To the editor:
“Vote from the bottom up,” said Susan Ladmer, the Democratic candidate for Hillsborough County Commissioner, District 3, at a recent gathering in New Ipswich. As a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primary, Ladmer is running on the assumption that New Hampshire needs progressive change just as much as the country as a whole needs it. You probably don’t think about county government much, but decisions made at this level, by the candidates at the bottom of the ballot, may well affect us all more than those made at the top of the ticket.
Ladmer’s Republican opponent, Robert Rowe, was appointed to fill the term of the incumbent, Carol Holden, who died this spring.
He had a primary opponent, Len Mannino, who made some excellent points, in the single debate, on the lack of openness that the commissioners had shown, particularly on the many lawsuits that have been filed, as outlined in a 2013 series in the Union Leader, and the problems of quality of medical services, summarized in a recent NH Public Radio report. In the Milford Cabinet’s coverage of the debate, Rowe seemed to minimize these problems. I suspect he would try to maintain the status quo if elected.
Ladmer wants to further openness in the way the commissioners operate and to find a proactive solution to the medical care and other problems, and I believe she is the better choice for this important job. If for no other reason than to support the good people at and near the bottom of the ballot, please get out and vote in November.
Jim Giddings
Greenville