Francis "Frank" Snow (April 18, 1941 – May 2, 2015) was an American politician, businessman, and government official who served as a member of the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

Early life

Snow was born on April 18, 1941, in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

for eight years and then spent seventeen years as an air traffic controller, first in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and then in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...

. Snow was one of the 11,345 air traffic controllers fired by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

during the 1981 PATCO strike. Snow attended

Rivier College Rivier University is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Nashua, New Hampshire. Rivier is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education. History Rivier Universit ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

through its

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...

program.

Political career

Snow's firing during the air traffic controllers strike contributed to him becoming a supporter of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In 1983 he was an alternate delegate to the New Hampshire State Democratic Party Convention. In 1985, he ran in the special election for the seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives that was vacated by Edward Newcombe, who resigned after he moved out of state. Snow ran a low-key campaign. He promised to work to bring more state money to help improve Nashua's roads, took a stance against the proposed construction of tollbooths on the Everett Turnpike in Nashua, and opposed the creation of a state

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

. Snow defeated Alan Thomaier, a member of the Nashua Board of Education and the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

, for the Democratic nomination, and Republican Diane Dyer 165 votes to 115 in the special election. During his tenure in the House, Snow received a 100% rating from the liberal New Hampshire People's Alliance. In 1986, Snow ran for a full term as one of Ward 5's three state representatives. In the Democratic primary, he finished third, behind incumbent David E. Cote and newcomer Linda Long, but ahead of his former opponent, Thomaier. In the general election, Snow, Cote, and Long faced Republicans Donnalee Lozeau and Joseph W. DuBois, Jr. Snow finished fourth, behind Cote, Lozeau, and Long.

Real estate

In 1983, Snow received his New Hampshire

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

's license. In 1985 he went to work for Valicenti Realty. He later owned and operated his own real estate company, La Neige Real Estate, in Nashua. Snow's experience in real estate included custom home design and building, land development, and property management.

Later life and death

Snow later worked for a friend as a typesetter and returned to government service as a

United States Customs United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facili ...

inspector. After he retired, Snow moved to

The Villages, Florida The Villages is a census-designated place (CDP) in central Florida. It is in Sumter and Marion counties, Florida, United States. It shares its name with a broader master-planned age-restricted community that spreads into portions of Lake Count ...

. He died on May 2, 2015, after a long battle with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Frank 1941 births 2015 deaths American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Politicians from Nashua, New Hampshire Politicians from Somerville, Massachusetts People from The Villages, Florida Rivier University alumni Typesetters United States Air Force airmen United States Customs Service personnel Air traffic controllers 20th-century American businesspeople