A Year of Free Political Advertising for Sununu

 

Governor Sununu has been giving weekly press conferences during the pandemic. Not because he's an epidemiologist, a doctor, or a scientist. Not because he's an expert in matters of public health. He's been giving them because he's a politician who seized the moment to advertise himself on the public airwaves (WMUR aka WGOP), for free. 

In our neighboring state of Maine, the weekly Covid updates come from Maine CDC Director, Dr. Nirav Shah. Dr. Shah is so popular that he has a Facebook fan page - and a chocolate bar named after him. 

The weekly Covid updates are not used as free political advertising for Maine Governor Janet Mills.  

Did all this free advertising have an impact on the NH state elections? Absolutely. But don't take my word for it - here's what the (unfortunately) elected Executive Councilor Joe Kenney had to say in the Union Leader: 

Kenney said he was one of many who benefitted from Gov. Chris Sununu, who became a TV star by virtue of his weekly briefings on COVID-19.

Even Joe Kenney gets it - and he's no rocket scientist. 

Despite lacking any sort of expertise, Sununu got a free platform every week, to stand before fawning journalists who seldom asked any difficult questions,  including the most basic one of all, "Isn't this free political advertising, Governor?"

Rinse, Lather, Repeat

A recent editorial in the Valley News quoted a state rep as describing the current state of affairs at the NH legislature in this way, “We address problems that do not exist, we misunderstand problems that do exist, and then we do the wrong thing for ideological reasons.” That pretty much sums it up.

The very first bill passed by our legislature this year – their urgent priority - was not legislation aimed at fixing our infrastructure, solving our infrastructure problems, doing something about our affordable housing problem, or the opioid crisis. The very first order of business was passing a bill to ensure that gun owners were no longer required to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

There have been many attempts to solve non-existent problems. A bill to solve the problem of poor people eating was retained by the House Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee. Senate bill 7 would have changed the eligibility requirements for food stamps, potentially kicking 17,000 families with children off the program. This was not going to save any money – in fact it was going to cost the state to do it. It did nothing to prevent fraud. All it was going to do was ensure that the working poor would have a harder time feeding their kids. Truly a victory for our well-to-do state senators. Only it wasn’t, because the House HHS committee had an outbreak of decency and decided to retain the bill. They’ll have to act on it, of course, but by the end of the year they may decide to quietly kill it.  

Our Governor’s first big appointment was Frank Edelblut, the Commissioner of Education who has no background in education, homeschooled his 7 children and had never been inside a NH public school. His confirmation was along party lines, despite all those constituent calls to Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, who does the wrong thing for ideological reasons at every opportunity. Sununu chose to drop his nominee to head the Dept. of Environmental Services, when most of the Executive Councilors thought businessman Frank Kujawski’s past as a Boy Scout wasn’t enough of a qualification for the position. Joe Kenney, however, was quoted in the press as saying he would have voted for him. He voted for one unqualified guy – why stop now?

Frank “I’ll be an implementer” Edelblut has decided to go for a big power grab. He got Senator Reagan to add an amendment to a bill that had already had a public hearing in the House, giving Edelblut unchecked power to reconfigure the Dept. of Education, an undefined plan he apparently developed without speaking to any of his alleged colleagues. There was something of an uproar over that bit of jiggery-pokery, so a public hearing was held, in a room that was too small for it, with Senator Reagan allowing all the lobbyists to speak before constituents, then berating those who questioned Edelblut’s fitness for the job. Nothing says, “I’m a duly elected representative of the people” like lecturing them for expressing their concerns. Even the Union Leader (the official state mouthpiece for the NH GOP) thought Frank’s power grab was a bad idea. Despite the best efforts of Senator Reagan, the Senate Education Committee voted thumbs down on the amendment. It still has to go before the full Senate. 

To his credit, Edelblut has been out visiting, so at least now he knows what the inside of a NH public school looks like. He asked the state board of education to reconsider the standards for teaching science, something they’d just spent two years doing. Edelblut’s criticisms of the science standards were based on a report by conservative education think tank, the Fordham Institute. Fordham uses cutting edge 1950’s science teaching as their criteria for evaluation.

The bill to solve the non-existent problem of voter fraud, SB3, is still languishing in committee. Meanwhile, HB 238, a bill to create yet another study committee to study the actual problem of broadband access to the internet is likely to pass. I predict the study will reveal we need better access, especially in the northern part of the state, and that nothing will come of it. I hope I’m not the only one amused by Senator Bradley’s attempts to cloak his opposition to legalizing marijuana in the objections of the police chiefs – the same police chiefs he blithely ignored when it came to concealed carry.

At the NH House, the bickering between the self-styled Freedom Caucus and the leadership continues, after their failure to pass their own budget.

None of this will be helped by the recent revelation that GOP State Representative Robert Fisher from Laconia seems to have had some reprehensible things to say about women in a number of online forums, including one he created. He used a variety of personas to put forth his views, including the astounding statement that rape isn’t all bad, because the rapist enjoys it. Fisher is refusing to resign.

Problems, misunderstanding, and ideology. Rinse, lather, and repeat.

We Remain Undeterred

The Governor and the Executive Council comprise the executive branch of our state government. The Council has veto power over pardons, contracts with a value greater than $10,000, and nominations. Executive Councilors earn a yearly salary of $12,354 plus an additional $4000 per year for expenses, in Districts 2-5. The District 1 Councilor gets $5800 per year for expenses. It should come as no surprise that NH is the only state that does the executive branch this way. We’re the only state with a ridiculously large House full of unpaid legislators. Neither one of these things actually works all that well anymore, but that does not deter us.

The Executive Council was intended to be a check on the governor’s power. Instead, it’s become a home for some angry men who don’t give a fig about what’s right for the state. Their figs are reserved for what is far right, as in their ideology. The Executive Council has become just another parade ground for ideological posturing by the members of the GOP as they use the position as a springboard to higher office.

Last summer the Executive Council voted against funding Planned Parenthood on the basis of the bogus videos that have since been discredited. Republicans seized on those videos as a way to play politics with women’s health and bodily autonomy, while pretending to have great concern for life. That Planned Parenthood saves lives didn’t factor into their grandstanding.

Planned Parenthood saved my daughter’s life twenty some years ago. Low wage working women in the north country didn’t have many choices when it came to their health care back then. The choices haven’t expanded all that much in the ensuing years, though the ACA has improved access for some. My daughter could afford Planned Parenthood, thanks to their sliding fee scale. An annual pap smear came back showing precancerous cells in her cervix. They were removed. She didn’t get cervical cancer. About 15 years later, she had a baby, because she didn’t get cancer and die, thanks to Planned Parenthood.  

It is worth pointing out that Planned Parenthood is not just a provider of birth control. Planned Parenthood also provides STD testing and treatment, breast exams, and cancer screenings.

When Executive Councilors Joe Kenney and David Wheeler start grandstanding about Planned Parenthood, I take it personally. Women’s lives and women’s health are of no concern to these men. Women are just pawns to be used for grandstanding purposes.

Last week the Executive Council voted to restore funding to Planned Parenthood. Republican Chris Sununu was the swing vote this time. He’s supported Planned Parenthood in the past, and after a foray into political expedience last summer, he’s returned to his original stance. His own political party has already begun to excoriate him. There is no room for differences of opinion in today’s Republican Party.

David Wheeler brayed about “Planned Parenthood selling baby parts.” This has been disproven (at the same time the videos were debunked) but in the fact free age we live in, that is unimportant. He knows that the NH media won’t hold him accountable for his lies. Only two states (California and Washington) had fetal tissue donation programs. The program was completely voluntary. The tissue wasn’t sold – it was donated. Some (not all) of the clinics were reimbursed for the cost of shipping and handling. The tissue went on to be used for scientific research.

Joe Kenney put on his sad face to declare that the money for Planned Parenthood should be spent on the opioid crisis. Family planning is not a crisis, he opined, in the way that one might if they had zero chance of ever becoming pregnant. Women’s lives don’t matter in Joeworld, but suddenly, addicts lives matter? Try as I might, I can’t ever remember Joe having any concern for them in the past.

At the Executive Council meeting, Kenney said that there is never an unwanted child. There are orphanages and adoption agencies, he said. Does he even know what an orphanage is? (Spoiler Alert: warehouse for unwanted children.) Fauxlifers love to pretend concern for children, while begrudging every dime spent on their education, and doing nothing about child poverty and homelessness.

The 2015 data from NH Kids Count shows that in Carroll County, 10.5% of families with children under the age of 18 live below the federal poverty level. In Coos County it’s 19.2% of families, and in Grafton it’s 11.8%. Given that NH is the seventh wealthiest state in the nation, those numbers are shocking. Joe Kenney has yet to put on his sad public face to discuss the need to do anything about the increasing percentage of child poverty in his district.

According to the nhgov website, “The Executive Council plays a vital role in improving the state's infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, via management and oversight of the state's 10 year Highway Plan.” The website does not list “overseeing women’s reproductive parts” as one of the EC responsibilities. Ponder that next time you drive on East Conway Road.

NH typically has about 500 bridges on the state’s red list for structural impairments. We have 1,2000 bridges that are over 75 years old. New bridges are added to the red list every year. We add more bridges than we take off, though one way to remove a bridge from the red list is just to close it. The wait list for new municipal bridge projects is about 17 years. Our 10 year transportation plan is a farce. But hey, that’s not sexy. Talking about bridges doesn’t get your face on WMUR or get you written up in Breitbart. Doing your damn job doesn’t get your name up in lights.

According to the Executive Council website, Council members are supposed to be advocates for the people. Check out their responsibilities at
https://www.nh.gov/council/about-us/index.htm , then ask questions of your local EC candidates accordingly. You might ask about that “vital” role they play in improving our infrastructure. Ask the incumbent what he’s done in that regard. Be sure to ask which people they intend to advocate for.

 Published as an op-ed in the July 8 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.

Asha Kenney Running for Register of Deeds

Asha Kenney is running for Register of Deeds! 

That's one way to solve the County Commissioner problem. 
Carroll County Commissioners Want to Oust Asha Kenney

This, by the way, is a woman who, as secretary of the group, was incapable of taking the minutes of County Commission meetings. 

A reminder of the kind of public servant Mrs. Kenney has been: 

Carroll County Commissioners Want to Oust Asha Kenney

The woman in pink, at the far right (!) is Asha Kenney. Mrs. Kenney is a Carroll County Commissioner, this is a CCC meeting, and she is sitting in her customary surly pose. Mrs. Kenney has been very unhappy with everything during her tenure on the Carroll County Commission. 

Her unhappiness has reached a new level. The Conway Daily Sun reported today that Mrs. Kenney's fellow commissioners have pledged to remove her from office. Now, Asha Kenney has done a lot of obnoxious things since she's been in office. She was accused of  illegally taping meetings. (She was elected secretary but couldn't seem to take notes.) A few weeks ago she demanded 2,000 county employees W-2 forms. A former county employee filed a grievance against Commissioner Kenney, which includes mentions of all kinds of bizarre behavior on the part of Mrs. Kenney. 

But it all pales in comparison to this:

An alleged verbal attack on a county employee by Carroll County Commissioner Asha Kenney which included the accusation the employee's daughter is a prostitute has prompted the other two commissioners to try to remove Kenney from office.

The two commissioners, chairman David Sorensen and David Babson Wednesday also voted to censure her. 

Holy schnitzel! She accused a county employee's daughter of being a prostitute? 

It seems that Asha Kenney (wife of One Executive Councilor Joe Kenney - am I a jerk for bringing that up in a story about her? You bet I am.) has been harassing Deb Newlin for some time. More from the Conway Sun story:

Newlin alleged Kenney's "hostility" towards her began in 2012 after Newlin denied Kenney access to personnel files that were not available for "random viewing."
In one instance, Kenney emailed incoming HR director Wynette DeGroot, even before DeGroot started working, to tell DeGroot about how Newlin should be fired.
The most recent incident against Newlin occurred on May 28. Newlin had just come back to work after taking medical leave.
According to Newlin, Kenney was "so disturbed" by Newlin's return that she launched into a "45 minute tirade" at the business office. Newlin did not hear the tirade herself but learned of it from others.

"In the course of this tirade, Mrs. Kenney stated that I have a twin sister who is in prison for life on death row for murdering her mother-in-law by stabbing her in the neck," said Newlin. "Mrs. Kenney went so far as to show staff members a picture she had on her cell phone, which she claimed is a picture of my twin, and asked 'see, doesn't it look just like her?' Mrs. Kenney then told staff that she is afraid to have me upstairs and afraid of what I might do. She further claimed that my husband got me pregnant at the same time his ex-wife was pregnant. She stated that I also have a brother who is no good. She then stated that I have a daughter working as a prostitute in California."

This takes bizarre to a whole new level. 

Video of the meeting:

The discussion about removing Asha Kenney from office begins early in the video. This video was recorded on June 4, 2014. 

Mrs. Kenney has had problems with anger and impulse control since the beginning of her term. 

Note how sweet she is to everyone. 

There are no procedures for removing most elected officials from office in NH. Asha Kenney should, of course, resign at once. Is she smart enough to do that? I don't think so. She is deeply invested in her own victimhood.

Will her husband, Joe Kenney, who will be running for re-election in November decide he needs to shut down this shitshow, before he gets some on him?

Stay tuned.  

h/t to Dave Babson and David Sorenson for doing their best to protect county employees from this abusive woman.

Crossover

March 27 is Crossover Day in the NH legislature. It’s the day when the House turns over their bills to the Senate, and the Senate returns the favor. This year there was so much delay and obstructionism that there was some doubt as to whether the deadline would actually be met. The House had 2 voting session days throughout the month of March, and the Speaker threatened to add a third session day on March 27.

It is difficult to know what the obstructionist’s goal is in holding everything up. They aren’t doing the People’s business. They aren’t enacting legislation, or doing what is best for the state. They are wasting taxpayer dollars and treating their colleagues with a glaring lack of respect.  They get all caught up in the drama of it; adult sized boys, buzzing around the chamber for whispered consultations and making “secret” signals from the sidelines. These aren’t votes they can win - the goal is just to slow the process down as much as possible. As I’ve said before, this is what you get when you elect people who hate government to BE the government.

There were 13 roll call votes on the March 12 session day. Two of them concerned a mandatory headlight use bill. That bill was debated for 2 hours, even though everyone in the chamber knew it wasn’t going anywhere. The whole process did, at least, amuse the New York Times reporter I was sitting next to. A bill regulating the use of alkaline hydrolysis as a means of disposing of human remains provided a stage for Rep. Jordan Ulery to leap upon and very dramatically describe the process of alkaline hydrolysis to the few legislators who stayed in the chamber.  The same bill had been proposed last year. This wasn’t new information, but when gumming up the works is the goal, no corpse must be left un-described. No one was going to be forced to dispose of a dead person this way unless they wanted to, but the loudest believers in freedom and liberty only seem to do so when its convenient for them. If a free gun came with alkaline hydrolysis, they’d be lining up around the block to throw Granny into the chamber.

There was also a lengthy debate that same day on repealing the death penalty. To the credit of all, that was mostly an intelligent and respectful debate. Most of our Carroll County delegation voted for repeal, and the bill passed the House. By the time you read this, the Senate Judiciary Committee will have had a public hearing on the bill. NH has spent $7 million so far on the death penalty case of Michael Addison, and we’re nowhere near done. The death chamber hasn’t been built. The drugs – Europe won’t sell us the drugs any more, because we’re barbarians. We don’t know what kind of drugs we’ll be using, or how much they’ll cost. Expect the entire shebang to tally up to near $20 million. Remember that, as you drive down East Conway Road. Assuming you return from that voyage be sure to ask Representatives Chandler, Buco, and McConkey where the money’s going to come from to execute that one guy.

Speaking of warm and fuzzy, a truly significant piece of legislation was recently passed and signed into law by the governor. Medicaid expansion will ensure that many low-wage workers in the North Country will have access to health insurance. A report recently issued by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute found that Coos County is the least healthy county in NH. Carroll County wasn’t far behind. In both Coos and Carroll, 17% of the population is uninsured. In both Coos and Carroll 18% of the population engages in excessive drinking. In Coos 18% of the population is in fair or poor health. The ratio of patients to mental health providers is 932:1. There is 7.7% unemployment in Coos, and 23% child poverty. In Carroll County there is 20% child poverty, and 17% of residents have severe housing problems. In Grafton County, 15% of the population is uninsured.

The bill originated in the NH Senate, where our own Senator Jeb Bradley was a supporter. The vote in the House fell largely – but not entirely – along party lines. There were a few Republicans who voted for people over ideology. Not many, but there were a few from the North Country. One of the conservative talking points suggested that “those people” would have no incentive to work if they got “free” health care. Most of us  know how hard people work up here just to stay afloat. Affordable health care isn’t going to pay their rent or put groceries on the table. It may well make the difference between preventative care and expensive “I waited because I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor” kind of care.

Given the dire situation in the North Country, it was depressing (though unsurprising) to learn that our newly minted Executive Councilor, Joe Kenney, voted against approving Medicaid Expansion. In other words, one of his first acts in office was to vote against the best interests of nearly 50% of the population in his district. Ray Burton would not have voted that way, but then, Ray was often described as the “champion of the north country,” a sobriquet that will never be applied to Joe Kenney.

Everyone should spend a session day at the State House to witness the full spectacle. The General Court website has streaming audio on session days, which I encourage folks to listen to, but it is not the same as being there to see all of the sideline drama. I’m pleased to report that no one from the Carroll County delegation is a major player in Obstructionist Theater, but all of you really should go see your representatives in action. It might well change the way you vote in November.

NH County Health Rankings

© sbruce 2014  

Published in the 4-4-14 issue of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper

More Republicans Have Endorsed Mike Cryans

The NH Executive Council Chamber at the NH State House. The special election to replace the late Ray Burton as the NH District 1 Executive Councilor is March 11, 2014. This is an important election for everyone in this district - be sure to get out and vote - and drag along your friends and family. VOTE!! 

From Joe Kenney's website: 

These are Republicans who have endorsed him:

Supporters

1. Chris Ahlgren   Carroll
2. David Bickford   Strafford New Durham
3. Glenn Cordelli   Carroll   Tuftonboro
4. Jane Cormier     Belknap                Alton
5. Ralph Doolan     Grafton                Littleton
6. CharlesFink        Belknap                Belmont
7. Robert Greemore Belknap Meredith
8. Harry Merrow Carroll Ctr Ossipee
9. Bill Nelson Carroll Brookfield
10. Leon Rideout     Coos Lancaster
11. Skip Rollins          Sullivan Newport
12. Stephen Schmidt Carroll               Wolfeboro
13. Michael                Sylvia    Belknap Belmont
14. ColetteWorsman Belknap Meredith
15. Also Have Sen. Sam Cataldo from earlier (not counting him as house member)
16. Plymouth State University Republicans

If any Democrats are endorsing Joe, they aren't listed on his website. 


From Mike Cryans' website:

Republicans for Cryans

Congressman William Zeliff, Jr.

Herb & Fay Lloyd, Bethlehem

Lisa Capaldo, Canaan

Mark Hounsell, Conway; former Republican State Senator

Mary Grimes, Columbia; Ray Burton’s sister

Richard A. Crate Jr., Enfield; Police Chief

Lynn Presby, Freedom; retired New Hampshire State Police Colonel, current Racing and Gaming Commissioner

Lynne Whitacre, Hanover

Ray Labombard, Hanover

John Manchester, Hanover

Ray Abbott, Jackson; former Republican Carroll County Commissioner

Richard Coggon, Laconia

Ralph Hough, Lebanon; former Republican State Senate President of NH 1993-1994

Joel Bedor, Littleton

Dick Hamilton, Littleton

Winston Merrill, Littleton

Wayne Presby, Littleton

David M. Miller, Littleton

Hillary Seeger, Meredith; Republican candidate for Select Board

Gerald Coogan, New London

Bonnie Ham, North Woodstock; former Republican State Representative

David Babson, Ossipee; Republican Carroll County Commissioner

Steve Panagoulis, Plymouth ; former Republican Grafton County Commissioner

Ken Randell, Tilton; former Republican State Representative

Marjorie M Webster, Wolfeboro; former Republican Carroll County Commissioner 

David Sorensen, Eaton; Republican Carroll County Commissioner

Mike has also been endorsed by Ray Burton's family.

It sure looks as if more Republicans have endorsed Mike Cryans than have come out in support of the Republican candidate in the race. 

Sharp-eyed readers will note that two of the three Carroll County Commissioners have endorsed Mike. What about the third Carroll County Commissioner?

We can safely assume she's endorsed Joe Kenney, seein' as how she's married to him. 

Here's Mrs. Kenney in action at a Carroll County Commissioners meeting:

Feeling Bilous

Joe Kenney's candidate website is a sad and amateurish affair. It's rife with misspellings and almost completely lacking in punctuation - but what really strikes me is that Joe managed to trot out a picture of himself in uniform (of course) with the late Ray Burton - but there is not a single picture of Joe with his wife and kids on his site. Not a one. 

Hey family values guy - where's the family? 

We do know from the site that he has 16 (!) supporters. One of them is State Rep. Leon Rideout from Lancaster. Rep. Rideout is frequently bad tempered on Twitter, which he uses as a platform for shouting incomprehensibly at people. 

Here's an example. Pro-tip, Leon: Spelling your candidate's name wrong should never be an option.

Here's some incomprehensible shouting. Who is Sharon Smears? Why is he tweeting about her at me?  Why would any candidate want a supporter who behaves this way in public? 

The Sharon Smears nonsense tweet was in response to my tweeting out this picture:

Is there anyone here who thinks that Joe Kenney (or Leon Rideout for that matter) defended Ray Burton in 2004, when Bass, Bradley, Sununu, and Gregg were howling for him to resign over the Seidensticker business?  The chorus of "Ray wouldn't do this" by this passel of hypocrites ought to make us all feel a little bilious. 


Speaking of hypocrites Ray Wieczorek endorsed Joe Kenney, while waxing on about how no one can replace Ray. This is the same Wieczorek who called for Burton's resignation in 2004. These people are absolutely incapable of shame. 

Joe Kenney - Wrong Side of History

Here's a look at some of Joe Kenney's votes when he served in the NH legislature:


Voted against Martin Luther King Day.

Voted against removing the prohibition against fostering and adopting by gay people.

Voted for creating and funding the commission on the status of men.

Voted against a resolution requesting Congress to protect and preserve Social Security.

Voted against recognizing civil unions/gay marriages legal in other states, in a bill that also
specifically forbid even recognizing them as couples.

Voted against abolishing the death penalty.

Voted against increasing the minimum wage.

Voted against medical marijuana.

Voted for SB 110 - causing health insurance rates in the north country to increase by as much as 500%.

Voted to change the name of Mt. Clay to Mt. Reagan.

Voted against requiring a course in civics as a condition for graduating from high school.

Voted against protecting NH residents from predatory lenders.

Get Your Aristotle On

Ray Burton was our Executive Councilor in District One for 35 years. District One is the largest district, from Claremont to Pittsburg and down to Milton. It’s a big, big area to cover. Ray started covering it in 1977. He had the unique opportunity to grow into the job at the same time as the population of the north country was growing.

Ray was remarkable. He remembered everyone’s name. He was always friendly and charming, and always listened, even if he didn’t agree. Over the years there have been politicians who ducked my calls. Ray never did. He took his job seriously, and that meant listening to everyone.

Ray was never an ideologue. Ray was north country first – and Republican second. He was never a fire breathing conservative intent on pushing a radical right agenda. He believed that his job was to fight for the best interests of the people in his district, and that’s what he did. The Executive Council shouldn’t be a partisan sideshow.

A brief overview of the role of the EC: they approve state contracts for more than $10,000, and approve the receiving and spending of federal funds. They watch the state treasury to make sure that departments don’t spend more than they were allotted. They also approve judges, commissioners, notaries public, justices of the peace, commissioners of deeds, and they hear pardon requests. NH is the only state that has an Executive Council, just as we are the only state that has a 424 member volunteer legislature. The EC does not pass or repeal laws on the state or national level.

The special election to fill Ray’s seat from now till November is coming up on March 11. There are two candidates: Joe Kenney from Wakefield and Mike Cryans from Littleton.

Joe Kenney served 4 terms in the NH House and 3 in the state Senate. He ran for governor in 2008, and garnered approximately 30% of the vote. Mike Cryans has been a Grafton County Commissioner for 17 years – 16 of them working on that commission with Ray Burton.

Mike Cryans has worked in NH as a teacher, a banker, and worked at a transitional facility for substance abusers. Joe Kenney hasn’t had a job in the private sector since he left college.  He spent 30 years in the military. His service is certainly laudable, but it doesn’t make him any more (or less) qualified for the EC. Joe Kenney hasn’t had an actual paying job in NH since he worked for his parents as a teenager. 

Both Kenney and Cryans did interviews with the Concord Monitor. Both men talked about the infrastructure needs of the north country.  Kenney also talked a lot about his political beliefs, and he was honest about his intention to use the EC as an ideological platform.

Legislative experience is a wonderful thing, but it does leave a trail. All of the roll call votes from 1999 on are available on the NH General Court website. Looking back over Kenney’s voting record I was struck by how often he voted on the wrong side of history. He voted against Martin Luther King Day in 1999. He voted for a law so punitive that it not only refused to recognize out of state civil unions, it also refused to recognize gay couples. He also voted for SB 110, the 2003 bill that gave health insurance companies the right to discriminate against customers on the basis of geography – a move that caused health insurance rates in the north country to increase by as much as 500%. 

The month before Ray died, he joined 3 of his colleagues on the EC to support Governor Hassan’s call for a special session on expanded Medicaid. As Ray knew quite well, his district has the largest population of uninsured adults. As Ray also knew, there are plenty of working poor in Carroll, Coos, and Grafton Counties. Service jobs don’t pay enough for most people to live on. Coos County has the highest concentration of families on food stamps. There are no jobs. And there won’t be until something is done about the infrastructure up there.

That takes money. We’ve all seen how loath some of our elected officials are to allow any of our federal tax dollars to return home to us. NH is unwilling to raise sufficient revenue to fund the state properly and rebuild our infrastructure. That infrastructure is costing us on so many levels. Companies won’t locate here because of it, and the longer we put off the work, the more it will cost. NH is the seventh wealthiest state (per capita) yet we have the 11^th worst infrastructure in the nation. We’re not a poor state. We’re a cheap state. The oft-repeated canard that there is all kinds of pork in the NH budget is mendacity that hurts our state. As long as people buy into that lie, we’ll continue to avoid doing the work, which serves to perpetuate the cycle, and further increase the eventual cost.

The future isn’t popular. The radicals of the far right have no vision for the future, only a longing to return to an imaginary past. NH is a state that desperately needs a vision for the future and elected officials who are going to work toward that vision. The north country, more than any other part of the state, needs a fierce advocate, someone who will fight for all of us.

On Tuesday, we’ll all decide who that advocate will be. I urge voters to read up on the candidates, read the Concord Monitor interviews (in the March 5 edition), and take a look at each of their endorsers.

Tuesday is also town meeting day for many of us. It is our chance to participate in the budgeting and decision making in our towns. It’s an opportunity that is envied by people in other parts of the country. Madison Moderator George Epstein once described town meeting to me as “pure Aristotelian democracy.”

Get your Aristotle on, go forth, and participate.

h/t to Kathleen Ronayne at  the Concord Monitor

© sbruce 2014   Published as an op/ed in the March 7, 2014 Conway Daily Sun newspaper.