Andru Volinsky, Candidate For Governor Of NH

Andru Volinsky

Age (as of Election Day)

64

Position Sought

Governor

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

I have three children, Josh, Mollie, and Bekah, with my wife, Amy and two grandsons.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Miami, which I attended on scholarship, and graduated magna cum laude in 1976. I then earned a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in 1980.

Occupation

I am currently serving my second term on the Executive Council and on leave from Bernstein Shur where I am an attorney. I have been working to fix the education funding system for 30 years. I was the 1997 Claremont school funding lawyer where we won, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled our property tax system unconstitutional to fund education. I have served on the Executive Council for four years and led the successful resistance to hold Sununu accountable on spending issues, contracts and ill-advised nominees to head up state agencies.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I have served as the 2nd District Executive Councilor since 2016.

Campaign website

https://www.volinskynh.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

New Hampshire is facing a COVID crisis, economic crisis, climate crisis, racial justice crisis. It’s time for bold and courageous leadership, a time for new ideas to lead the Granite State forward.

For decades, I have served New Hampshire as a public advocate and social justice activist. I was the lead attorney of the NH Supreme Court cases in the 90s, known as the Claremont school funding case, in which I successfully sued to defend the right of every New Hampshire child to an adequate quality public education. Nearly three decades later, New Hampshire still ranks dead last in state contribution to public education. These inequalities have only gotten worse as both political parties refuse to deal with the problem. I am running for governor to finally make real the promises of Claremont.

I am taking a new Pledge for the future, and promising to finally break New Hampshire from its crushing overreliance on property taxes. NH relies more heavily on the local property tax to fund its schools and other important services than any other state. The tax is regressive, and we know that as a result of our high property taxes, seniors are getting kicked out of their homes, and people are choosing between paying their property taxes and paying for food. I know that NH is ready for a change. I know that we can build a future that leaves no one behind. That is why I am running for governor.

As a grandfather of two, I think about climate change through that lens and know we must do better for future generations. New Hampshire is falling behind in building the clean energy economy of the future due to a lack of leadership. I am proud to be the only candidate who opposed the Granite Bridge fracked gas pipeline and has not taken money from fossil fuel companies nor lobbyists.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most issue facing New Hampshire is our current over reliance on local property taxes. It results in a regressive, unequal, burdensome tax on our most vulnerable people and creates extreme inequality with our public schools. The property tax is basically a second mortgage that is impossible to pay off and always goes up. It is unfair that a teacher in Manchester pays two times the rate on her house than Mitt Romney does on his mansion in Wolfeboro. A person between jobs in Claremont pays over 3x the rate that Mitt Romney does. We need to look towards a more equitable system, and I offered a new “Pledge for the Future” so that we can finally lower property taxes for the majority of Granite Staters.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The biggest differences between my Democratic and Republican opponents and I include the following: I opposed the Granite Bridge fracked gas pipeline, they supported it. My opponents have taken the disastrous Pledge which means property taxes continue to increase and crush working families and seniors. Our campaign is a grassroots movement, powered by small donors and I’m the only candidate who made the commitment on day one to refuse all corporate PAC and LLC money. We need leaders who have the courage to fight for bold ideas and not half-measures given all our current crises.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Sununu has failed to provide an adequate COVID response when it comes to reopening our schools and has awarded nobid contracts to his well-connected contributor. He has also used to crisis to continue his agenda to privatize our public schools by giving vouchers and directing more money to private schools at the expense of our neediest public schools. We cannot afford two more years of the Betsy DeVos-Trump model for our public schools. Sununu is also a climate denier who has vetoed numerous clean energy bills and appointed climate deniers to important environmental positions. New Hampshire must deal with the climate crisis now but our current governor continues to follow Trump’s fossil fuel agenda.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Climate change is an existential threat and we need to do everything in our power to build a healthier clean energy economy and preserve our air and water for all. When I think of the climate, I do it through the lens of a grandfather. Living in New Hampshire for over 37 years, I know we have something precious here with our mountains, lakes and forests, places I hope to share with my grandchildren. I worry about the future we are leaving our children and our children’s children and I say. The time for half measures is gone. There is no excuse that justifies building another fracked gas pipeline. That is why I am the only candidate in this race that opposed the Granite Bridge Fracked Gas Pipeline. The scientists have told us that the time to make a change is now. We need to move forward towards a sustainable future with a Regional Green New Deal, NH government needs to be carbon neutral by 2030, and we need to invest in clean energy jobs.

Health care is a human right that must be made affordable and accessible to all. The COVID crisis has cost thousands of Granite Staters their health insurance and we continue to underfund opioid addiction and mental health services. I would invest in Federally Qualified Health Centers that play a critical role in primary care for underserved communities, expand Medicaid to cover more of the uninsured and continue to invest in telemedicine. We also need to rebuild our community mental health care system as we had decades ago under Donald Shumway.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I led the Claremont School Funding team in 1997 and we volunteered thousands of hours to expose how unequal and unfair our school funding and property tax system is and, as a consequence, how much the quality of our schools depends upon where you live and your zip code. We forced the state to have to come up with additional funding for underserved districts. Unfortunately, due to a lack of political will, we have yet to find a solution to this problem and the situation now is even worse than it was in 1997 as 70% of students in New Hampshire go to a school that does not meet the state average for spending. I helped lead over 70 school funding forums around the state to make citizens aware of our broken system and to get them to demand change.

I have also held Governor Sununu accountable from my perch on the Executive Council. It was through my leadership that I was able to force the Governor, on a bipartisan basis, to disclose where no-bid contracts were going under CARES Act federal money to deal with the COVID crisis. I also led the effort to shoot down his anti-choice nominee Gordon MacDonald to be the Chief Justice of the NH Supreme Court. Granite Staters can count on me to fight for transparency and accountability in our government.

The best advice ever shared with me was …

The best advice I ever received from a non-relative was from John Tobin who told me that we should pair the education quality claims in the Claremont School Funding Suit with the tax fairness claims.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am deeply disturbed by the role that money plays in politics. My campaign is the only one for governor that from the beginning refused to take corporate PAC or LLC (real estate developer/law firm) money. I am proud to say we have smashed the record already for contributors to a governor’s race with over 11,700. I even ripped up a corporate PAC check by a Fortune 100 company who had a no-bid contract up for approval on the Executive Council. I believe it is crucial to get big money out of politics so that Granite Staters can decide our policies, not special interests.