NASHUA – People at several spots in Ward 4 on Thursday morning were of two minds over whether state representative-elect Stacie Laughton should resign the seat she won in November.

However, most agreed that Laughton, at the very least, should have disclosed her 2008 felony conviction for credit card fraud while running for state representative serving Ward 4, which covers much of downtown south of the Nashua River and north of Lake Street.

Laugton said she would quit when stories about her criminal past surfaced in newspapers. However, on Wednesday she hedged, saying she wasn’t sure whether she would resign the seat.

On Thursday, she posted on her Facebook page that she will announce her decision today at 3 p.m. while taping an interview on AccessNashua local cable television program.

Ironically, the show will be hosted by Ken Gidge, the former WSMN radio disc jockey who hosted a show a decade ago when embattled State Rep. Tom Alciere tearfully resigned.

And like Laughton, Alciere was also elected by voters in Ward 4.

In January 2001, Alciere bowed to intense pressure and resigned his seat after published reports revealed he advocated the killing of police officers. He did not express those views during a campaign, he said, because no one asked.

Gidge is now a Democratic state Rep., who represents Ward 6 in Nashua.

Laughton, a Democrat, made national news as the first openly transgendered person to be elected to the N.H. state legislature, and one of the first to be elected nationally.

The Telegraph queried voters in her district Thursday on whether they want Laugton to continue serve or step down.

Leslie Van Wagner and friend Ann Grandmaison sat sipping coffee in the City Room on West Pearl Street in the heart of Ward 4. Neither vote in the ward, but each shared her feelings.

Van Wagner feels Laughton should resign because she was “less than honest” with voters.

“I’m divided. I just feel that it’s a shame that it had to happen to her because I’m a supporter of rights for transgendered individuals,” Van Wagner said.

Grandmaison disagreed, saying Laughton has paid her debt to society and should keep her seat.

Grandmaison said she admires Laughton for becoming the first transgendered person to be elected to state government.

The Laconia Daily Sun and The Telegraph reported last week that Laughton served four months in jail in 2008 on charges of conspiracy to commit credit card fraud.

Laughton, who was known until December 2010 as Barry Charles Laughton Jr., failed to acknowledge her criminal history to voters, drawing criticism and calls for her resignation from Republican lawmakers and political leaders.

She was sentenced to serve 12 months with four months suspended in the Belknap County Department of Corrections for conspiracy to commit fraudulent use of a credit card. The remainder of her sentence remains suspended until 2019.

State law prohibits convicted felons from running for or holding office until their final discharge from prison. But legal professionals and political leaders across the state aren’t clear on the definition of “final discharge.”

The N.H. Attorney General’s office is still investigating Laughton’s matter.

“I anticipate that this office will issue a letter probably before the end of the week,” senior assistant attorney general Michael Brown said Thursday afternoon. “Tuesday I think there’s the organizational day (for the state legislature), so at the very latest this would go out early Monday morning.”

Laughton will be sworn in Dec. 5 if she retains her seat.

Ward 4 voter Dana Clarke said in a telephone and email interview that the issue is what Laughton has done since her arrest.

Clarke, who voted for all Democrats in November, said if he had known about Laughton’s felony, he might still have voted for her if she had owned up to the arrest and demonstrated that she had changed.

“What have you done since 2008? Have you done anything to change?” Clarke wanted to know of Laughton.

What matters to Clarke isn’t that Laughton changed her gender or appearance – it’s whether she changed her behavior and her life since her felony arrest.

“What has she done to better herself?” he asked. “Volunteer in the community, work with the homeless, donate time at HEARTS or Harbor Homes? The opportunities are endless – become a member of a faith-based community, join a self help or 12 step program. Take responsibility for your actions.”

Clarke said he has done that in his life. A volunteer at the HEARTS peer support program, Clarke has been featured in past Telegraph articles in which he talked about serving prison time for drug addiction before his Christian faith turned his life around.

“I made my amends. I changed my life,” Clarke said.

At Norton’s Classic Cafe, diners at breakfast read The Telegraph’s coverage of Laughton. Several patrons shrugged it off, saying cynically they felt most politicians were dishonest.

John Ignatowicz thought it interesting that Laughton’s felony conviction is more of an issue than the fact she was transgendered. Forty years ago, the opposite would have been true, Ignatowicz said.

Laughton’s mistake was not disclosing the arrest when she was running for office, he said.

“When you’re in politics, you’ve got to figure it’s going to come out,” Ignatowicz said.

Patrick Meighan can be reached at 594-6518 or pmeighan@nashuatelegraph.com. Follow Meighan on Twitter @ Telegraph_PatM.