A Hooksett teacher’s union president and Candia state representative are battling for the state Senate District 16 spot, a seat being vacated by longtime Republican legislator Dave Boutin.
Scott McGilvray, a Democrat and the president of NEA-NH, is being challenged by Republican state Rep. Joe Duarte.
Duarte has served in the State House for six years and said he sees the state Senate as “the next stop.” The retired insurance salesman and financial planner has served on his local planning board and selectboard in the past.
“I’m big on community service,” he said.
Duarte said his focus is on continuing to cut business taxes in New Hampshire. The reduction in state business profits tax from 8.5 percent to 7.9 percent, he said, is just the beginning.
“We just have to continue doing that,” Duarte said. “So some of these companies will come to New Hampshire.”
He also suggested reducing regulations on businesses to boost their growth.
“Small business is the backbone of everything as far as I’m concerned,” Duarte said.
In addition to economic development, Duarte highlights on his website that he’s pro-life and wants to “restore the FAMILY values that made our state and our country great.” He also pledges to protect the second amendment.
Both on his website and in an interview, Duarte addressed his focus on education. He said he prioritizes local control and supporting charter schools.
“I would like to see more charter schools,” he said. “I think homeschooling is another good area for parents.”
Though it’s not prominent in his campaign materials, Duarte said he also wants to address the heroin epidemic in New Hampshire, mostly by prioritizing enforcement.
When it came to voting for Operation Granite Hammer, however – which has distributed $1.5 million to law enforcement in local communities statewide – Duarte voted against the bill in June.
He criticized what he felt was a slow rollout in the funds after the $1.5 million in grants were announced in late September.
Instead, Duarte said that for “pushers . . . we need to come down with some harsh penalities to stop what they’re doing.”
“The youngsters – they’re getting clobbered,” he added.
Duarte’s opponent takes a different view on the issue. McGilvray, a former social studies teacher and football coach at Manchester Memorial High School, said he’s seen the effects of drug addiction first hand.
“I’m really sick of going to funerals or seeing obituaries in the newspaper,” he said. “I’ve seen far too many kids – now they’re adults – a lot of them suffering under this opioid epidemic.”
McGilvray said he’s in favor of a comprehensive approach, both enforcement and treatment.
“There’s no silver bullet,” he said. More and cheaper treatment beds, drug courts and efforts like Operation Granite Hammer are all good, McGilvray said.
“One of the things I haven’t seen and that isn’t talked about very much is education – educating the public on what this is doing,” he added.
Other priorities for McGilvray include boosting the state’s economy and infrastructure. He said in an interview he’s interested in raising the minimum wage, and on his campaign website, McGilvray advocates for fixing roads and bridges as well as considering passenger rail.
The site also mentions modernizing technology and energy infrastructure in the state.
Those efforts, McGilvray said, come together to create more and better jobs. Another crossover comes with the education system, where he said he wants to see more workforce development.
McGilvray has numerous recommendations for improving education in New Hampshire. These include more support for pre-K classrooms in public schools, full-day kindergarten, as well as preparing students for whatever comes after graduating: college or the workplace.
“Giving them tools to put in their toolbox,” McGilvray said. He added that he also wants to reduce student loan debt.
“I think we need to invest in education,” he said.
Generally, McGilvray said he has been a longtime advocate for students and people “who don’t have a voice,” and he sees the state Senate as another opportunity to use that skill set.
McGilvray has been criticized by his opponent and others, however, for announcing he’ll keep his job at the teacher’s union if elected.
He said he didn’t see a conflict of interest. He was registered with the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office as a NEA-NH lobbyist in 2016, though there’s an aterisk under his name, noting he was no longer lobbying as of May 12, 2016.
“When I was thinking of running and had decided, I immeditately went over to the Secretary of State’s office and resigned,” he said.
District 16 includes Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, Manchester Wards 1, 2 and 12 and Hooksett.