# Timothy Robertson (politician)

Timothy Norris Robertson (June 6, 1932 – January 29, 2025) was an American politician from the state of New Hampshire. He served as a Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and sought the gubernatorial nomination in 2010.

## Life and career

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.
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. 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. In 1997, he became the first New Hampshire legislator to propose allowing the farming of hemp and the medical use of marijuana. He won a seat again in 2002 and was re-elected three times before seeking the gubernatorial nomination in 2010. He characterized his gubernatorial campaign as raising issues surrounding "a tax system heavily aimed at those least able to afford it." 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. 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. He also served on the Keene city council and Keene school board.
Robertson died at the age of 92 at a retirement home in Keene on January 29, 2025.

## Electoral history

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

### 1976
#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 16th District, 1976 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Joan E. Terry | 1,039 | 32.2 |
| | Republican | Andrea A. Scranton * | 794 | 24.6 |
| | Republican | Timothy Robertson | 760 | 23.5 |
| | Democratic | Terry M. Clark | 637 | 19.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,230 | 100 |

### 1990
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 17th District, 1990 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Timothy Robertson | 956 | 27.4 |
| | Republican | Patricia T. O'Brien | 890 | 25.5 |
| | Republican | Wayne L. Spear | 834 | 23.9 |
| | Republican | Arlayne E. Pierce | 716 | 20.5 |
| | Republican | Katherine D. Foster * | 48 | 1.4 |
| | Republican | Richard L. Champagne | 37 | 1.1 |
| | Republican | Richard F. Doucette * | 11 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,492 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 17th District, 1990 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Richard L. Champagne | 3,455 | 16.7 |
| | Democratic | Katherine D. Foster * | 3,301 | 16.0 |
| | Democratic | Margaret A. Lynch | 3,017 | 14.6 |
| | Democratic | Richard F. Doucette * | 2,985 | 14.5 |
| | Republican | Timothy Robertson | 2,344 | 11.4 |
| | Republican | Patricia T. O'Brien | 1,958 | 9.5 |
| | Republican | Wayne L. Spear | 1,933 | 9.4 |
| | Republican | Arlayne E. Pierce | 1,637 | 7.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 20,630 | 100 |

### 1992
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1992 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 315 | 98.1 |
| | Democratic | Emily B. Evans | 6 | 1.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 321 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1992 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 1,135 | 55.2 |
| | Republican | Emily B. Evans | 920 | 44.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,055 | 100 |

### 1994
#### Primary elections

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1994 primary elections * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic primary |||||
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 143 | 98.6 |
| | Democratic | John M. Blackadar | 2 | 1.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 145 | 100 |
| Republican primary |||||
| | Republican | Timothy Robertson * | 22 | 88.0 |
| | Republican | John M. Blackadar | 3 | 2.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 25 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1994 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic/Republican | Timothy Robertson * | 1,162 | 87.8 |
| | Libertarian | John M. Blackadar | 161 | 12.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,323 | 100 |

### 1996
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1996 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 235 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 235 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1992 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 1,099 | 56.1 |
| | Republican | Roger U. Day | 860 | 43.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,959 | 100 |

### 1998
#### Primary elections

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1998 primary elections * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic primary |||||
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 150 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 150 | 100 |
| Republican primary |||||
| | Republican | Roger U. Day | 275 | 98.6 |
| | Republican | Timothy Robertson * | 4 | 1.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 279 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 1992 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 849 | 59.2 |
| | Republican | Roger U. Day | 585 | 40.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,434 | 100 |

### 2000
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 2000 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 340 | 98.8 |
| | Democratic | Chandler Fairbanks | 340 | 0.9 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 344 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 18th District, 2000 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Chandler Fairbanks | 1,131 | 51.2 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 1,077 | 48.7 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,211 | 100 |

### 2002
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 25th District, 2002 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 1,017 | 15.4 |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 1,009 | 15.3 |
| | Democratic | Pamela Russell Slack | 990 | 15.0 |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 977 | 14.8 |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn | 924 | 14.0 |
| | Democratic | David Meader * | 895 | 13.6 |
| | Democratic | James T. Brisson | 785 | 11.9 |
| | Democratic | Gertrude Pearson | 2 | 0.0 |
| | Democratic | Marilyn L. Huston | 1 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,600 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 25th District, 2002 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 4,084 | 9.1 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 4,052 | 9.0 |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 3,988 | 8.9 |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn | 3,871 | 8.6 |
| | Democratic | Pamela Russell Slack | 3,862 | 8.6 |
| | Democratic | David Meader * | 3,740 | 8.3 |
| | Republican | Douglas K. Fish | 3,175 | 7.1 |
| | Democratic | James T. Brisson | 3,166 | 7.1 |
| | Republican | Deb Hamel-Kearney | 3,131 | 7.0 |
| | Republican | Marilyn L. Huston | 2,605 | 5.8 |
| | Republican | Joseph Bendzinski | 2,504 | 5.6 |
| | Republican | Gertrude Pearson | 2,403 | 5.4 |
| | Republican | Robert F. Williams | 2,335 | 5.2 |
| | Republican | Chester Lapointe | 1,928 | 4.3 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 37 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,891 | 100 |

### 2004
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2004 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 1,067 | 15.4 |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 1,064 | 15.4 |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 1,061 | 15.3 |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn * | 1,037 | 15.0 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher | 932 | 13.4 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts | 858 | 12.4 |
| | Democratic | Stephanie Sinclair | 854 | 12.3 |
| | Democratic | Dean J. Eaton | 17 | 0.2 |
| | Democratic | George M. Gline | 15 | 0.2 |
| | Democratic | Douglas K. Fish * | 10 | 0.1 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 16 | 0.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,931 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2004 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 7,065 | 10.4 |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn * | 6,949 | 10.2 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 6,544 | 9.6 |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 6,541 | 9.6 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher | 6,354 | 9.4 |
| | Democratic | Stephanie Sinclair | 5,999 | 8.8 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts | 5,890 | 8.7 |
| | Republican | Dean J. Eaton | 4,922 | 7.2 |
| | Republican | Douglas K. Fish * | 4,397 | 6.5 |
| | Republican | Roger U. Day | 3,477 | 5.1 |
| | Republican | George M. Gline | 3,450 | 5.1 |
| | Republican | Robert C. Adam | 3,372 | 5.0 |
| | Republican | Michael A. Jacques | 2,925 | 4.3 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 50 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 67,935 | 100 |

### 2006
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2006 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 769 | 15.5 |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 756 | 15.3 |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn * | 739 | 14.9 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 720 | 14.5 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher * | 701 | 14.2 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts * | 657 | 13.3 |
| | Democratic | Delmar D. Burridge | 594 | 12.0 |
| | Democratic | David E. Harvey | 2 | 0.0 |
| | Democratic | Arto A. Leino | 1 | 0.0 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 10 | 0.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,949 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2006 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | J. Timothy Dunn * | 4,808 | 12.2 |
| | Democratic | Peter S. Espiefs * | 4,791 | 12.1 |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 4,704 | 11.9 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher * | 4,613 | 11.7 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts * | 4,571 | 11.6 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 4,540 | 11.5 |
| | Democratic | Delmar D. Burridge | 4,051 | 10.3 |
| | Republican | Marilyn L. Huston | 2,619 | 6.6 |
| | Republican | David E. Harvey | 2,395 | 6.1 |
| | Republican | Arto A. Leino | 2,346 | 5.9 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 40 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 39,478 | 100 |

### 2008
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2008 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 683 | 16.1 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 647 | 15.3 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts * | 644 | 15.2 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher * | 629 | 14.9 |
| | Democratic | David Meader | 566 | 13.4 |
| | Democratic | Steven W. Lindsey | 547 | 12.9 |
| | Democratic | Delmar D. Burridge * | 505 | 11.9 |
| | Democratic | William K. Chaffee Jr. | 1 | 0.0 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 12 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,234 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 3rd District, 2008 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chuck Weed * | 7,573 | 11.4 |
| | Democratic | Kris Roberts * | 6,851 | 10.3 |
| | Democratic | Suzanne Butcher * | 6,468 | 9.7 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 6,366 | 9.6 |
| | Democratic | David Meader | 6,313 | 9.5 |
| | Democratic | Steven W. Lindsey | 6,309 | 9.5 |
| | Democratic | Delmar D. Burridge * | 5,547 | 8.3 |
| | Republican | Maureen Benik Metivier | 3,614 | 5.4 |
| | Republican | Peter Benik | 3,461 | 5.2 |
| | Republican | David E. Harvey | 3,019 | 4.5 |
| | Republican | Arto A. Leino | 2,980 | 4.5 |
| | Republican | William K. Chaffee Jr. | 2,949 | 4.4 |
| | Republican | Dillon A. Benik | 2,839 | 4.3 |
| | Republican | Varrin Swearingen | 2,291 | 3.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 65 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 66,645 | 100 |

### 2010
#### Primary election

New Hampshire Governor, 2010 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | John Lynch * | 50,348 | 87.5 |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 3,792 | 6.6 |
| | Democratic | Frank P. Sullivan | 3,418 | 5.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 57,558 | 100 |

### 2012
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 6th District, 2012 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 319 | 99.7 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 320 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 6th District, 2012 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson | 1,520 | 68.8 |
| | Republican | Keith Carlsen | 684 | 31.0 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 5 | 0.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,209 | 100 |

### 2014
#### Primary election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 6th District, 2014 primary election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 181 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 181 | 100 |

#### General election

New Hampshire House of Representatives, Cheshire 6th District, 2014 general election * denotes incumbent     Source: :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Timothy Robertson * | 1,169 | 100 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,169 | 100 |