NEWPORT — Two former Democratic lawmakers are trying to reclaim their old seats in New Hampshire House races in the Newport and Sunapee area.
In the Sullivan 2 House race, representing Sunapee and Croydon, former state Rep. Sue Gottling, D-Sunapee, is looking to win back the seat she lost in 2018 to Republican Gates Lucas, who is not seeking re-election after one term. Her opponent is political newcomer Don Bettencourt, a Sunapee Republican.
In the two-seat Sullivan 6 district, representing Newport and Unity, Republican state Skip Rollins, of Newport, and John Callum, of Unity, are being challenged by Newport Democrats Larry Flint and Peter Franklin, a former lawmaker.
Gottling, a Sunapee Selectboard member who had previously served five terms in the House, and Bettencourt differ on establishing a state minimum wage rather than keeping New Hampshire at the federal level of $7.25 an hour.
“I would have voted for it,” Gottling said about a bill vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu which would have set a minimum wage of $10 an hour next year and $12 in 2023. “And I will vote for it it comes up again.”
She supported a bill in 2018 that would have brought the minimum wage to $12 an hour in 2019.
Bettencourt, who owns a wood manufacturing business in Manchester with his son, said he opposes government forcing business owners to pay a certain wage. Doing so, he said, would only eliminate entry-level jobs and hurt low-skilled workers.
“The government deciding a minimum wage is hugely inefficient for the (labor) market,” said Bettencourt, who has served as chairman of the Sunapee Budget Advisory Committee.
Gottling also said she would have backed a so-called “red flag” bill which would have allowed the filing of a court petition by certain individuals to take guns from someone regarded as “dangerous” to themselves or others.
Aimed at reducing gun violence associated with suicide and domestic violence, Gottling said the legislation, vetoed by Sununu, had broad public support and did not infringe upon Second Amendment rights.
“I think the Legislature worked very hard to be sure there were protections (of the Second Amendment) without the bill being ineffective,” said Gottling, who also backed a measure to ban guns in certain locations including churches.
Bettencourt, 69, said he was not fully informed on the Extreme Risk Protection orders bill but did say he tends to lean toward protecting Second Amendments rights and if elected, would seek a middle ground that balanced public safety with gun ownership rights.
If he goes to Concord, Bettencourt wants to focus on expanding educational opportunities beyond the public school system to include private school vouchers, school choice and creating more “microschools.” He also would like to study the state Business Enterprise Tax and focus on energy, especially in the area of tax incentives based on the producers.
“I don’t believe in tax incentives to promote a technology (such as solar). Let the market figure it out,” Bettencourt said.
Gottling said she would focus on the environmental impact, including erosion, caused by wake boats, the downshifting of expenses of cities and towns by the state and the progress of improving access to Lake Sunapee at the state beach. Money was approved for that work last year but so far nothing has happened.
“As a Selectboard member, I am very aware of the problems downshifting causes,” Gottling said.
Flint, a 74-year-old Democrat, is a former Newport recreation director and currently sits on the Newport Senior Center board of directors. He supports bringing New Hampshire minimum wage to a level at or near other New England states and would have voted to support HB 731 to raise the wage to $12 by 2023.
“We need a minimum wage increase beyond what it is now ($7.25 an hour) to keep us competitive in the region,” said Flint, who lost a House bid two years ago. “It should be an average of the rest of New England. Hopefully, we can get to $15 an hour at some time.”
On the issue of gun safety and stricter gun laws in the state, Flint said he generally supports those measures as a means to protect people and reduce gun violence.
Callum, R-Unity, voted against both the minimum wage bill and all legislation for stricter guns laws.
“I don’t think I would support it again,” Callum, 77, said about minimum wage increases. “I believe in market pricing (of wages). Companies will price wages according to the availability of good employees. It doesn’t make sense to forcefully raise the minimum wage. It is an artificial increase that hurts people earning their first dollar.”
On gun laws, several of which passed the Democratically-controlled Legislature, Callum said it comes down to the constitutionally protected right to own a gun.
“It is sacred and shall not be infringed upon,” Callum said about the Second Amendment. “I am very suspicious of anybody who brings forward any kind of anti-gun bill.”
Callum, a former Sullivan County commissioner and current member of the Unity Selectboard, said he supports taking guns away from violent offenders who have been convicted of a crime, but not until then.
If re-elected, Callum said he would like to get involved in voter registration legislation, which has been a controversial issue across the nation with the increase in absentee balloting brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just want to be sure that if a person votes, they vote only once,” Callum said.
First elected in 2012, Rollins, 67, is employed by LaValley Building Supply in Newport. He also voted against setting New Hampshire’s minimum wage above the federal figure.
“I would support an increase of a dollar or a dollar fifty; a modest increase,” Rollins said. “But to push it to $15 will mean high school kids won’t get their first job. Older workers will be hired. The (job) market is driven by supply and demand. If companies can’t find help, let them raise it (the wage).”
On the issue of stricter gun laws for New Hampshire, Rollins has views similar to his Republican colleague, Callum, in that he generally is wary of anything that he believes infringes on the Second Amendment.
“Gun control does not work,” Rollins said. “It only gives the criminals the power not to be afraid of being shot and killed. The government is trying to take firearms away from honest citizens.”
Rollins opposed the Extreme Risk Protection Orders bill saying it was an overreach that allowed guns to be taken away from someone without a jury trial and it cost money and time to get the guns back.
“Guilty without a trial is just not right,” he said.
Rollins also said he opposed gun-free zones because shooters know they won’t be challenged and background checks on firearm sales from a dealer are already in place.
If re-elected, Rollins said he wants to ensure the Second Amendment is protected and broad-based taxes are not approved, except under one condition.
“I will not support a broad-based tax unless there is a constitutional amendment that states the money only goes to school funding for property poor towns,” Rollins said.
Attempts to reach Franklin, an 89-year-old retired mediator, were unsuccessful. Franklin, a Democrat, served in the House from 2000 to 2008. Since then he has run unsuccessfully for the House a few times.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
