the last 15 years. As chairman, he was respected for his ability to bring members with diverse viewpoints together to solve major issues. Bragdon also taught high school math for several years.

Besides education, Bragdon has a strong background in business as well. He is former president of ACHIEVE! Technology, an Amherst software company helping companies comply with safety and environmental regulations from the EPA and OSHA. He led the company to a position on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in America. Bragdon also owned and published The Milford Observer, a bi-weekly newspaper serving the Milford area. During this time, he took great pride in taking on a route and delivering the paper himself.

Peter was raised in Amherst, part of the fourth generation of his family to work the former Bragdon Farm on Route 101, land now preserved for conservation and recreation. He attended public schools in Amherst and Milford before entering the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, where he earned a BS degree in computer science, with a math minor.