Is this right for Newmarket?

Let's not forget this one, Newmarket:

This is something that has had a direct impact on Newmarket: Josh Davenport voted for a moratorium on school building aid and grants. 

Note--Adam Schroadter did not vote.

**Originally posted on 10/26/12 

Let's keep moving forward.

Many times, elections are focused on the big races. Millions of dollars and countless hours are spent on those campaigns. But our state elections matter and have a significant impact on our lives, our rights and our freedoms. 

So let's talk about women's health and how the State government can affect it. We've read about what's been happening in Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Arizona. But do you remember what was happening here in New Hampshire under a Republican controlled House in 2011-2012? 

Here are some of the issues that the NH House took on during that time:

• Defunding Planned Parenthood, jeopardizing the health care of thousands of NH women.
• Requiring parental notification before a minor receives an abortion even in the case of rape, abuse or incest.
• Removing comprehensive preventative health services for women, including contraception, from benefits expected to be covered by health insurers.
• Allowing employers to deny coverage for contraception based on the employers' personal beliefs.
• Forcing doctors to provide false information to patients seeking abortions, including that abortion causes breast cancer.
• Banning abortion even when a woman's health is in danger.
• Prosecuting individuals who knowingly or unknowingly cause the death of a fetus, a bill that could make it difficult for women seeking fertility treatment.

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both supported all of these bills. If you're not from Newmarket or Newfields, go to http://votesmart.org/ to find out how your representatives voted.

Do you want to go back to this, New Hampshire? Is this what you want for yourself, your wife or your daughters? In Newmarket and Newfields, vote for Michael Cahill, Marcia Moody, Ella Walichnowska and Patty Lovejoy. Together we can protect our rights.
 

Know your reps.

Learn about the candidates running for State Office. Project Vote Smart is a great resource. 

For instance, did you know that Adam Schroadter and  Josh Davenport voted for the moratorium on state building aid, voted in favor of eliminating compulsory school attendance, voted against funding for Head Start and voted to repeal universal kindergarten?

Marcia Moody, Michael Cahill and Patty Lovejoy have shown great support for education in NH.

Election season.

State elections are in a little over a month. Are you ready?  

I wrote this almost 2 years ago, and feel the need to repeat it today. Both Adam and Josh are on the ballot again their records speak volumes. 

Here's what I posted on November 5, 2012:

This has not been a question of whether or not these guys are nice people--they are. But being nice isn't a good enough reason for me to vote for them. Too much is at stake.

I've written that Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport:

• voted to allow guns on college campuses and in the State House
• voted against funding for drug and alcohol treatment
• voted against funding for the Head Start program 
• voted to divert taxpayer money to private and religious schools 
• voted to repeal public kindergarten 
• voted to eliminate compulsory school attendance
• voted to allow parents to object to school curriculum for any reason
• voted for the Voter ID law
• voted to eliminate gun licensing requirements 
• voted to legally allow businesses to discriminate against gay couples
• voted to defund Planned Parenthood
• voted for removing preventive health services for women from benefits expected to be covered by insurance companies
• voted to force doctors to give false information to women seeking abortions 
• voted to repeal NH's participation in RGGI
• they voted for Right to Work
• they voted to expand the death penalty 

Our State elections matter--please do your homework, Newmarket. 

We vote on November 4, 2014. Polls will be open from 7am-7pm at Town Hall. 

One. More. Day.

Well folks, this is it. One more day until the election and no matter who wins or loses, at least we can all go back to answering our phones again.

I've spent most of the last 30 or so days talking about Adam Schroadter's and Josh Davenport's voting records. This has not been a question of whether or not these guys are nice people--they are. But being nice isn't a good enough reason for me to vote for them. Too much is at stake.

I've written that Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport

• voted to allow guns on college campuses and in the State House
• voted against funding for drug and alcohol treatment
• voted against funding for the Head Start program 
• voted to divert taxpayer money to private and religious schools 
• voted to repeal public kindergarten 
• voted to eliminate compulsory school attendance
• voted to allow parents to object to school curriculum for any reason
• voted for the Voter ID law
• voted to eliminate gun licensing requirements 
• voted to legally allow businesses to discriminate against gay couples
• voted to defund Planned Parenthood
• voted for removing preventive health services for women from benefits expected to be covered by insurance companies
• voted to force doctors to give false information to women seeking abortions 
• voted to repeal NH's participation in RGGI
• they voted for Right to Work
• they voted to expand the death penalty

And those are just the votes I've written about. There are more. I think these votes are wrong for our town and wrong for New Hampshire.

Check out Granite State Progress to look at detailed voting records for all the candidates.

I'll be voting for Marcia Moody, Michael Cahill, William Connery and Patricia Lovejoy.

But whoever you vote for, just make sure you vote.

3 Days

With just a few days to go, Seacoast Media has been endorsing candidates for the local state races. I read both the Herald and the News-Letter so I was shocked to see that they endorsed Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport on Friday. Here's the quote:

Both are fiscal conservatives who want to grow New Hampshire's economy while watching out for existing small businesses. They will work hard for solutions to education funding initiatives such as school building aid as Newmarket faces a tough road ahead in renovating or building a new Newmarket Junior/Senior High School. They will also be a watchdog for Newmarket and other communities in the Great Bay watershed as they face hundreds of millions of dollars in potential upgrades to waste water treatment plants being mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

I was surprised because one of the first parts of the paper I read is the editorial and I tend to agree with many of the things written there. I don't think that anyone would argue that the paper tends to lean a little to the left and so do I. 

Yes, they are both fiscally conservative. No, I haven't seen any funding initiatives to help assist with school building aid or education in general. Both have voted in favor of the moratorium on school building aid and to support voucher systems, eliminating kindergarten and eliminating compulsory school attendance. These measures won't help Newmarket schools.

So I'm left wondering, do you read your own paper? Perhaps you missed...

• An editorial denouncing lack of services for mentally ill. Guess who voted to cut that funding?
• An editorial praising Gov. Lynch for recognizing the importance of education and training. Guess who voted against the community college system and voted for severe cuts to the university system?
• An editorial denouncing the voter suppression campaign in New Hampshire among students and the Voter ID law in general. Guess who supported those bills?
• An editorial denouncing HB 1264--a bill that would legalize discrimination against gay and lesbians. 
• And in another opinion piece about this controversial legislation that only 85 house members voted for Shir Haberman wrote: "With all state representatives up for election this fall it is good to remember the eight legislators, all Republicans, who represent Seacoast communities and were among the bill's supporters, and to vote accordingly in November. They were Paul Brown and Kathleen Hoelzel of Raymond, Joshua Davenport and Adam Schroadter of Newmarket, Amy and Lawrence Perkins of Seabrook, Kenneth Weyler of Kingston and William Smith of New Castle."
• An editorial denouncing the repeal of New Hampshire's involvement with RGGI. Guess who voted in favor of that?

Maybe Seacoast Media Group should follow it's own advice and take a harder look at the records of the candidates it endorses. 

5 Days

The recent hurricane has a lot of people thinking about the environment and I'm no different.  Today's post centers around HB 519, which repeals New Hampshire's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

According to ConservationNH, RGGI is a "regional market-based program designed to reduce air pollution at the lowest cost. It was instituted by ten northeastern states to help limit carbon emissions, encourage innovation in alternative energy, and improve energy efficiency."

The Republican led House passed HB 519, repealing New Hampshire's participation in this program. Ten leading environmental organizations signed a letter in opposition to the bill: 

"The repeal of this important program is shortsighted, would undermine the state's environmental and energy goals, is not in the best interest of ratepayers, and would create an atmosphere where New Hampshire citizens would question the Legislature's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and our reliance on foreign oil. Rather than repeal, we urge a careful and thorough review of the RGGI program in order to make any needed reforms."

The conversation around RGGI is complicated. Here are a few articles and resources to better understand the program: 
http://conservationnh.org/climate-energy/a-rggi-primer/
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/air/tsb/tps/climate/rggi/index.htm
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20120611-NEWS-206110317
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Greenhouse_Gas_Initiative

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted to withdraw from RGGI.

9 Days

Right To Work
From Granite State Progress:

The New Hampshire General Court voted on whether to pass HB 474, the so-called "Right to Work" bill that would have jeopardized job-based health insurance, pensions and worker safety programs - important foundations for a healthy and productive work place that have largely been secured by organized work forces. The bill sought to interfere in private work place matters and bar employers and workers from arranging a fair share clause in contracts to help cover the collective bargaining costs of negotiating good jobs with good wages and benefits.(HB474, Roll Call #182, 5/4/2011)

This legislation has been criticized by opponents as anti-union and supporters have called it "worker freedom." You can read more about Right To Work here, here and here.

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted in favor of this bill. 
Marcia Moody and Patty Lovejoy voted against it.

12 Days

Balance. When people talk about balancing the budget, I focus on the word "balance."

I imagine that one has to take a hard look at programs and make cuts where necessary, even if they are painful. And in order to further balance the budget, I imagine that it's necessary to find ways to bring in more revenue.

The current legislature did not BALANCE the budget, they CUT the budget, sacrificing programs and services and downshifting costs to towns like Newmarket. 

One example of this is reducing the cigarette tax. The legislature planned on an increase in sales which would offset the decrease in taxes even though it was ill-advised and hadn't worked in other states as reported in this article in the NY Times.

It didn't work. According to this article in The Eagle Tribune, the Department of Administrative Services show a $20.1 million drop in tobacco tax revenues. But to me, the kicker comes at the end of the article:

"But within 24 hours of the tax cut, manufacturer's raised prices 10 cents a pack--negating the benefit."

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport supported reducing the cigarette tax--forgetting all about balance.

According to the Times article, "the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that if the New Hampshire cut were enacted it would mean more than $21 million in long-term health costs. The campaign also estimates a 10-cent drop per pack would result in 1,000 new young smokers in New Hampshire."

There was talk at last night's candidate's forum about being pro-business. 

I just wonder at whose expense?

14 Days

Representatives Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted to expand the death penalty. 

The death penalty is one of those issues that people are either for or against and I'm not going to try and change any one's minds today. What I don't understand is how 2 of our representatives can fight so hard to eliminate a woman's right to a safe, legal medical procedure claiming to want to protect life, but then vote to support expanding the death penalty. 

It just doesn't make sense to me.

15 Days

I've written twice now about gun bills and you can read those posts here and here. HB 536 is another example of the House's irresponsible policy on guns that eliminates the licensing requirement to carry a firearm.

Here's what that legislation would do:

• make a license to carry a firearm optional
• allow firearms to be carried or transported without a license --openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded
• reduces the fee for non-resident licenses from $100 to $20. 

It seems like common sense to me that a person should have a license to carry a gun, but Adam Schroadter didn't think so. He voted in favor of this bill. 

Marcia Moody and Patty Lovejoy both opposed this bill.

**Josh Davenport did not vote on this piece of legislation

22 Days

Planned Parenthood is a topic that has been in the news a lot recently.

Planned Parenthood provides "a wide range of safe, reliable health care — and more than 90 percent is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers. Caring physicians, nurse practitioners, and other staff take time to talk with clients, encouraging them to ask questions in an environment that millions have grown to trust."

The Republicans in the State House worked to defund Planned Parenthood in a couple different ways including HCR 41 and HB 228.

Here's my question: if the goal is to eliminate abortion, how does limiting access to birth control for thousands of women help to achieve that?

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport jeopardized the health care of thousands of Granite State women by supporting these bills.

23 Days

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted in favor of eliminating compulsory school attendance.

How is this good for education in New Hampshire? I just don't get it.

24 Days

The gun laws passed by the current legislature in New Hampshire have been described as reckless and irresponsible. 

Take HB 160, a law that overturned a 40-year-old ban on carrying guns in the Statehouse according to an article in The Wire.

Do our legislators really need to be armed?

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport think so. They both voted in favor of this bill.

25 Days

HR 29 is a message to federal health care officials that they drop the mandate on contraception coverage.

There has been much debate on this topic. Some people see this as an attack on religious freedom but I believe that this is about health care, simple. I particularly like this explanation in an article on Jezebel.com: 

The specific medical care that a woman needs is between her and her doctor, and if human beings are covered by a medical plan, then human bodies should be covered by that medical plan, regardless of what we do with those bodies. Full stop. Also, kindly stop thinking so much about what I do with my body. It's creepy.

There's a simple mathematical formula I remember learning in school. If a=b and b=c, then a=c.

So if access to health care is a right, and contraception is health care, then shouldn't contraception be a right too?

Josh Davenport and Adam Schroadter both voted against this basic right.

26 Days

The New Hampshire legislature introduced a bill this year that would effectively legalize discrimination in our state. 

HB 1264 reads: 

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person, including a business owner or employee thereof, shall be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges to an individual if the request is related to the solemnization, celebration, or promotion of a marriage and providing such services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges would be a violation of the person’s conscience or religious faith. A person’s refusal to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges in accordance with this section shall not create any civil claim or cause of action or result in any state action to penalize or withhold benefits from such person.

This means that if a business owner objects to a marriage on moral grounds, that business owner can refuse to provide services to that couple.  And to be clear, this bill does not specify that it would need to be a homosexual couple--- a business owner could refuse to serve a biracial or mixed faith couple also.

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both supported this bill.

So much for "Live Free or Die."

27 Days

The New Hampshire Legislature passed a new Voter ID law this year-over the veto of Governor Lynch. The issues with voter ID laws across the country have been widely reported and this law is no exception. 

From the Governor's veto message:

"This bill is unnecessary.
Any changes to our voting procedures must ensure a person's constitutional right to vote is protected. This bill does not meet this test."

You can read this op-ed in Seacoastonline and this article in the Huffington Post for a little more background on this law.

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted in favor of this bill which one judge described as "at odds with state law and would have a "clear, harmful effect" on the voting rights of college students and others." 

28 Days

Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted in favor of diverting tax payer money to private and religious schools.

This bill would hurt Newmarket schools.

This statement sums up my thoughts about HB 1607:

"The net effect is that the bill will support parents who already send their children to private and religious schools or who home-school their children. In short, legislators who vote for this bill are enhancing the liberty (choice) of a small minority of citizens and residents rather than promoting the greater good, including our nation's commitment to equality of educational opportunity." (You can read the full text here.) 

From Governor Lynch's Veto Message:

"Diverting public funds to private schools and downshifting costs to cities and towns is the wrong policy for our state and taxpayers, and is the main reason I have vetoed this bill and SB 372. But I have other concerns as well.

HB 1607, like SB 372, will also allow private, non-profit corporations to determine where public education dollars are spent. This bill does not identify those organizations beyond requiring that they be non-profits, register with the state's Charitable Trust Division and comply with applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The bill also fails to establish a system of accountability for these private entities. I believe that the executive and legislative branches should determine where public school money is spent, not a private corporation."

"I strongly believe that any tax credit program enacted by the legislature must not weaken our public school system in New Hampshire or downshift additional costs onto local communities or taxpayers. Accordingly, I am vetoing HB 1607, and the nearly identical SB 372, because they do not meet that test."

See the progression of this bill here. 

This bill wouldn't support public education and wouldn't help Newmarket.

29 Days

It's been widely reported that State Legislatures across the country have been introducing bills that would restrict women's control over their own bodies. Bills limiting availability to contraception, fertility, and yes, abortion have been have been popping up all over the country and New Hampshire is no different. HB 217 is one of those bills.

HB 217 prohibits violent offenses against fetuses. Now you might read that description and think, duh, what's wrong with that? Hopefully this excerpt from Governor Lynch's veto message will explain it:

I support legislation that would establish these criminal penalties for the death of a fetus, provided that criminal liability is triggered only if the fetus was deemed to be "viable" and that the legislation was based upon sound medical science. HB 217 fails to meet that standard. This bill would make it difficult for New Hampshire residents to obtain fertility treatments and unreasonably restricts a woman's rights during pregnancy. For these reasons and because this bill fails to contain a "viability" standard, I am vetoing HB 217.

Further, the definition of a fetus that is contained in HB 217 is ambiguous concerning whether or not the embryo stage is fully included or excluded. This ambiguity could affect the availability of reproductive medical treatments that are offered to women and men that assist in building families. HB 217 also does not provide sufficient protections when a woman is already pregnant. Because the medical treatment exemption is conditioned on the "request" of the pregnant woman or her legal guardian, it is not clear that an emergency room physician will be able to perform emergency treatment upon a pregnant woman brought in unconscious following a car accident or stroke, especially if there is no legally appointed guardian.

Josh Davenport and Adam Schroadter both voted in favor of this bill that would make it difficult for New Hampshire families to obtain fertility treatments.

30 Days

During this project, I've started highlighting different pieces of legislation that have gone through the New Hampshire House of Representatives----some of it has become law, some of it hasn't. HB 1, in particular, is complicated and many votes were taken. You can view the history of the bill here and view voting records here.

The run in 2010 that led to the takeover of the House by the Tea Party Republicans brought a fight over the state budget. I understand that the Republicans in Concord believed that they had a mandate to reign in spending and get a handle on the budget. 

I'm sure that many people will argue that the budget cuts are necessary, but when I start to look at some of the programs the budget drastically cuts or eliminates, it leaves me perplexed. I don't understand how we can cut services to some of our most vulnerable citizens, particularly when the economy is in the toilet. 

Here is one example:
Adam Schroadter and Josh Davenport both voted against funding for the Head Start Collaboration to help young, at-risk children better succeed in school.

This is one program they thought we could do without. 

What do you think we can do without?