Replace our sleeping reps
The filing period for the primary for state offices is June 3-12, and it’s time to think about replacing some of our do-nothing state representatives with people who are willing to sponsor bills specifically to help Concord. If you’re a Republican, run a Concord-centric campaign and maybe you can give the city a bi-partisan delegation. If you’re a Democrat, think AOC and unseat a sleeping incumbent.
I found only three Concord-related bills this session. A bill to accept a portrait of Sylvia Larsen had about a third of Concord representatives as co-sponsors, while fewer wanted to halt the sale of the Philbrick Center or allow a directional sign on I-93. Five of the 13 Concord reps co-sponsored no bills at all out of the thousand or so introduced.What were they doing except taking up space?
What could be done for Concord? For example, SB 311 in 2024 reimbursed the town of Hampstead for a year’s property taxes after the state bought a private hospital there, but no Concord rep requested a similar payment for the property Steve Duprey sold to the state last year. A bill this year requires insurance companies to reimburse ambulances at 325% of the Medicare rate, but it says nothing about the state reimbursing Concord for the numerous ambulance calls to the state prison and state hospital. Many Concord residents think that the city illegally managed trust funds, but there were no bills to investigate it and settle the matter. Or why not restore state funding for the new middle school?