Lebanon
Michael Balog will face off on the November ballot against state Reps. Susan Almy, Richard Abel, George Sykes and Andrew White for a seat in Grafton District 13, which represents Lebanon.
A retired Connecticut police officer, Balog was the only Republican to file for the seat, meaning at least three Democrats will likely return to Concord next year.
Balog, 66, said he’s concerned about the state’s opioid crisis, and calls for policies that will both treat addicts and punish dealers. He called for drug dealing to be regarded as a capital offense, and asserted that many drugs are coming to northern New England from Canada, where porous borders and an influx of refugees are endangering those living in the U.S.
“The first responsibility the government has is to keep the people safe, the citizens secure,” he said.
Most law enforcement officials say heroin and opioids coming to the Granite State travel from Massachusetts up Interstate 93 and onto I-89, where they pass into Vermont.
Balog said he also intends to focus on economic issues in the Legislature. He’s spoken with many seniors and disabled people who are currently struggling, and says a tough economy and not enough services are contributing to their problems.
“They don’t have a weekly paycheck with the possibility of a raise,” Balog said.
Insurance premium increases, the rising cost of medication and a lack of services are all draining people most in need, he said, adding that veterans are also being shortchanged.
Balog supports a bill passed by the Legislature this year that would have done away with requirements for concealed carry permits. Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed the measure, which Balog said would have put the state in line with both Vermont and Maine.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people who are honest, law-abiding people are going to stay honest law abiding people who own firearms,” he said. He also believes the current background check system for gun purchases is sufficient.
Balog said he wouldn’t rule out measures to extend the state’s Medicaid expansion, which insures around 48,000 people, but said he doesn’t support funding for Planned Parenthood.
He also voiced support for the state to adopt school choice, especially in Croydon, which has battled the state over sending children to private schools.
“I would feel that the local school systems would best decide what they need to run their own (districts),” he said.
Opposing Balog on the ballot are four Democrats who all support the Medicaid expansion and Planned Parenthood funding.
Revenue looms large on the mind of Rep. Susan Almy, a former agricultural researcher who specialized in developing countries in Africa. A 10-term member of the House and top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, her biggest worry is keeping revenue coming into the state coffers.
“Those of us who’ve been doing this for a while on the (committee) are pretty worried about it,” she said.
The state saw a surge in business tax income this year, she said, and no one has been able to answer why. New Hampshire’s budgeting process will begin soon next year and without accurate numbers, important services could be at stake, Almy said.
“There’s a lot of things that make it both difficult for families and businesses to operate in our state if we underestimate the revenues,” she said.
On gun control, Almy said the state was on better footing when it had more restrictive laws. She’s seen protesters armed in the House gallery and watched as tax protester Ed Brown encountered the Lebanon Planning Board, instances that made her uncomfortable about open and concealed carry laws.
“I’ve seen how tense and frightened people can get,” Almy said. “That kind of thing is pretty scary.”
She said the state needs to do a better job funding education, without turning to programs that target aid at specific communities. Such programs would force middle-income cities like Lebanon to lose out on income, and Almy worries any funds left over would be directed toward balancing other areas of the budget.
Rep. Richard Abel said he agrees with Almy on taxes, adding the state needs to better predict revenue so it can better fund social service programs.
“What I have found in serving in the Legislature is that the problem is a revenue problem, not a spending problem,” he said.
The state ended its fiscal year with a surplus, meaning more money could have been directed to health care, education and other programs, said Abel, a former book publisher and Franklin Pierce University professor.
If elected, Abel said, he hopes to focus on measures that protect New Hampshire’s workers. He supports instituting a living wage and establishing paid family leave.
On funding public education, Abel opposes the current cap on adequacy aid and said state support is inadequate.
“I think the amount spent on education from preschool through college should be expanded,” he said, adding that local property tax dollars aren’t going far enough.
Abel also opposes changing the state’s concealed-carry law, which requires permits to be issued through local police departments, and supports expanded background checks for firearms purchases.
Rep. George Sykes, a retired Lebanon deputy fire chief, said he’s interested in transportation issues. Last year, he supported a bill that would have allowed communities to increase motor vehicle registration fees to support local improvement projects.
Sykes is also an advocate of commuter rail service in southern New Hampshire, which he says will help stem the tide of young people leaving the Granite State.
“It’s very clear to me that this is a job creating, economic opportunity creating (project),” Sykes said of commuter rail service.
On gun control, Sykes said he supports the current permit system for concealed carry and favors background checks.
He’s also concerned about the cost of education, and said the Legislature continually “kicks the can down the road” by not taking a deeper look at funding.
“I think we need to look at funding in a bigger way in order to answer this question,” Sykes said. “I think it’s time we have an adult conversation about the issue.”
Rep. Andrew White, a Lebanon fire captain, called the state’s education funding “regressive” because of its reliance on property taxes. He would instead support talks about instituting a broad-based tax system to better pay for services.
“I think we have to bring people to the table who are more open-minded about a more fair way of paying for education,” he said, adding taxes should be based on one’s ability to pay.
“Those are the kind of discussions that need to happen,” he said.
White focuses on labor issues in the House, and said he supports policies that help take care of injured employees and provide paid maternity leave.
White said he’s more conservative than many of his Democratic colleagues on gun control issues, saying he supports strong license requirements but not restrictions on magazines or types of firearms.
“I think the system that we have right now is working,” he said. “It’s worked for decades, but we really need to make it a little bit better by adding this whole aspect of mental health into the background checks that are required.”
In the Grafton 12 district, Democrats are expected to maintain their control of the four seats representing Hanover and Lyme. State Reps. Patricia Higgins and Sharon Nordgren will be joined on the ballot by Polly Kent Campion and Mary Jane Mulligan. No Republicans are running in the heavily Democratic district.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.