Ours is the last with real authority
During every state election, we find candidates for Executive Council on the ballot. I suspect this office remains mysterious to many voters. New Hampshire is the only state that retains an Executive Council with real authority. Our Executive Council goes way back to 1679, when King Charles II directed that New Hampshire be separated from Massachusetts […]
Rising property taxes are being ignored
This will be my last report before the November 4 election. Yes, it has been two years since the voters of Merrimack District 1 — Andover, Danbury, and Salisbury — did me the honor of electing me to the New Hampshire legislature. I want to thank all who wrote letters endorsing my re-election; your support is what […]
State revenues will fall short
We had our last legislative session on September 17 to address the Governor’s vetoes of three bills. A two-thirds vote is necessary to overturn a veto. A Yes vote was to overturn, a No vote to uphold. HB 591, an anti-bullying bill which the Governor thought was written too broadly. Veto sustained by a vote […]
Vote in the primary election on September 9
Reporting from Rye State Park: The historical John Smith (in the person of Paul Strand) made an appearance on August 14 to inaugurate his new monument in Rye State Park to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his expedition and landing at the Isles of Shoal. The expedition marks the first time that the expression “New England” […]
A chance to choose the fall election candidates
We take political parties for granted most of the time. It is only when someone asks why two parties dominate political life in our country, or when the ballot clerk at a primary election asks us which ballot we want, that we even think about our relationship with a political party. There is nothing particularly […]
What has he or she done or said to earn your vote?
When you make up your mind who you’re voting for in the November county or state elections, please send a few sentences about what you like most about the candidate you’ve picked. We’d like to run those short bits in the Beacon so we can all see what’s persuading our friends and neighbors one way […]
Familiar issues will be back in 2015
Many bills that didn’t pass in the 2014 session of the New Hampshire Legislature will reappear as new legislation in the session starting in January 2015. I’ve reviewed some of these bills below, and I need to hear the thoughts of my constituents about these and other important issues. If you choose me to represent […]
NH House finished work on June 4
The New Hampshire House finished its work for the current biennium on June 4. The Legislature can be proud of what it accomplished, including a bipartisan budget restoring many of the draconian cuts to education and social services, making healthcare insurance possible for many working families, providing funding to fix roads and bridges, protecting women, […]
Bipartisan compromise leads to meaningful legislation
When I ran for the New Hampshire Senate, I wanted to bring common-sense business principles to Concord. To me, that means working with both parties to solve problems; being careful with taxpayers’ money; and focusing on things people really care about, such as economic growth and job creation, instead of getting caught in tired partisan […]
Hospitals settle; state on track for balanced budget
While June 4 was the last session scheduled for the year in the legislature, we will have to go back at least once to vote on the governor’s vetoes. Governor Hassan has already vetoed HB 1244, which would have prohibited the disclosure of lottery winners names. I thought not releasing lottery winners names was incredibly […]