A small group of mostly women, including candidates, met in Mason Sunday afternoon to discuss issues important to them in the upcoming election.

The event, organized by Mason resident Kathy Chapman, was held in a barn on Nutting Hill Road. Participants were asked to mark on a white board which topics were most important to them, discuss ways to talk to people across the aisle about the issues and find some common ground before Election Day and tell those potentially headed to Concord their views.

Candidates attending included Carol Schreck, running for state representative for Brookline, Mason and Greenville; Bev Cotton, who is running for county treasurer; Melanie Levesque, who is running for state Executive Council; and Mike Pellerito, who ran as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary for state representative to represent New Ipswich, Temple and Wilton.

While six potential topics were offered, the two that received the most votes and were the center of Sunday’s discussion were reproductive rights and education funding. Those present said that they didn’t have specific objections to New Hampshire’s current laws on abortion, which allow abortions for up to 24 weeks, and makes exceptions for the health of the mother after that point.

“After 24 weeks, hardly anyone chooses an abortion,” said Michelle Scott of Mason. “I think the law as it stands is OK, but I just don’t think it should be politicized. It should be a decision between the woman and her doctor.”

Cotton said that her main concern was not the current law, but the potential for the law to continue to shift. She said political divides seem to be getting more extreme. She said that while some Republicans currently running for office have espoused support for New Hampshire’s current law, and said they would not seek to make it more restrictive, they have in the past advocated for a “life begins at conception” approach.

“There was a time when you could have a conversation,” Cotton said. “It’s really, really difficult to do that anymore.”

On the topic of education funding, the group discussed the state’s current model of Education Freedom Accounts, where parents can use state funds to educate their children outside of the public school system. One attendee described their charter school experience as far more rigorous and a better environment compared to a year spent in the district’s middle school.

Schreck said that charter and private schools are “very valid” and can work for a lot of people. But, she said the matter boils down to “Should taxpayers be paying for it?”

Two main takeaways from the conversation were the potential impact on local taxes by funneling dollars away from traditional public schools, and the lack of potential lack of oversight of schools which would be receiving public funds.

After a two-hour discussion, the group concluded, with the possibility of holding another discussion prior to the upcoming Nov. 5 election to talk topics there was not time for Sunday.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.