Being one of the last “moderate Republicans” (indeed, an endangered species in today’s world) from the President Eisenhower days, I spend apprehensive moments worrying about the future of our two parties, the Democrats and the GOP, which appear to be threatened by an apparent absence of political leadership that this country sorely needs. As many of my friends and family members know, I’ve never been much of a Hillary Clinton fan; however, I applauded her performance recently at the Al Smith dinner.
It’s a given that in no way would I ever support a Trump candidacy. However, my anger is not necessarily directed to Trump but, instead to the Republican leadership (or lack of) at its convention this past summer. Its delegates failed to stand up to the current candidate’s bullying demands for loyal support, along with demonstrating an unwillingness to come up with more reasonable options. Therefore, I confess that I would be just as happy to see the Republicans get clobbered at this election, hoping that the shock of defeat would force our GOP friends to go back to the drawing board, and initiate some badly needed ideological and structural reforms to breathe new life into a tired, outmoded party lacking a soul as well as vision. Let’s hope it happens.
Frank M. Hammond New London
This election is taking place against the backdrop of an alliance between Russia and China to create a vast new empire excluding the U.S. and stretching from Vladivostok across Eurasia to Portugal, and south across the Mediterranean to Africa. To accomplish this, each is trying to eject the U.S. from bordering countries and waters. So far, Putin has failed spectacularly. Taking Crimea produced crippling sanctions. He lost the Ukraine, now oriented toward the EU and NATO, and his months of war mongering have resulted in NATO’s stationing for the first time permanent ground forces in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and unprecedented defense agreements between the U.S., Sweden and Finland, both neutral states.
In Asia, the U.S. is challenging China’s claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea, expanding relations with Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia, and strengthening our relationships with Japan and South Korea. These successes arose largely because we were acting with our allies. These alliances are not gifts to our partners. They are necessary to our and their national and economic security. Hillary Clinton will maintain them while Donald Trump will abandon them and go it alone, leaving us without friends and vulnerable, exactly the position China and Russia want.
Worst of all, Trump has embraced Putin as a “strong leader” he would like to emulate, even though at least eight of Putin’s opponents have been murdered and not one perpetrator has been caught. See “Here is a List of Putin Critics Who’ve Ended Up Dead,” businessinsider.com, March 11, 2016, by Jeremy Wilson.
Trump has made it clear in his convention speech, where he made his ridiculous claim that only he alone can fix our problems, and when he said he should become president now without an election, that if elected he will be an American Putin, answering to no one and aligned with Putin doing his bidding as if he were his poodle. We do not need Trump destroying our democracy. All we need is a fair election, the defeat of Trump, and continuation of our democracy.
Christopher D. Dye Plainfield
I’ve seen several messages on Facebook advocating term limits for our representatives and senators. I think that exercising your vote is about the best we can do at this point. I intend to not give my vote to Sen. Pat Leahy. In the Vermont Democratic primary, we gave Bernie Sanders 86.1 percent of the vote while Hillary Clinton received 13.6 percent.
Despite this overwhelming endorsement, Leahy gave his super delegate support to Hillary Clinton. He cites that he promised his vote to Clinton and is a man who keeps his word. Well, he had no business making that promise and totally ignored the people that he supposedly represents. It’s time for Mr. Leahy’s term limit.
Peter Sheldon White River Junction
Voters of the 24 towns in New Hampshire District 8 have a golden opportunity on Nov. 8 to elect an outstanding leader to the New Hampshire state Senate.
John Garvey of New London is a widely recognized leader. He is a Navy veteran, experienced attorney, proven conservationist and a staunch defender of environmental protection. Garvey is also a nationally known law professor who designed and heads the nationally recognized Daniel Webster Scholar Program at UNH Law in Concord.
In the Senate Garvey will use his outstanding leadership skills to advocate for infrastructure improvements, to promote small business and to ease business regulations through streamlining of the state’s complex business statutes and regulations. He will use his expertise as a mediation practitioner to achieve common sense, bipartisan solutions to making New Hampshire more job-friendly. Garvey will also oppose a sales or income tax and defend a woman’s right to choose what works best for her reproductive health.
Fellow voters of District 8, let’s seize the opportunity on Nov. 8 to elect a strong, effective leader to the state Senate. Vote for John Garvey of New London.
Merle and Helen Schotanus Grantham
No wonder the price of education is skyrocketing and student debt is soaring if the elite Dartmouth trustees and poor faculty need a pay raise from the current full professor’s annual salary and benefits of $233,000.
Have any of the 1 percent at Dartmouth noticed that the average salary in New Hampshire is dramatically lower? I was a faculty member in the University System of New Hampshire, and felt I was generously paid at less than half of Dartmouth’s salary. Indeed, I negotiated a pay cut so that my staff could get a raise.
May I suggest that the Dartmouth faculty voluntarily take a pay cut of 30 percent to start a national movement to help students reduce their student loan debt? Or perhaps donate 30 percent of their salary to a fund to help struggling students pay off their student loans.
Steve Kahl Waterville, Maine
We are nearing a season of giving thanks, and, for the past few years, the Good Neighbor Health Clinics have been grateful for the support they have received from the talented Symphony New Hampshire.
And, once again, the symphony is returning to the Lebanon Opera House with a benefit concert for the clinics at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
Every year, the raves following performances have made those who missed it wish they could have been there.
The orchestra is being led by their virtuosic violin guest soloist, Irina Muresanu, in a program entitled “The Four Seasons.” Besides the Vivaldi masterpiece of that name, they will perform lively and lovely works by Kreisler, Bach, Bartok, Dvorak, Flynn and Brahms.
As a pre-concert bonus for the community, the Good Neighbor Health Clinics invite the public to a discussion and demonstration about the program led by long-time Symphony bassist Robert Hoffman, at 5:30 this afternoon at the Kilton Library in West Lebanon. It will explore the history, context and special musical moments in the featured composers’ compositions. Musical excerpts will illuminate the discussion.
This Symphony New Hampshire concert is the kick-off event for a year of celebration of the Good Neighbor Health Clinics’ 25th anniversary. Begun by local doctors, dentists and social service workers, the clinics have provided free primary care to the uninsured, poor and homeless in our Upper Valley communities for a quarter of a century. Medical and dental services are made possible by the unstinting efforts of both skilled professional and dedicated volunteers in the White River Junction facility, as well as in satellite clinics throughout our area.
I hope as many of our neighbors as possible will help support this organization by purchasing tickets to the Nov. 13 concert. It will be an opportunity to find out about this local community treasure, as well as discover the high caliber of our home-state orchestra. Tickets are available online and through the LOH box office, 603-448-0400. In order for a portion of ticket sales to go to the Good Neighbor Clinics, please mention the code “Good16” when ordering.
Eula L. Kozma New London
A Vital Meeting in Woodstock
We are inviting Woodstock community members to a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Woodstock Elementary School library. The School Board is holding this meeting to inform the voters of Woodstock about Act 46, the 2015 school district consolidation law.
According to Act 46, school districts are encouraged to merge their boards for a number of reasons. Among them: provide equity in educational opportunity for all students in a district; maximize operational efficiencies; move Vermont toward sustainable models of education governance; and provide all of the above at a cost that taxpayers value. To encourage towns to consolidate under the Act 46 preferred model, the state is offering short-term tax incentives, as well as allowing towns to retain existing funding grants.
For the town of Woodstock, this would mean forming a unified pre-K-12 school district with the towns of Killington, Pomfret, Bridgewater, Reading and Barnard. A vote by Woodstock residents to consolidate into a single unified district board would mean: a single school board for these six towns; district schools instead of individual town schools; a combined board of proportional representation; all district teachers under one single contract and part of the state teachers union; one budget for the entire district voted on by Australian ballot by all towns in the district. Once a town votes to become a member of a new unified district, rescinding that relationship is nearly impossible.
In our combined experience in public education as board members, parents and educators, we have not been a part of discussions that are so important to the future of our school and our town. In March 2017, you may be asked to vote by Australian ballot on articles of agreement that would create a new unified union school district, as well as elect individuals who would represent Woodstock on that new school board. This vote will directly affect our school, the future of our children’s elementary education, our school board and our school budget.
We urge residents to attend the informational meeting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., to hear and discuss the pros and cons of this important issue. We look forward to sharing the information that we have and to answering questions. This is a crucial issue for our school and town. Please get involved. Please ask questions. As a community, we need to understand what Act 46 means to the town of Woodstock and to Woodstock Elementary School.
Jess Stout, Paige Hiller, Malena Agin WES School Board Woodstock
As a retired New Hampshire law enforcement officer with 40 years of law enforcement service in Sullivan County, including 20 years as Sullivan County Sheriff, I am extremely pleased to write this letter of endorsement for Sullivan County Sheriff John P. Simonds. Simonds served as my chief deputy for the two years leading up to my retirement. His work ethic, personal integrity and vision for the future led to my endorsement for his first term as Sullivan County Sheriff. In his 26 years of law enforcement experience, Simonds has more than nine years as a police supervisor and proven leader, including the past two years as Sullivan County Sheriff.
Simonds is a strong supporter of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; he has assigned a deputy who serves as the team leader of the investigators assigned to the Western Team (which includes Sullivan County). The office of sheriff is the oldest law enforcement entity in the United States, and even more importantly, it is the only direct link that people have to their law enforcement community. The sheriff is elected and can be fired, directly by the people. He answers directly to you, the people. I encourage you to view his Facebook page, facebook.com/simondsforsheriff/ to learn more about his experience, achievements and his personal goals for the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael L. Prozzo Jr.Naples, Fla.
As this crazy election nears the finish line, Vermonters enjoy a remarkable choice for governor: two candidates who are very likable people. However, only one has the spine to step forward to take on big challenges: Sue Minter.
Sue Minter tackled the biggest challenge in a generation when she faced the huge mess left behind by Tropical Storm Irene. As chief recovery officer, Minter led her team heroically and brought us back in record time and on budget. As governor, Minter will deal with any daunting challenge in the same way.
And right now in her campaign, Sue Minter’s taking on the biggest political challenge ever in a Vermont gubernatorial race: gun violence. Minter supports comprehensive background checks on all gun sales. Phil Scott doesn’t. Minter knows that half our homicides are domestic violence, and nearly 60 percent of those murders are carried out with a gun. Seventeen states require comprehensive checks, and they have 38 percent fewer women killed by their intimate partners. Minter wants to deal with this lethal problem happening behind closed doors. Phil Scott looks the other way and hopes you do, too.
It’s clear who’s up to the challenge. Vote for Sue Minter on Nov. 8.
Bob Williamson South Woodstock
I’m proud to be running for New Hampshire state representative in District 9. I came here in 1969 to accept a teaching position at Kearsarge Regional High School in North Sutton. Over the next 35 years, I learned through my students, their parents and the community the New Hampshire values of respect for the individual, school and community, and using cooperation and common sense to solve problems and confront issues in a cost-effective way.
I decided to run for office in 2012 when I saw these values that I hold dear under attack in our own Legislature by members including my representative, Spec Bowers. His group sought to remove protections for our environment and lakes, eliminate kindergarten, dismantle public education and reduce mental health services. When I tried to discuss my concerns and the issues, his response was his total commitment to a far-right libertarian agenda. I won the election and served as your state representative.
Now Bowers is opposing me and has, once again, taken the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity Pledge and aligned himself with the radical agenda of the Free State Project.
In this next session we must address the issue of the epidemic of opioid drug addiction, bring quality jobs to Sullivan County, improve our public education from early childhood to community college, offer trades and vocational careers to our students, and renew and improve our New Hampshire Health Protection Plan, which now gives over 50,000 hard-working Granite Staters health insurance.
I do not take pledges that determine how I vote. I will be a representative that will listen to you, work on your behalf, and use common sense to invest your tax dollars in the most effective and cost-effective way.
Rep. Linda Tanner Georges Mills
I know a person who never pays full price to eat out, because he complains about the service and the food until the waitstaff reduces his bill. His strategy is perfectly legal and saves him a lot of money, but people who know him don’t think he’s “smart.” They think he’s an embarrassing jerk.
Donald Trump says he takes advantage of tax loopholes because he’s smart. He tricked people out of their money in the Trump University scam and called the financial housing crisis “good for business” because it was profitable for him. He refused to fully pay contractors who were working on his properties because he said they didn’t do a good enough job.
Trump and the restaurant jerk both measure their actions by profit margins. They think if something is profitable and you can get away with it, it must be a good idea. The business of government isn’t about the bottom line, though; it’s about making decisions for the benefit of our society. Our leaders need to be people who prioritize the rights, dignity and quality of life of individual citizens.
Our society works because, on the whole, people do the right thing. People tip waiters. They wait in line. They return their library books. Often it would be easy to get away with cheating and stealing, and sometimes it would be profitable, but most of us choose the benefit of living in a well-functioning society over personal gain. We should keep this in mind as we choose our leaders on Election Day.
Abigail Fleming Bradford, Vt.
I am writing to urge my fellow Vermonters to vote for Scott Milne on Nov. 8. We all know that our Congress is not working effectively. After 42 years in office, it is time for Patrick Leahy to go and for Vermonters to send a new senator to Washington.
We need look no further than Milne’s business record to see his leadership and vision. When many travel agencies were going out of business due to the rise of the internet, the events of 9/11 and then the Great Recession, Milne’s business made it through without cutting jobs. For decades his business has supported countless civic organizations, even when times were tough. He has pledged that if he is elected, he would serve his state and country for no more than two terms and would return home to live under the laws he helped create, as our country’s founders intended. If you are ready for change, please join me in voting for Scott Milne for the U.S. Senate.
Marti Eagle Corinth
In his previous term as a New Hampshire representative for District 9, Spec Bowers voted to cripple the CHINS (Children In Need of Services) program by limiting funding to only 50 cases per year. The CHINS program helps children with drug and behavioral problems. It keeps them out of jail, helps them find jobs and become productive members of society. He voted to reduce funding by 50 percent for programs that assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
In addition, he proposes defunding women’s health care organizations, which would eliminate funding for birth control and cancer screenings for 16,000 New Hampshire women.
Bowers voted for legislation that allows payday lenders to take advantage of people in need of short-term loans before they receive their paychecks. His position would allow borrowers to remain vulnerable to all manner of abuses by lenders. He supported practices that allowed payday lenders to charge annual interest rates of 400 percent.
New Hampshire’s minimum wage is the lowest of any New England state by as much as 25 percent. Bowers opposes setting any minimum wage. His position would further encourage our young people to leave New Hampshire for higher-paying jobs. Bowers’ philosophy has been rejected by New Hampshire voters in three of his four campaigns for state representative, winning once by only 25 votes. Let’s send him a message that his record and views are still not acceptable by handing him his fourth defeat.
His opponent, Linda Tanner, has a distinguished record as our previous District 9 representative. Her positions are in direct opposition to those of Bowers. Tanner has a record of working to improve the lives of families, women and children in New Hampshire.
Brenda ShapiroSunapee