Living in two cash-strapped, tax-capped cities, both District 7 state Senate candidates want to see better education, more jobs and fewer drugs in their community.
The methods for accomplishing those goals, though, are markedly different between Laconia Democrat Andrew Hosmer and Franklin Republican Harold French.
Hosmer, the 52-year-old incumbent and the sales manager for AutoServ Dealer Group in Tilton, said he hopes to get re-elected to build on what he’s done for the past four years.
“Probably most important thing in my district is turning the tide of the opioid epidemic,” Hosmer said. “This is an all-hands-on-deck time in the state.”
He said he wants to continue dedicating money to local treatment and rehabilitation resources as well as supporting police efforts.
Hosmer said he wanted to restore New Hampshire’s Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Treatment fund “back to its original formula,” to give more money toward the opiate problem. The fund, created in 2000 by the Legislature, was set up with the intention of five percent of alcohol sale proceeds going towards the fund for addiction treatment. A Sept. 2016 New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services report shows, however, that between 2001-2015, the fund sat empty, and this past year, just 1.7 percent of alcohol sales were put aside.
Generally speaking, French is for less state spending, although one issue he feels deserves more funding is the opioid epidemic.
“There’s no one silver bullet that’s going to solve that,” he said, adding that treatment and prevention were higher priorities than law enforcement.
Also to that effect, French supports decriminalizing marijuana.
“I don’t think its right to tag these people with a misdemeanor for a joint on their ashtray,” he said. That, French added, prevents people from getting employment.
“It’s hurting the people in this state,” he said.
Hosmer’s other two big issues are education and economic development.
“I think in many ways the state has done a poor job in funding education,” he said. He said he wants the state to stop reducing stabilization funding by four percent each year.
Finding ways to create jobs and build a tax base, Hosmer said, will also help the tax-capped cities of Franklin and Laconia.
“If we can build a better tax base through a stronger economy in both these cities we have an opportunity,” he said. He sees the issue as there not being enough workers with education or clean drug tests to work for the existing advanced manufacturers in the area.
Hosmer suggested boosting local technical centers and workforce development opportunities to alleviate the issue. He also noted he wants to make Medicaid expansion permanent in New Hampshire.
“A healthy workforce is a better work force,” Hosmer said.
His opponent, a 59-year-old auctioneer, took the opposite position on the Medicaid issue and said he was against continuing funding until 2018.
“I’d like to see some other source for (healthcare),” he said, adding that he was concerned about rising premiums and deductible costs for other, non-Medicaid residents.
“I’d like to look into that,” French said. He suggested starting to lower healthcare costs by creating more transparency in hospital bills.
As for the economy, French said he was happy about the small business tax cuts passed this year, and wants to see that trend continue.
“I would like to see us work on lowering the business profits tax a little more,” he said. He wants to reduce regulations on businesses, too.
French expects the Northern Pass hydroelectric powerline project to benefit his district if the project gets approved and implemented.
“It will be very good for Franklin for its tax base,” he said. Addressing a big challenge for Franklin and other nearby communities – education funding – French said he is encouraging school districts to push back on state-mandated costs.
“I’m…asking them to look at things they’re mandated to do in the schools by the state but aren’t necessary,” he said. “The state is responsible for a lot of issues, but those issues are not unlimited.”
French added, “There are a lot things people really want, but don’t have the money for.”
He said he knows this first hand as a taxpayer. Records kept by the Merrimack County Registry of Deeds show French has tax liens put on properties in Concord, Henniker, Webster and Franklin beginning in 1999 and extending through this year.
The registry also shows that in 1990, 2010 and 2012, French owed a total of $57,713.67 to the Internal Revenue Service.
(Hosmer has never had any liens on his property according to the registry and a Laconia official).
French said he was indeed on tax payments at one time in all the towns he’s lived in, though he added that all but the IRS back taxes have since been paid off.
Franklin property tax records show that French doesn’t currently have a lien on his house, but does owe a little more than $2,600 in taxes for 2016.
“Just like anyone, you struggle to pay your bills,” he said
One of the reasons he wants to be elected is to represent people who have limited income, like him.
“I’m not a rich man,” French said. “I know first hand – I’m a little behind on my taxes, and I really feel I cannot pay anymore.”
District 7 includes the communities of Laconia, Franklin, Webster, Boscawen, Canterbury, Gilford, Belmont, Northfield, Andover and Salisbury.