Steven Endres, the Democratic nominee for Merrimack County attorney, was fired from his solicitor position on April 4, 2025, after an outside investigation found several women’s accounts of sexual jokes and workplace comments credible. Endres disputes parts of the investigation and says he learned important lessons about boundaries and workplace conduct.
What led to the investigation
The inquiry began with a text message sent on Feb. 14, 2025. Endres commented on a legal secretary’s attire. The former secretary shared the message with the woman referenced in it, who told the office manager that it made her uncomfortable. Human-resources staff then heard broader complaints about Endres’s conduct in the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office.
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The episode was not treated as an isolated text by the office. Complaints described sexual jokes and other comments involving women who worked there. The published account does not establish that every reported statement was accepted as true; it describes which testimony investigator Sarah Freeman credited and which allegations remained disputed.
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How the outside investigation was conducted
Sarah Freeman, an attorney with DrummondWoodsum, delivered a 50-page report on March 31, 2025. She interviewed four legal secretaries, the office manager, a sexual-assault-response investigator, a facilities supervisor and Endres.
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Freeman evaluated 14 separate points. Her report found several women’s testimony and concerns credible. It also credited Endres on some disputed matters, including the meaning of a “DTF” reference and an issue involving a pineapple sticker. Those credibility determinations are findings of the workplace investigation, not a criminal conviction or a judicial ruling.
Why the county attorney fired Endres
County Attorney Halvorsen reviewed Freeman’s report and terminated Endres four days after it was delivered, on April 4, 2025. Halvorsen’s letter said the decision relied on information from witnesses who reported direct knowledge of Endres’s workplace conduct.
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“In reaching my decision, I have relied on information presented to the investigator by witnesses who reported direct knowledge of your workplace conduct… I have determined that your conduct… is detrimental to the immediate and ongoing operation of the office of Merrimack County Attorney and is therefore conduct I cannot condone or tolerate.”
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The letter framed the firing as an employment decision: Halvorsen concluded that Endres’s conduct harmed the office’s immediate and continuing operation. The available account does not report a separate criminal charge arising from the investigation.
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What Endres says about the allegations and process
Endres challenged the investigation’s process and disputed or denied several allegations. He said he received no warning, did not remember some of the comments attributed to him, questioned accounts involving his personal cellphone number and text messages, and argued that the county exceeded its authority.
He also described the experience as instructive rather than dismissing the subject entirely. Endres told Concord Patch that he learned “a great deal” about boundaries, friendship, trust, how other people viewed him and how he should interact with coworkers.
In another statement, he said: “In a workplace, I expect everyone to be competent and do their respective job, regardless of gender or age.” That statement reflects his general view of workplace expectations, while his objections concern the specific allegations and the way the county handled them.
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Endres is identified as the Democratic nominee for Merrimack County attorney. He is a longtime Republican from Bradford who changed parties after his firing. The available reporting identifies Meghan Hagaman as his opponent.
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| Candidate | Documented employment or disciplinary information in the published account | What remains qualified |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Endres | Former solicitor in the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office; fired April 4, 2025, after Freeman’s investigation. | He disputes or denies several allegations and challenged the process. Freeman credited some of his competing accounts. |
| Meghan Hagaman | No investigation or disciplinary action was found in the Merrimack County Attorney’s Office or the New Hampshire Department of Justice records checked for her. | The absence of a reported disciplinary record is not a finding about every aspect of a candidate’s career or conduct. |
Earlier employment records also matter to the comparison. Concord reportedly found no record of an investigation or discipline against Endres from his previous prosecutor’s-office employment. That information does not erase the Merrimack County inquiry; it limits the claim to the earlier employment reviewed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Timeline of the case
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Feb. 14, 2025 | Endres sent the text message about a legal secretary’s attire that preceded the broader complaints. |
| March 31, 2025 | Sarah Freeman delivered DrummondWoodsum’s 50-page investigative report. |
| April 4, 2025 | County Attorney Halvorsen terminated Endres after reviewing the report. |
| Oct. 15, 2026 | Concord Patch published the account of the personnel records and investigation used in the election coverage. |
What is established, and what is still disputed
The established employment record is that Endres worked as a solicitor, an outside investigator produced a 50-page report, Halvorsen fired him after reviewing it, and Endres is now running as the Democratic nominee. The report’s 14-point review credited several witnesses while accepting Endres’s account on some issues.
The published account is a summary of personnel records and a private investigation. It does not reproduce the complete investigative report, termination letter or underlying New Hampshire Right-to-Know Law records. Consequently, allegations should be attributed to the witnesses and Freeman’s report, while Endres’s denials and procedural objections should remain part of the account. Nothing in the available material establishes that every disputed comment occurred exactly as alleged or that a court has adjudicated the matter.
Why the distinction matters for voters
Voters evaluating the race have two separate questions: what happened in the county office, and how each candidate responds to workplace leadership and accountability. Endres’s firing and the investigator’s credibility findings are documented in the published personnel-account summary; his objections describe why he believes the process was unfair. Hagaman’s reported lack of disciplinary investigations in the offices checked is a narrower background fact, not an endorsement or a complete biography.
The record therefore supports a precise conclusion rather than a blanket one: Endres lost his county solicitor job after an investigation that credited multiple witnesses, while he continues to contest portions of the allegations and the county’s handling of them.
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