Plainfield
State Reps. Andrew Schmidt, D-Grantham, and Lee Walker Oxenham, D-Plainfield, are being challenged by Republicans Ken Gilchrest, of Plainfield, and Thomas Greenhalge, of Grantham. The district represents the towns of Cornish, Grantham, Plainfield and Springfield, and the top two vote-getters will go to Concord.
The four towns also are part of the larger Sullivan 9 floterial district, where two former lawmakers are trying to win the open seat. The current incumbent there, state Rep. Virginia Irwin, D-Newport, is running in the Newport-area Sullivan 6 district.
Gilchrest, 63, worked in retail management for 37 years, including at his own company; most recently, he managed the Staples office supply stores in Claremont and West Lebanon before retiring. This is his first run for public office.
“I’ve always been interested in politics and this is an opportunity to get involved because I am no longer employed,” Gilchrest said.
Asked about a priority he would bring to Concord, Gilchrest spoke of his philosophy.
“I believe in smaller government and the result is we can reduce taxes and return money to the people. Any way I can promote a benefit to taxpayers, I will,” he said.
Gilchrest said he opposes Medicaid expansion for the same reason cited by many Republicans. Even though there is no cost to New Hampshire taxpayers in the next two years, the state eventually will pay, he said.
“Look, Obamacare is collapsing and the federal funding will dry up and it will end up on the backs of New Hampshire taxpayers,” Gilchrest said. The solution must be found at the national level to fix the health care problem across the country, he said.
Schmidt, 73, and Oxenham, 66, both are retired. They backed Medicaid expansion in the last legislative session.
“I will continue to vote for it,” said Schmidt, who worked as an insurance adjuster. “Health care coverage is essential to people’s lives.”
Oxenham, a former researcher at the National Academy of Sciences, said Medicaid is efficient because it cuts down on more costly emergency room visits and increases preventive care.
“We need to ensure every citizen has access to health care. I think it should be continued and we need to find a way to make that happen,” she said.
Like Gilchrest, Greenhalge said he is “worried” about costs down the road and has done “all I can do to pay” for his coverage.
On gun control, both Democrats support concealed-carry permits for firearms.
“It is a very sensible measure,” said Oxenham, who voted against a repeal of the law. Schmidt said he recalled a situation in his town where a person diagnosed with a severe mental disorder was denied a permit and Schmidt said he told the police chief that if the denial were appealed, he would testify that it was the correct decision.
“The person was a hazard to themself as well as the community,” Schmidt said. “What we have works well. Why change it?”
Gilchrest, a member of the National Rifle Association, said the law as it currently stands is a “good one” and is sufficient when combined with background checks.
“You have to stand face-to-face with the local police chief so they know who has guns. I think that is great,” Gilchrest said.
Greenhalge, a semi-retired plumber in his mid-50s, said he supports the law because as a gun owner, it allows for “reciprocity” with other states that have the same law, such as Florida, where he can carry a concealed weapon when he visits.
“I say retain what we have and I think background checks are adequate,” he said.
When asked about adequacy aid for public education, Gilchrest said costs need to be contained more than funding needs to be increased, and said that can be accomplished through charter schools and private school vouchers.
“I completely support Croydon’s school choice,” Gilchrest said of that’s school district’s fight to spend tax dollars for private school tuition. “A voucher system will enable parents to take back control of education for their children.”
Oxenham, who in an earlier interview said she opposes school choice because it siphons money away from public schools, said New Hampshire has a responsibility to educate all of its citizens from preschool through college and should be committed to full funding of public schools.
“This is an investment for the state that pays off many times over,” she said, calling the problems property-poor towns face to pay for education mostly through property taxes “outrageous.”
“All students should be guaranteed a high-quality education,” she said.
To overcome funding shortfalls for education, Oxenham said, the state has a structural deficit that is being addressed by a “catch-as-catch-can” tax structure that needs to change.
Though not committed to any one approach, Oxenham said it is time to look at things such as marijuana legalization or a carbon tax as possible revenue generators.
“Property taxes are just too high. We are a wealthy state and can provide much better services for the low-income (people) and families,” Oxenham said.
Schmidt also said there is a compelling reason to consider marijuana legalization now that there is a track record from other states, such as Colorado and Washington. He said the prohibition approach to marijuana is not working.
“I would favor legalization, drawing on the experience of other states. Why not legalize and regulate it and it can be taxed?” Schmidt said.
To raise additional revenue, Schmidt opposes income and sales taxes, which he doesn’t believe are right for the state, but would consider consumption taxes on items that are not considered necessary for daily living.
“If it is not things we have to buy, it could raise money for school construction aid and adequacy aid,” Schmidt said.
Greenhalge is running on one platform and one priority: introducing apprenticeship programs in the county for plumbers and other trades. Greenhalge said it is this singular issue that motivated him to seek public office for the first time.
“I am very serious about getting this program through,” he said. “I want to increase the trades.”
Greenhalge, who has visited the area all his life, moved to Grantham four years ago from Boston, expecting to semi-retire but also do some plumbing work. “I can’t provide the help everyone needs,” he said.
Greenhalge said area high schools or River Valley Community College would be ideal learning centers to allow young people to go through the apprenticeship program that is necessary to obtain their plumbing license. “It is such a good-paying job. Once you have a license, you can earn $50,000 a year,” he said.
Right now, he said, anyone seeking such a program must drive long distances, and two nights a week at school makes it difficult to get the 200 hours needed to complete the apprenticeship.
“I think the schools have the infrastructure to add night courses,” Greenhalge said. “It should be within their reach. That is what I am looking for, to put the bug out there. This is very important to me.”
On state funding for Planned Parenthood and the controversy it stirred up regarding abortion, Greenhalge said, “I thought they settled that in 1973 (Roe v. Wade). I just don’t want my money to go toward (abortion).”
Gilchrest takes a position that it is a woman’s right to choose, “but I don’t believe I should have to pay for it.”
Oxenham and Schmidt both support Planned Parenthood funding. Supporters have noted that no state money goes toward abortion services.
“I am a pro-choice legislator and believe (Planned Parenthood clinics) deserve public funds,” Schmidt said, who has researched the organization’s abortion services and thinks the opponents’ characterization of the process is both unfair and inaccurate.
“I am a big supporter of Planned Parenthood,” Oxenham said. “They provide health services to men and women that many can’t afford.”
In the next session, Oxenham wants to focus her work on helping the state develop a clean energy policy. She said fossil fuels are dwindling but there continues to be talk of more gas pipelines and that is the wrong approach.
“We need to make an investment (in clean energy). It will mean good jobs, can help grow the economy and we will have cleaner air,” she said.
Two years ago, then-Rep. Linda Tanner, D-Sunapee, lost a bid for the state Senate and now is hoping to win back the House seat that she held in the 2013-14 session.
Her opponent in the floterial district representing Cornish, Croydon, Grantham, Newport, Plainfield, Springfield, Sunapee and Unity, is former state Rep. Spec Bowers, R-Sunapee. Bowers served one term from 2011-12, but lost in the last two elections.
Tanner, 70, is a retired teacher. If voters send her back to Concord, Tanner said, raising the minimum wage will be her priority.
“I feel we need to re-establish a minimum wage in New Hampshire,” Tanner said. “We had one, but now we default to the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.”
Tanner compared large corporations paying the federal level to a form of “corporate welfare” that allows the chains to garner large profits with low labor costs. “I would like to shoot for $12 an hour, but am willing to compromise,” she said.
Bowers said the election represents a “fundamental choice on who makes decisions for citizens.”
“I believe individuals, families and towns know what is best, not the one-size-fits-all from Concord and Washington,” Bowers said. “As much as possible, decisions should be made locally. Democrats say as much as possible, decisions should be made in Concord and Washington.”
If elected, Bowers said he will push for school choice — including private schools.
“Rich people can send their children to any school they want. Lower- and middle-income people don’t have that choice, and I think they should,” Bowers said.
Tanner, who taught at Kearsarge Regional High School, said the Croydon school choice controversy “unfortunately” became a rallying cry for some who want universal school choice and vouchers, which she said would hurt the public school system. Rather than allow people to leave public schools that perform poorly, she said, more money should go toward public education so all children receive a quality education.
“I think we need more money to strengthen public education,” she said.
As a gun owner herself, Tanner backs the current concealed-carry permit law. “I have a concealed-carry permit. It is a minimal effort to get one and I can’t see it as a burden on anybody,” she said, adding that the background check law should be “examined” and laws tightened so those on the “no-fly” list or with diagnosed mental health issues cannot obtain a gun or concealed-carry permit.
Bowers doesn’t agree, he said, because he doubts criminals will abide by the law and seek a permit.
“All these laws do is hurt law-abiding citizens,” said the 67-year-old Bowers, who owns Georges Mills Cottages on Otter Pond.
He said Vermont does not have a similar law, nor does it have more gun violence.
The candidates differ on Medicaid expansion, with Tanner in support and Bowers opposed.
“I firmly believe we have to insure as many as we can,” Tanner said. “It will decrease the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals.”
Bowers said Medicaid is structured in a way that traps recipients in a cycle of poverty because they lose 100 percent of their benefits if their income rises one dollar above the eligibility limit. He thinks a gradual decrease in benefits would help low-income residents rise out of poverty.
“Even if they wanted to, right now they couldn’t. It makes it hard for them to escape poverty,” Bowers said. “What did we do before Medicaid expansion? We didn’t have people dying in the streets. This does not make health care better for anybody but the insurance companies.”
Bowers also said he believes talk of finding another revenue source to help fund education is another way of “saying ‘more taxes,’ ” not reducing property taxes.
Tanner said supports state funds for Planned Parenthood. “They do an enormous amount of work for low-income (residents), and I would like to see the support continue,” Tanner said.
Bowers said there are other providers who offer the same services, but they don’t receive state funds.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
