Vote for responsible change
Ballooning costs to taxpayers at the local level are the consequence of New Hampshire’s Free State legislature’s failed fiscal policy. An overinflated balloon bursts, so we must vote for change before our schools and town services are blown apart. In Weare, for example, over 20 default budgets have already left the town cash-strapped, cutting services. How is support for slash and burn cuts on the state level and a ballot initiative to cap costs downshifted to the towns fiscally responsive to our needs? The Weare incumbent in the NH House race is a Free Stater censured by the legislature for hateful speech but still defiant.
His challenger, candidate David Erikson, appears soft spoken. Our kids grew up together and still remain friends, so I’ve had conversations with him that revealed his strength, which comes from his personal faith, experience and problem-solving capability, seasoned by service on town boards, teaching in public and private schools, and his vocation as a woodworker.
Friends tease him about being thrifty. Taking a phrase from a former town administrator, “[he] can make a dollar go around twice.” This is how to navigate tight budgets, and Weare has had over 20 default budgets. David knows what expenditures are necessary to save money in the future. His work on the town’s energy assessment is proof of that.
But above all, he listens. We need a responsive, responsible legislature. Vote for change.