Dublin resident and Republican Leo Plante is running for one of the two seats in Cheshire House District 9. His primary concern is to address the issues he sees with the state’s education system.
District 9 covers the towns of Jaffrey, Dublin, Harrisville, and Roxbury. Incumbent representatives are Richard Ames (D) and Douglas Ley (D), who have held office since 2012.
Plante said he is “quite concerned” about academic achievement and proficiency, but wasn’t inspired to run for office until he found out about House Majority Leader Doug Ley’s rebuke by the Legislative Ethics Committee in March 2019.
Ley is the president of the American Teachers Federation of New Hampshire, and the Committee determined that Ley ought to have recused himself from voting on union related matters.
“That just bothered me,” Plante said.
Ley accepted the committee’s findings and said he would change his behavior.
“About half of local property taxes go to schools,” he said, adding that charter schools produce more proficient students in a more cost-effective way.
Plante said he supports the reform proposals supported by Governor Sununu and New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, specifically a 46 million federal grant to expand charter schools in the state, and the Learn Everywhere program, both of which are tied up in state legislature.
He additionally supports the Croydon Bill, which allows taxpayer funds to be utilized to send students to private schools in some circumstances, and said he and his wife and campaign treasurer, Veronica Lima, donate to the Education Tax Credit Program, which funds scholarships for children pursuing an education in private school, online or homeschool programs.
“If you put all those together it really reduces the cost” of educating students, he said.
He estimates that the above measures could cut local property taxes by 20 percent. Plante has taken the Coalition of NH Taxpayers pledge to oppose any sales, income or other broad based tax on NH taxpayers.
Plante is 73 and moved to Dublin four years ago. He taught finance and economics at the university level, most recently at the University of Richmond in Virginia.
Prior to teaching, Plante had a career in investment banking and formed his own investment management and venture capital firm. Plante is an Army veteran and serves as chaplain and finance officer of American Legion Post 24 in Marlborough.
He formed the Dublin School Choice Committee in early 2019, which advocates for the town to withdraw from the ConVal School District, and said he’s never held a position in public office.
Teaching finance and economics, Plante said he saw firsthand the lack of preparation of American students as compared to their European and Asian colleagues, and cited it as a national phenomenon.
“We’re not preparing our kids,” Plante said, noting that half of ConVal graduates aren’t scoring proficient in math, and one third are not proficient in reading.
He sees the educational track records of STEM-focused public charter schools, such as the Nashua-based Academy for Science and Design, as ideal for capitalizing on the overflow of biotech opportunities from Boston.
Plante and his wife are looking at vacant properties in the region in hopes of setting up a STEM-focused charter school in the region modeled after Nashua’s.
“That’s our project for next year,” he said, although he acknowledged the process would be much easier if the federal charter school grant comes through. “We want to contribute something to the region.”
State Senator Ruth Ward (R), who lives in Stoddard, has been serving as a mentor-figure for Plante’s campaign and spoke at its kickoff party, he said, which was held at Cafe 532 in Jaffrey in January. More than 20 people attended the event, he said.
Plante’s campaign is halfway to its fundraising goal of $20,000, he said.
“It’s very expensive to run even at the local level,” Plante said, adding that he is pleased with progress so far. “We’re working hard early.”
In the next months he plans to organize house parties to meet voters, and distribute mailings and signs. He intends to file for the primaries in June prior to the primary vote in September and the November election.
Voters interested in his campaign can visit his website, www.friendsofleoplante.com, or contact him by email: friendsofleoplante@gmail.com