Updated: Burling decides against re-election; Endorses Houde

State Sen. Peter BurlingCONCORD -- State Sen. Peter Burling (D-Cornish) announced this morning that he is not running for re-election and subsequently announced that he is endorsing State Rep. Matt Houde (D-Plainfield) to be his replacement.

"It has been my great privilege to represent the people of the Connecticut Valley and most recently the wonderful folks of Senate District 5. After the ending of this term I will be leaving the legislature and I will be leaving the legislature with the privilege and honor to have served in this institution," Burling said.

"Time has past when we could rely on short-term fixes," he added.

When asked if he will return to the state legislature Burling said, "my years of political bungee-jumping is over."

Burling threw his support behind first-term State Rep. Matt Houde.

"Matt will have my complete endorsement and all the support I can give him," Burling said. "He is exactly the kind of person we need working in the New Hampshire State Senate."

Houde admitted that he will need to introduce himself to voters.

"I need to do some outreach, I recognize that," Houde said.

Houde added that there was a "simultaneous" outreach between Burling and Houde.

"When I heard that he (Burling) was not running again I cited interest in the seat," Houde said.

Houde is a career counselor at the Vermont Law Center.

UPDATE: “Senator Burling has served his community in the State House for decades. He has been a tireless advocate for New Hampshire working families. He was instrumental in the creation of the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority in the early 1990s," Congressman Paul Hodes (D-Concord) said in a statement. "The BFA was granted $10 million in bonding capacity to pursue emergency-financing proposals to help New Hampshire businesses during a period of widespread bank failures in the state saving thousands of New Hampshire jobs."

UPDATE 2: "Peter Burling is a dedicated public servant who has worked tirelessly for his constituents and for all New Hampshire citizens during his decades of service in the legislature," Governor John Lynch (D-Hopkinton) said. "Over the last several years I have had the privilege of working closely with Peter to make real progress on issues that are important to New Hampshire's families."