Seven candidates running for two state senate districts gathered at the Jaffrey Civic Center on Thursday to discuss their political beliefs ahead of the Sept. 11 primary.
Those seeking election in the eighth and ninth senate districts were each given a few minutes to answer topics raised by audience questions at the event, co-sponsored by the Peterborough-Plus unit of the League of Women Voters and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript.
Jeanne Dietsch, Mark Fernald, and Bruce Fox represented the Democrat candidates running for office for District 9, while Dan Hynes and Terry Wolf are vying for the Republican side of the ticket. Incumbent Republican Andy Sanborn is running for Congress.
Only two candidates have filed in the District 8 race – incumbent Republican Ruth Ward and Democrat Jenn Alford-Teaster.
Making the state more affordable for young families, elderly people, and others was a big topic of discussion among the candidates.
Fernald was the only candidate to specifically endorse the implementation of an income or sales tax in the state – calling property taxes a “runaway train” – while Hynes opposed the idea, calling for more tax reductions.
Fox said he wasn’t sure what the future holds for the state – perhaps the state may need a broad-based tax in the future – but he doesn’t feel taxpayers would support the shift right now.
“This is a boom economy right now. If we cant make it work now then we are in sad shape,” Fox said.
Alford-Teaster and Ward both called for a stop in downshifting various costs from the state-level to the town, something that has contributed to increased property taxes.
Dietsch said it was more important to look at who is forming the state budget, calling for a nonpartisan or bipartisan committee to create the state’s budget.
“We have to start with a budget that makes sense,” Dietsch said.
Taxing businesses was also discussed, with many of the Democratic candidates wanting to raise tax increases and many of the Republicans discussing the revenue possibilities the decreases in taxes provided.
Candidates were also specifically asked about increasing the gas tax, or finding another solution, to increase the quality of roads throughout the state.
All but Hynes and Ward specifically endorsed the idea of raising the gas tax to bring in more money for road repairs.
“If we want good roads, we need to be willing to pay for them,” Fernald said.
Ward said increasing the tax doesn’t sit well with people, but something does need to be done to increase the quality of roads.
Hynes opposed a gas tax increase – at one point saying he thinks the roads a good – instead opting to discuss some kind of mileage tax that could be assessed when someone registers their vehicle.
The concept of a state-funded voucher system – giving money to families that send their children to private, charter, and other non-public schooling options – received some debate.
Fox and Alford-Teaster explicitly discussed their opposition, while Hynes and Ward both voiced their support. The other candidates did not specifically address their opinion the proposed voucher system during their opportunities to speak about public education.
“I fully support school choice, I think the money should follow the child,” Hynes said. “…I think if public schools have competition they can do better.”
Education funding was also discussed, with Fox floating the idea of a program to incentivize people with student loans to stay in the state, and Ward calling for a bigger examination on the efficiency of school spending, especially in the areas of ancillary staff at K-12 public schools and professors at colleges and universities.
School safety and guns were also discussed among the candidates.
All Democratic candidates called for stricter regulations in some way, including more comprehensive background checks and no concealed carry permits without a permit.
Many of the candidates called on the need for more mental health screening, resources, and funding.
Wolf said the issues of gun ownership and school safety have been blurred into one issue as of late, despite them being two separate issues.
“School safety and understanding school safety is really important,” Wolf said, who said she studied school safety while on her local school board. “One of the biggest dangers to kids wasn’t violence or disregard, it was a non-custodial parent.”
District eight includes Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Croydon, Newport, Unity, Acworth, Stoddard, Deering, Weare, Bradford, Sutton, Newbury, Springfield, New L ondon, Sunapee, Goshen, Grantham, Lempster, Washington, Marlow, Hillsboro, Langdon, and Windsor.
District nine includes Dublin, Greenfield, Hancock, Jaffrey, Lyndeborough, Peterborough, Sharon, Temple, Bedford, Fitzwilliam, Mont Vernon, New Boston, Richmond, and Troy.