State Sen. Kevin Avard, a Nashua Republican, is facing off against Democratic challenger Melanie Levesque to represent state Senate District 12 in the Nov. 8 election – a seat which has flipped between himself and Levesque in the last two election cycles.
Avard unseated Levesque in 2020, after Levesque similarly flipped the seat in 2018. The 2020 race was narrow, with Avard reclaiming the seat by less than 1,000 votes. The district includes New Ipswich, Mason, Brookline, Rindge, Greenville, Hollis and Wards 1, 2 and 5 of Nashua.
Levesque said one of her ongoing concerns is the state’s education voucher system, which allows families under a certain income threshold to use public dollars for non-public schooling for their children, including homeschooling, charter schools or private schools.
Levesque said, at a minimum, the program needs to be “throttled way back.” She criticized the voucher system for being wildly over budget, and without sufficient accountability.
Avard said it may be too early to determine what changes the voucher system may need, but that he “strongly supported school choice.”
“I know there are kids that learn differently. I know there are kids that fall through the cracks,” Avard said. “I think we should really try to make sure that every child can come to their full potential.”
Avard, who chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said if reelected, he would continue to work toward continuing to encourage local generation, including biomass, small hydro, solar and offshore wind.
Avard said his voting record on the subject of energy shows he “practice[s] what he preach[es].”
Levesque agreed on the importance of diversifying the state’s energy portfolio, and said efforts to do just that have been stymied by vetoes from Gov. Chris Sununu.
In the realm of reproductive health care, Levesque said if elected, she would work to codify the rights previously held under Roe v. Wade into New Hampshire law. Currently, New Hampshire allows abortion up to 24 weeks.
“I don’t feel the government should be the decider in these issues,” Levesque said. “It’s not for the government to say; it’s between the woman, her family and her doctor.”
Avard said he is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception. He said every abortion is a “tragedy,” but said he “would rather change hearts, and offer opportunities,” than change the law at this point.
“I think it’s an area where we need to have conversations, rather than a yelling match,” Avard said.
On the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, Levesque said that she supported the concept, saying it could be a good source of revenue for the state, as long as it came with “guardrails.”
Levesque said New Hampshire should look to its neighbors, states that have already legalized recreational use of marijuana, for possible models, including the possibility of allowing individuals to grow a small number of plants for personal use, but did not have a preferred model for how New Hampshire might implement sales withing the state.
“We have to look at how our neighbors are doing it, and what might work for our state,” Levesque said.
Levesque said she would also support pardoning individuals in state prisons who are incarcerated for marijuana possession, particularly as New Hampshire has already taken the step of decriminalizing possession of marijuana.
Avard said he did not support the legalization of marijuana, as it was still classified on the federal level as a Schedule I substance. He said he would not support sweeping pardons for New Hampshire prisoners incarcerated on marijuana charges, saying it was an issue for the parole boards or for individual prisoners to seek pardons.
“Right now, we have a system in place, and I think it’s working fine,” Avard said.
On the issue of affordable or workforce housing, both candidates acknowledged the need, but grappled with the balance between legislative action and local control.
“It’s a fine needle to thread,” Avard said. “Once you legislate and take away zoning authority from locals, you trash local control. I’m always going to side on local control.”
Levesque said in her time in the Legislature, she supported measures such as rebates to developers who made a portion of their developments affordable housing.
She said the ability to afford housing was important for both the state’s retirement population, and for its workforce.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.