For years the state has reduced the amount of funding allocated to towns while, at the same time, passing unfunded mandates. Every so-called “tax cut" at the state level translates quietly into a tax increase at the local level. These increases fall squarely on the shoulders of property owners. Property taxes rise, even as our local budgets are squeezed.

We need to reverse this trend and stop sticking it to communities with low property values. The communities that can least afford it get hit the hardest. No wonder we’re frustrated when we receive our property tax bills.

We can do a better job, for example, of sharing tourist-generated tax dollars so that all can benefit from that important industry, rather than the few, select towns, where property values are sky high but taxes rates are rock bottom. That’s not fair.

No one should be forced into bankruptcy or poverty because they or a loved one gets sick. People shouldn’t lose their healthcare because they lose or change jobs. We need to ensure that people can get the healthcare they need when they need it. Period.

This means reexamining the current system in which profits are skimmed off by insurance companies, while the least able must pay through the nose or go without. There are plenty of models world-wide of healthcare systems that work. It’s time to adapt our healthcare systems to provide better care at less cost. It can be done. It should be done.

Running campaigns requires money. Because I’m running for office, I ask for contributions from friends, neighbors, and community members—the people I’ll be representing in Concord. But this grassroots fundraising is an entirely different beast than the virtually unlimited contributions that occur when corporations, powerful special interests, and the mega-rich get involved to push for a candidate who will, in turn, push their agenda. Let's just go ahead and call these mega-contributions what they are: corruption.

To keep our democracy clean and races fair, we must limit how much money politicians can accept. Unless we get the big money out of politics, government will remain a tool for the rich and powerful.

Government should not interfere with the personal health choices of any citizen. Such decisions should always be between patient and doctor.

Like everyone I know, I’d like to see abortion numbers go down. Abortion is traumatic. But how do we get those numbers down? Realistically? Bans are not the answer. Let’s invest in education, contraception, health care screenings, and genetic counseling. These investments have proved far more effective at reducing the abortion rate than arbitrary bans

I am a gun owner. I support the second amendment. We have the right to defend ourselves and our families.

I am also horrified by the violence in schools, in other public spaces, and in homes. This country has too many easily-accessed weapons and uncontrolled sales. I support solutions that protect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping guns out of the hands of mentally unstable individuals or those with a history of violence. It’s common sense.

Throughout New England, states are relaxing cannabis laws, with positive results, like raking in tax dollars for the state coffers. Yet NH—which has long enjoyed a monopoly on the sale of alcohol (a far more dangerous drug)— maintains its ban on sales and possession of marijuana. Why?

The outdated war on drugs has caused more problems than it purports to solve. It's time that we started treating those with addiction problems as human beings with medical issues, rather than criminals.

Any laws establishing a broad-based tax must be carefully crafted and fairly applied. A state-wide income or sales tax, properly implemented, could benefit many in rural communities, including the elderly, by lowering property taxes and the overall tax burden.

Passage of a broad-based tax is not something I'm going to be crusading for, but it is something I could support if the math works, the details are right, and our communities and taxpayers would benefit.

No one should be forced to join a union. Nor should the government interfere with employer/employee relationships and contracts between them. Unions can help balance powerful corporate interests with those of relatively-powerless individual employees.

Historically, strong unions help raise the economic status of the lower and middle classes and provide a counter-balance to corporate tyranny. If a group of employees want to band together to negotiate for better pay or working conditions, good for them—have at it. Government should get out of the way.

We all want a good education for our children. Democracy demands it.

Ideally, school choice uses the free market to optimize education. It’s not a bad idea, but most school choice initiatives fall short. They divert money into private schools to the detriment of public schools, which serve all children including those who cannot afford a private education.

I'd love to see a healthy market where all children have equal opportunities for a great education, and all schools—public and private—follow the same rules for use of tax money, accountability, and transparency.

So far none of the school choice plans considered by the legislature have achieved these goals. I hope to change that.

Climate change is real. We see its effects in extreme weather and increased natural catastrophes. Our reliance on fossil fuels risks inflation and dependence on foreign (and sometimes hostile) sources.

Investing in and bolstering renewable, local energy sources and efficient delivery systems will lessen our dependence on foreign energy, reduce costs, AND mitigate climate change by reducing our carbon footprint.

The technology is here and it works. It’s time to protect our futures by supporting local, renewable energy.