Susann and I live in an old cape just north of the Farm Museum about five minutes from the Middleton Town Line.  We have lived there since 1995.  She was born in Concord.  My father’s family farmed N.H. before it was a state – my great grandfather ran the poor farm down in Milford.  My grandfather was a Roosevelt Reform Republican.  Born in the shadow of the Civil War he was still working at 80 and out on strike for fair wages and worker’s rights.

The NH we have today is yesterday’s gift – given by the people who came before us who worked for a common good – in common hope.  For 15 years I have worked to pay for my fair share of that gift, to pay back what came to me and to “pay it forward” to people I will never meet.

I’ve served on over a dozen Town and County elected boards, committees, volunteer groups and projects and I’ve served three terms as your State Rep in a bi-partisan legislature committed to civil government and the services of government that make NH Democracy work.

There is no democracy without a fair tax system.  I’m the Budget Chair in Milton.  We respect taxes.  We set a tight budget.  We expect full service from our town employees and full value for our local tax dollars.

We didn’t get that respect from Concord this session.  We didn’t get full service and we didn’t get full value.  What we got was trickle down taxes.  Concord threw away close to 20 million dollars in cigarette taxes and about another 100 million in highway funding.

How did Concord expect to get that money back?  From your local property tax.  Check for State aid with your school district.  Ask your road agent about block grant funds for road repair.   It’s time to get the Legislature out of the bedroom and back to work on the budget.  We need to fund safe highways and bridges for business and tourism and our daily use.  We need to fund public education, “Kindergarten through UNH”, to build the skilled workforce we need to bring more employers to our state.

I believe I have a solid bi-partisan reputation for competence, courtesy, and community service.  If you agree, please vote to send me back to Concord as your State Rep from Strafford’s #1 District Milton/ Middleton.