I was unable to attend this event due to a scheduling conflict but the moderator read this statement to attendees:
Thank you Project Sunapee for hosting this Forum. I’m sorry that I am unable to attend this evening and appreciate your offer to provide this brief statement.
I am running for State Representative in Sullivan district 8 which includes 9 towns: Claremont, Croydon, Springfield, Sunapee, Goshen, Washington, Lempster, Acworth, and Langdon. If you are a registered voter in any of those towns, I hope you will choose both Don Bettencourt and Jon Stone as your District 8 representatives.
Redistricting has caused some interesting changes. Sunapee and Springfield will each have three State Reps, including District 5 where I hope you will choose Republican George Grant. If you live in Goshen, Lempster, Washington, Acworth, or Langdon, you will have 3 State Reps including District 4 where incumbent Republican Judy Aron should be your choice. Perhaps the biggest surprise is in Claremont and Croydon which will now have 5 State Reps including 3 from District 6!
I’ve been a full time Sunapee resident for over 16 years and a Sunapee taxpayer for the past 33 years. I’ve been engaged in local politics for more than a decade and have attended more school board and Board Selectmen meetings than some elected officials over the years. I served as Chairman of Sunapee’s Budget Advisory Committee back in the days when it consisted of five private citizens who were able to challenge budget proposals without upsetting fellow department heads.
I’m running because according to a June 2022 CBS poll, 85% of Americans believe our country is headed in the wrong direction. As your State Rep, I’ll be able to help New Hampshire’s “Citizen Legislature” lead America back on track.
Inflation is our biggest problem as too much government spending is causing prices of food, energy, housing, health care, and virtually everything else to skyrocket. The root cause is the Washington Democrats’ reckless overspending of your dollars and NH Democrats want to pile more of your dollars on that fire. I have pledged to preserve the New Hampshire Advantage by opposing any additional NH Sales or Income Taxes. That has to start with controlling our spending. Let’s work together to find ways to reduce spending with the help of technological advancements.
New Hampshire needs to deal with the Fentanyl crisis caused by the NH Democrats’ support for America’s open southern border that has resulted in an influx of over 5 million illegal entries. NH’s total population of 1.38 million pales by comparison. Let’s come up with a plan to help those newcomers who are here for the right reasons, and to protect NH citizens from those who are not.
Our union-dominated public schools have also veered off course. A few weeks ago a NH Superior Court Judge ruled that a parent’s fundamental rights stop at the school door. The judge supported the Manchester School District’s argument that the right to parent “does not include the ability to direct how the school teaches her child”. Most NH parents do not support this radical view. Is it any wonder that many families are fleeing those schools and in favor of school choice, homeschooling, micro-schools, and other alternatives? A recent “Fairness in funding” presentation in Sunapee reported that Sunapee taxpayers last year spent $31,000 per student. Yet Mount Royal Academy charges only $7,000 per student for elementary school. Is the answer to throw more dollars on the public school fire, or to help public schools reduce costs by focusing on student achievement?
It’s time to send problem-solving NH citizens to Concord. I’ve been an engineer, strategic business planner, entrepreneur, NCAA athlete, volunteer, leader, follower, small business owner, job creator, God-loving husband, father, brother, son, and now grandfather to eight wonderful children under age 14.
For more information, please visit my website: www.SolutionsForNH.com. I look forward to working with you as your State Representative. Please vote for me, Don Bettencourt on November 8th!