Cheshire County, District 2:
-Keene, Nathan Carbone
District 4:
-Keene, Thomas Savastano, supports school vouchers and decreasing business taxes 
District 5:
-Walpole, William Sommer
District 6:
-Chesterfield, Sean Graves
District 9:
-Alstead, Richard Nalevenko, member of Liberty Alliance, is against stricter gun laws, increasing minimum wage, taxing capital gains, supports decreasing the business tax and school vouchers
District 10:
-Swanzey, Sly Karansinski, against climate change action and anything to do with pot
-Swanzey, Dan Leclair, this guy is against pretty much everything except for legalizing pot, he’s all in
District 11:
-Winchester, Zachary Nutting, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, another one who is against expanding net metering opportunities, encouraging local zoning changes for housing, climate change action, stricter gun laws, loves those school vouchers though . . .
District 12:
-Troy, Dick Thackston, incumbent, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) member, against just about everything and votes that way, can’t decide whether to increase funding for child care providers, but is a fan of school vouchers
District 13:
-Dublin, Don Primrose, supports abortion before 24 weeks
 and school vouchers, undecided about increasing minimum wage and climate change action
District 14:
-Rindge, John Hunt, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, he’s against just about everything and votes that way, in support of school vouchers and legalizing pot
District 15:
-Keene, Jerry Sickels, endorsed by the anti-government group “We the People,” is against a lot of the same issues
-Walpole, John W. Winter, former field director for the Don Bolduc (remember him?) Senate campaign, no legalizing pot but supports increasing minimum wage, no stricter gun laws but supports school vouchers
District 17:
-Winchester, Jennifer Rhodes, incumbent, against anything that would benefit her constituents and votes that way, however, supports legalizing pot for state run sales and school vouchers
District 18:
-Rindge, James Qualey, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and YAL member, is against and supports the same issues, votes that way
-Dublin, Rita Mattson, against all things pot, stricter gun laws, raising minimum wage, climate change action but all in for school vouchers

Coos County, District 1:
-Northumberland, Sean Durkin, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, against climate change, increasing minimum wage and stricter gun laws, a school voucher guy 
-Northumberland, James Tierney, Jr. incumbent, mostly against or undecided on same issues, except for school vouchers, all in
District 2:
-Milan, Arnold Davis, incumbent, against abortion, climate change action, expanding net metering and increasing minimum wage, another school voucher guy
District 3:
-Colebrook, Mike Ouelett, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, is against and supports same issues
District 4:
-Whitefield, Seth King, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, same as the others
District 5:
-Berlin, Peter Morency
-Berlin, Brian Valerino
District 6:
-Gorham, Michael Murphy, incumbent, same as the others
District 7:
-Berlin, Lori Korzen, endorsed by anti-government group, “We the People,” supports school vouchers and conditional affidavit ballots for new voters

Knowledge is power, especially in the voting booth! Next time, Grafton County.

Due to the large amount of Republican candidates in the upcoming primary, two counties at a time will be focused on. Here we go . . . 

Belknap County - District 1:
-Center Harbor, Tom Ploszaj, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) member, votes the same as other members, surprisingly he supports legalizing the growth, private sales of and state run sales of pot
District 2:
-Meredith, Matt Coker, incumbent, votes the same on issues
-Meredith, Matthew Lunney
-Meredith, Edward Twaddell III
District 3:
-Tilton, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, incumbent, member of Liberty Alliance and YAL, votes the same on issues
District 4:
-Belmont, Travis Toner, website has a “Don’t tread on me” flag which has become a symbol for conservative and libertarian groups. Website is eye-opening . . .
District 5:
-Laconia, Stephen Bogert, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, votes the same on issues
-Laconia, Mike Bordes, incumbent, votes the same on issues
-Laconia, Dawn Johnson, Liberty Alliance member
-Laconia, Richard Littlefield, Liberty Alliance member, supports school vouchers, abortion before 24 weeks, conditional affidavits for new voters, local immigration enforcement
-Laconia, Sheri Minor
District 6:
-Gilford, Harry Bean, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and YAL member, against everything and votes that way
-Gilford, Richard Beaudoin, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, he is against school vouchers and supports protection for interstate travel for gender, abortion (huh?)
-Gilford, Russell Dumais, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, votes the same on issues
-Gilmanton, David Nagel, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, votes the same on issues
-Gilford, Glen Aldrich, Liberty Alliance member, supports and is against the same issues
-Gilford, Ronnie Abbott
District 7:
-Barnstead, Barbara Comtois, incumbent and YAL member, is against everything and votes that way
-Alton, Paul Terry, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, co-founder and director of far-right Christian Camp Constitution, was a proponent of CACR32 an amendment for NH to secede from the US, supports and is against the same issues
-Alton, Peter Varney, incumbent, supports and is against same issues
-Barnstead, Brianna Weller
District 8:
-Tilton, Douglas Trottier, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, undecided on a lot of issues but definitely against stricter gun laws
-Tilton, Lisa Freeman, against increasing minimum wage and stricter gun laws

Carroll County, District 1:
-Conway, Karen Umberger, supports school vouchers and local immigration enforcement, against increasing minimum wage and anything to do with legalizing pot
-District 3:
-Moultonborough, Karel Crawford, incumbent, is against a lot of the issues
-Moultonborough, Joseph Hamblen, supports and is against a lot of the same issues
District 4:
-Wakefield, Lino Avellani, incumbent, votes the same way
-Wakefield, Mike Belcher, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and YAL member, supports and is against a lot of the same issues
District 5:
-Ossipee, Jonathan Smith, incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, votes the same way
District 6:
-Wolfeboro, Katy Peternel, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and YAL member, votes the same
-Wolfeboro, John MacDonald, incumbent, against a lot of the issues  but actually supports climate change action
District 7:
-Tuftonboro, Glenn Cordelli, incumbent, Liberty Alliance and YAL  member, in Jan. 2023 CACR7 was proposed by 10 Republican legislators (Cordelli included) to repeal the Blaine Amendment in the NH Constitution. This bill was “relating to use of money raised by taxation for education. Providing that money raised by taxation may be applied for the use of religious educational institutions.” Blaine Amendments are found in 37 state constitutions and prohibits state legislatures from appropriating funds to religious sects or institutions, including religious schools. In March 2023, the bill did not have the required 3/5 vote to pass. (The above link is quite informative) He votes against most issues except for school vouchers and banning abortion. 
District 8:
-Freedom, Michael Costable Jr., incumbent, Liberty Alliance member, votes the same on issues
-Moultonborough, Richard Brown, incumbent, YAL member, votes the same on issues
-Freedom, Brian Taylor, against climate change action and increased funding for child care workers.

There is nothing quite like an informed, educated voter. Next time, Cheshire and Coos Counties.

As promised, here are the candidates for State Senate.

District 1:
-Littleton, David Rochefort, a Liberty Alliance member, supports school vouchers and (surprisingly) abortion before 24 weeks, against increasing minimum wage and stricter gun laws, incumbent
District 2:
-Sanbornton, Tim Lang, another Liberty Alliance member who is against abortion, decreasing the capital gains tax and action on climate change, supports school vouchers, incumbent
District 3:
-Freedom, Mark McConkey, another Liberty Alliance member, undecided about legalizing growing pot, but is against and supports the same issues as other LA members
District 4:
-Dover, Shawn Mickelonis, surprisingly he supports climate change action and legalizing growing pot but not for private sale
District 5:
-Hanover, John McIntyre, supports climate change action and school vouchers, against conditional affidavit ballots for new voters
District 6:
-Rochester, James Gray, votes the same, incumbent
District 7:
-Bradford, Daniel Innis, votes the same, incumbent
District 8:
-Stoddard, Ruth Ward, chairs the Senate Education Committee, is woefully uninformed as to how school vouchers actually work, incumbent
District 9:
-Bedford, Denise Ricciardi, incumbent who votes the same
District 10:
-Westmoreland, Rick Merkt, while this link would have the reader believe Merkt has lived in NH for many decades, he’s been here since 2017, his public service has been to the state of New Jersey, he’s against capital gains tax, climate change action and increasing the minimum wage, not surprisingly supports school vouchers
District 11:
-Merrimack, Tim McGough, Liberty Alliance member, supports and is against the same issues
District 12:
-Nashua, Kevin Avard, endorsed by “We the People” (anti-government), incumbent and votes the same
District 13:
-Nashua, Stephen Scaer, endorsed by “We the People” (anti-government), very transphobic according to his website, supports and is against the same issues
District 14:
-Londonderry, Sharon Carson, incumbent who votes the same
District 15:
-Concord, Pamela. Ean, supports and is against the same issues
District 16:
-Manchester, Keith Murphy, Liberty Alliance member, incumbent who votes the same 
District 17:
-Loudon, Howard Pearl, Liberty Alliance member, incumbent who votes the same 
District 18:
-Manchester, Victoria Sullivan, member of the Free State Project, supports and is against the same issues
District 19:
-Hampstead, Regina Birdsell, incumbent who votes the same on issues except she’s for encouraging local zoning changes for housing development
District 20:
-Manchester, Brittany Ping, husband Matt has been a speaker at the Free State Project’s annual Porcfest also known as the Porcupine Freedom Festival, supports and is against the same issues
District 21:
-Newfields, Don Cardinale, secretary of Newfields-Newmarket Republican Town Committee
District 22:
-Salem, Daryl Abbas, incumbent Liberty Alliance member, surprisingly he supports legalizing state run shops to sell pot and encouraging local zoning changes for housing development, not surprisingly he supports school vouchers and is against abortion 
District 23:
-Sandown, Bill Gannon, incumbent who votes the same on issues
-Fremont, Emily Phillips, Young Americans for Liberty and Liberty Alliance member, voted 2024 Liberty Alliance legislator of the year, she supports conditional affidavit ballots for new voters and encouraging local zoning changes for housing development, not surprisingly she supports school vouchers
District 24:
-Stratham, Patrick Abrami, Liberty Alliance member, supports and is against the same issues

Next article(s) will focus on the candidates for the State House. 

New Hampshire’s Primary Day is fast approaching, Tuesday, Sept. 10th. The following is a list of Republican candidates for office:

Governor: Richmond, Edmond LaPlante, Undeclared, Constitutional Party of NH
-Dover, Stephen Villee, Libertarian, came to NH in 2023 with the Free State Project
-Gilmanton, Shaun Fife, Republican, “When your Constitution's foundation is resting on the Bible, you can stand tall.”

US Congress, District 1:
-Manchester, Kevin Rondeau, conservative Democrat, would like to extend the Trump (wealthy only) tax cuts
-Seabrook, Max Abramson, Republican/Libertarian, “Get government out of everything."
-Manchester, Joseph Levasseur, Republican, “The most pro-Trump candidate in the race.”
-Derry, Chris Bright, Republican, Army veteran
-Newfields, Hollie Novoletsky, Republican, Army veteran
-Manchester, Andy Martin, Republican, wants to increase oil and natural gas leases on public land
-Manchester, Walter McFarlane III, Republican
-Kingston, Russell Prescott, Republican, former State Senator and Executive Councilor

US Congress, District 2: 
-Danbury, Paul Wagner, Republican, wants to extend the Trump tax cuts and increase oil and natural gas leases on public land
-Weare, Lily Tang Williams, Republican, “We the People” member (anti-government)
-Keene, Jason Riddle, Republican, entered Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, charged with stealing a book and toy football from a Senate office
-Nashua, Jay Mercer, Republican
-Lincoln, Vikram Mansharamani, Republican, wants to increase oil and natural gas leases on public land
-Colebrook, William Harvey, Republican
-Hanover, Bill Hamlen, Republican
-Hudson, Tom Alciere, Republican, self-proclaimed "orthodox libertarian extremist", against Medicare For All
-Colebrook, Gerard Beloin, Republican, against abortions before 24 weeks
-Conway, Michael Callis, Republican, he’s for Medicare For All and against privatizing Social Security, so there’s that . . .
-Hollis, Randall Clark, Republican, champions school vouchers
-Nashua, Casey Crane, Republican, website tells you all you need to know . . .
-Stoddard, Robert D'Arcy, Republican, wants to extend the Trump tax cuts and is against a woman’s right to choose

Executive Councilor, District 1:
-Wakefield, Joseph Kenney, Republican, against capital gains tax, contracts with Planned Parenthood, abortions in first two trimesters
District 2:
-Concord, Mary Rose Deak, Republican
-Plymouth, Kim Strathdee, Republican
District 3:
-Rye, Janet Stevens, Republican
District 4:
-Loudon, Terese Bastarache, Republican, against abortion, climate change action, capital gains tax, increase minimum wage
-Manchester, Robert Burns, Republican, Trump supporter ‘nuff said
-Deerfield, John Reagan, Republican, against abortion, capital gains tax and supports school vouchers
-Manchester, John Stephen, Republican, endorsed by “Americans for Prosperity” (Koch billionaire organization), Free State Project and Liberty Alliance House Representatives
-Lee, Ryan Terrell, Republican
-Manchester, Ross Terrio, Republican, against abortion and strict gun laws, supports school vouchers
District 5:
-Milford, David Wheeler, Republican, supports school vouchers, against abortion and contracts with Planned Parenthood, stricter gun laws and increasing the minimum wage

Knowledge is power, even when one is entering the voting booth. Next article will focus on candidates for the State Senate.

New Hampshire’s Primary voting day is fast approaching . . . Tuesday, Sept. 10th. The Presidential election voting day follows less than two months later, on Tuesday, Nov. 5th.

Are you ready to vote?

Register: Register to vote at your city/town hall before the deadline. Unsure of the deadline? Contact your clerk for the date. Here in NH you can register to vote on election day at your polling place. Unsure where your polling place is? Your clerk can tell you. You will be given a voter registration form to fill out. 

What do I need to register?: You will need to fill out a registration form with your local clerk or supervisor of the checklist. A requirement is proof of citizenship, age, primary residence, and identity. A list of preferable forms of ID can be found here;  sos.nh.gov/elections/register-vote.

How to check on current registration status: Click here;  app.sos.nh.gov/voterinformation 

What if I need to vote absentee?: Go to the Secretary of State’s website and click on; https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/absentee-ballots.

I’m at my polling place. Now what?: When you check-in, the ballot clerk will ask to see your photo ID. If you don’t have one, you will be asked to fill out an affidavit, and your photo will be taken. If you are already registered, announce your name, address, and, during a primary, your party affiliation. The ballot clerk will hand you a blank ballot. In the voting booth, vote for the candidates of your choice. Be sure to fill in the oval. Leave the booth and place your ballot in the ballot-counting device or hand it to the moderator to place in the ballot box.

What if I have a disability?: In NH every polling place must be accessible to voters with disabilities. If you are unable to mark a paper ballot by hand, you can vote using an online accessible absentee ballot. You can complete your ballot on a computer, print it out, then return it to your local clerk before the election. Contact your city/town clerk for more information. On election day, each polling place has an accessible voting system known as “one4all.” The tablet has a touchscreen and audio setting for voters with disabilities to use to generate a marked ballot. 

Interested in being a poll worker?: Contact your city/town clerk if you are able to help your local community on election day. You must be at least 17 years old.

For more information about registering and voting visit sos.nh.gov/elections/register-vote or https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections.

You can also go to Citizens Count at citizenscount.org/ to learn more about important issues, particular races and candidates. 

“There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. It all matters.”

— Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, 2009-2017

The nefarious information just keeps coming out about this anti-democracy group of power hungry authoritarian wanna-be’s.

ProPublica recently published an article outlining the various training sessions being offered for conservative political appointees. These training videos instruct future government appointees on a variety of ways to deceive government bureaucrats. There are schemes for averting Freedom of Information Act disclosures that could potentially be embarrassing; assuring conservative policies aren’t nullified by “left-wing judges;” drastically changing how the federal government functions and operates. Their goal is to “battle against the so-called deep state government bureaucracy.”

There are 36 speakers on these videos, with 29 of them having previously worked for Trump. Some were on his 2016-17 transition team, others were in his administration and currently on his 2024 reelection campaign.

How about a few examples of what is offered in these videos:

• During the Trump administration, Betany Kozma was a deputy chief of staff at the US Agency for International Development. Kozma, who is also a conservative activist, mocks the seriousness of climate change, declaring the effort to combat it is really part of a ploy to “control people.” She claims the issue of climate change is a form of “population control.” (Wut??)  She states the administration of a conservative president “will have to eradicate climate change references from absolutely everywhere.” Kozma also refers to gender fluidity as “evil.”
• Katie Sullivan, former “acting” assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice during the Trump era, has set her sights on executive actions that created gender adviser positions throughout the federal government, implemented by the administration of Pres. Joe Biden. The goal, Biden wrote in one order, was to “advance equal rights and opportunities, regardless of gender or gender identity.” She’s all in for removing so-called “critical race theory” from public education but doesn’t say how the government would accomplish that. Sullivan wants the positions and task forces to be eliminated, remove all equity plans from all the websites, and “a complete rework of the language in internal and external policy documents and grant applications.”
• New Hampshire’s own Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, admitted to the quiet part out loud in one of the videos, “As our campaign leadership and President Trump have repeatedly stated, Agenda 47 is the only official policy agenda from our campaign.” (emphasis added) Agenda 47 and Project 2025 are quite similar in their goal of destroying democracy.
• Another video has the Heritage Foundation's David Burton, an economic policy expert, talking about the importance of a little known but influential agency called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The Trump administration used OIRA to help roll back regulations on economic, environmental and fiscal issues. The Biden administration has since reviewed and developed new regulations such as combating housing discrimination, banning the sale of “ghost” guns and setting new renewable fuel targets.

This cannot be stressed enough, Project 2025 calls for but is not limited to, eliminating the Dept. of Education, eliminating Medicaid, reclassifying tens of thousands of career civil servants so they can easily be replaced for loyalists, give the president greater power to control the DOJ and further restricting abortion access.

This November, make your vote count towards democracy!

“Democracy isn’t something we have. It is something we do.”
                                                  Granny D

As many of you may already know, there is a wonderful local organization called Project Home that places asylum seekers with host homes all while helping to establish them and their families into the local communities, schools and jobs. Currently, the biggest need for Project Home is housing. Whether it’s for just one person or a family, temporary, affordable and safe housing is always step one in a person’s relocation journey.

Many of the asylum seekers would require close access to either jobs and/or classes for “English as a Second Language” (ESL) as normally they don’t drive or even have a car. Project Home is generally able to set up driving schedules if needed through its vast pool of volunteers. Some individuals are able to bike to wherever they need to go.

Currently, the immediate need is a single room for one person in the Keene area. This is for a quiet, well-mannered young man with tidy habits who urgently needs a studio, room, or shared apartment. He’s been offered the use of a mobile camper with full facilities, but he would need a parking space with a hook-up to water and electricity. If you know of an affordable apartment, space in a shared apartment, or an inexpensive place to park the camper please contact info@ProjectHomeNH.org. 

Ideas to help this individual were thrown around at a recent meeting to address this issue: 

• Local campgrounds, would anyone have an available camper
• Hosting an RV on personal property (would need hook-up to water and electricity)
• Property caretaker in exchange for room and board
• A live in job (child care, housekeeper) in exchange for room and board)

There is also an urgent need to find housing in the Peterborough area for a mother and her three children. Out of concern for school stability for her ten-year-old son, the focus is on Rindge, Jaffrey and Peterborough. If anyone has a lead on an apartment or contact with agents who manage a small number of units, please contact info@ProjectHomeNH.org.

I think it’s almost safe to say the high energy and rapidly building momentum for Vice-President Kamala Harris to become our first Madame President is palpable! The first week alone, after this historic announcement, saw hundreds of thousands of new voters being registered, millions of small donor donations sent to her campaign and more volunteers turning out to phone bank, write letters and post cards to voters across the country and signing up for old fashioned door knocking!

High energy and palpable indeed!

This brings me to an upcoming event that will take place on Saturday, August 10th from 12:30-1:30 on Keene’s Central Square. This “visibility” event is being sponsored by the Cheshire County Democrats to help get Kamala Harris elected on November 5th. Bring your own handmade signs, bring along your family and friends but most of all bring your enthusiasm for what is certainly history taking place in front of all of us! While there, say hello to other candidates who are running for local elected positions, sign up for phone banking and/or door knocking! 

To get you in the right frame of mind, there will be a sign making event held on Thursday, August 8th at the "Organize NH" Keene Regional Office beginning at 5:30. Their office is located at 17 Church St. and all sign making supplies will be provided. The parking lot is located off the first left on Railroad St. Park in a spot labeled for 9 Church St. or a spot with no sign. To get to the entrance, walk through the alley between Railroad St. and Church St. Turn left, the entrance is located under a large 9 sign. Parking on Main St. and Railroad St. is free after 5 PM and on Sundays. There is no street parking on Church St. Here is a sign up link which also includes a map. 

Want to do more? There is phone banking from 5-7 pm every Wednesday until the election. Sign up here.

There is canvassing beginning at 10:00 am on Saturdays and 12:00 pm on Sundays until the election, with multiple shifts per day. Sign up here.

Hey, let’s go do this because “Yes, we Kam!”

In Florida, on Friday, July 26th, Turning Point Action, a conservative Christian organization, hosted a “Believer’s Summit” rally for Donald Trump. He spoke to the crowd, indicating if he were to be voted back in to the White House, "everything" about elections would be "fixed.”

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians," Trump stated. “You’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound democratic at all!

On Sunday, July 28th, Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) was interviewed by Martha Raddatz on ABC’s This Week, and she brought up that troubling part of Trump’s speech. Sununu poo-pooed the alarming statement as just “classic Trumpism” rhetoric. He felt the word “fixed” could be construed to mean the nation could be “improved” or “repaired.” 

Trying to soothe feelings of fear and anxiety, Sununu continued by stating, “Obviously we want everybody to vote in all elections, but I think he was just trying to make a hyberbolic point that it can be fixed as long as he gets back into office and all that.”

Sure, Chris. Still defending a man who (allegedly) incited an unsuccessful coup after he legally lost the LAST election! 

In response to Trump’s remarks on Friday, the Harris campaign stated, “When Vice President Harris says this election is about freedom, she means it.” 

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”  Maya Angelou

Midterm elections were held in 2022 and to the detriment of voting rights advocates, only about 15% of New Hampshire 18 year olds were registered to vote! Eight Democratic Representatives put together House Bill 1014 which was signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Sununu.

While there is already a previous law authorizing middle and high schools to issue copies of the state’s voting laws and state constitution to students, HB1014 will now mandate “information on the laws governing election and voting” to be included in civics and history education. The goal of this new legislation is to require schools to use the information to strengthen “the role, opportunities, and responsibilities of a citizen to engage in civic activity,” while educating students on the functions and role of government.

Unfortunately, an amendment was added to the bill by the Senate which now requires any public school district, city or town to use the official name for state holidays. Example – no more referring to  “Columbus Day” as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” 

Seriously . . .?

The bill takes effect Sept. 12th, which should give those who are just turning 18 plenty of time to register, find out where they need to go to vote and then do so on Nov. 5th.

Also signed by Sununu was House Bill 1098, permitting town clerks, assistant clerks, and clerks pro tem to deliver absentee ballots to nursing homes and other elder care facilities. Another bill signed into law was House Bill 243. City and town election officials will now be obliged to permit members of the public to observe voting tabulators that are used during an election. Also requires these officials to display the printed results within one hour of running the tabulators.

With all this in mind, let’s be sure to GOTV in November!