The Baffling Bradley Contest
Fairly early in the evening of November 2, David Bradley was declared the winner in New Hampshire's fifth district state Senate race. This victory was not cause of celebration at the Hanover home of Democratic challenger David J. Bradley '38; across town, however, residents of Fox Field Lane congratulated the winning Bradley, incumbent Republican David Hammond Bradley '58.
In a race marked by inevitable confusion because of the candidates' similar names, both David Bradleys conducted "know the difference" campaigns. This approach to an unusual circumstance did not always obtain the desired results. On November 1, the day before elections, The Dartmouth carried a front-page story about the Bradley contest. Unfortunately, beneath a photograph of David Hammond was the name of David J. Bradley, while the picture of David J. was identified as of David Hammond Bradley. Another daily newspaper ran the headline "David Bradley A Shoo-in," but unless the readers worked their way into the story they would not have known which Bradley was the "shoo-in."
Although the Bradley's names created the initial confusion, their political views did little to clarify any differences between them; both men came out in favor of a nuclear moratorium until further studies have been conducted; neither approved of legalized gambling as a means of increasing state revenues; similarly they each advocated controlled and planned growth in New Hampshire and preservation of open spaces; and both suggested that a state income tax which returns funds to the -localities will soon be necessary to maintain present state services for New Hampshire residents.
Both men returned to Hanover several years ago and their mail has been crossing ever since. Concurrently, one Bradley was a representative in the New Hampshire House while the other (David H.) held a N. H. Senate-seat. To complicate matters, Mr. and Mrs. David H. and Mr. and Mrs. David J. have all served on the local school board. In fact, several years ago, Mrs. David J. and Mr. David H. served together on the Hanover school board - or was it Mr. David J. and Mrs. David H.?
Reflecting on the campaign, David Hammond Bradley stated that if there existed confusion in a voter's mind as to who was whom, he believed it was resolved by a party vote. "I do not feel that the voters were really confused. I say that with hindsight. If they were, I would not have taken Hanover which voted quite strongly Democratic." David H. was the sole member of the GOP elected in Hanover.
A life-long resident of New Hampshire, David Hammond Bradley is a practicing attorney and partner in the seven-man law firm of Stebbins & Bradley. His interest in and pursuit of law he attributes to his father. Homer S. Bradley, who was a lawyer and town moderator in Keene. David grew up in Keene and West Swanzee, a one-woolen-mill town in the southwestern part of the state.
An All-New England college quarterback and honors student, Bradley was married and joined the Navy soon after his graduation from Dartmouth in 1958. Following his discharge, he returned to Hanover to work as assistant to the director of,admissions. After graduation from Harvard Law School in 1965, he returned again to Hanover to establish a legal practice, becoming a partner in the firm of Stebbins & Bradley in 1967.
The firm is retained by Dartmouth as its regular outside counsel. Bradley handles such administrative affairs as questions of tenure, responsibilities of department heads, and varied forms of litigations. One much publicized case was the College's decision to seek an injunction against the students who had staged a take-over of Parkhurst Hall during the spring of 1969. "We were able to design a legal response to the situation which remained orderly and no one got hurt," says Bradley. "We made the best of a pretty tough situation." Other disputes have concerned the applicability of Hanover real estate taxes to College properties, settled out of court, and Dartmouth's right to market computer software, challenged by competitors but resolved in the College's favor.
Bradley has been active in local and state politics since he returned to Hanover. Elected to the local school board in 1967, he served until 1970 when he successfully ran for the state House of Representatives. After two years in the House, he won a Senate seat which he has held for two terms. Now chairman of the judiciary committee, he has also served on the environmental control, resource and development, and ways and means committees. Chosen for 29 committees of conference, he can, in some ways, "claim to be the busiest of senators." He no longer has to spend his time telling people his middle name and smiling a "know the difference" smile.
The winner: David Hammond Bradley
