I originally published this blog several weeks ago but yesterday my opponent published a letter to the editor in another publication that highlighted my voting record in 1986, but declined to mention that I was 23, it was 1986, and I was a Democrat at the time. Some would call it lying by omission, I prefer not to put a label to it but am determined to make sure that voters understand the truth. Below is my blog concerning my days as a state representative while attending Saint Anselm's. For those of you who read it before I hope you enjoy it again and it clears up any questions if have read the recent letter I referenced. And for those who havent read, it I hope you do so if you hear about my voting record you can put it in context since my opoponent neglected to do that when he wrote his piece.
Below is a PDF of the letter written to the Amherst Citizen by Sen. Peter Bragdon. http://www.amherstcitizen.com/files/Archives/VOLUME_20/V20-N22/PDF_files/AC06.pdf
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It was 1986 – The Patriots lost their first Super Bowl, as the Red Sox lost a World Series, gas was 89 cents a gallon, Tom Cruise was atop the box office with hit after hit and I was 23 years old and a Democratic State Representative from Manchester. Yeah, you read that right, Democrat. Oh, how time wisens and changes us. To be 23 and know then what I know now.
Time marched on and so did I. I graduated college and went to work supporting myself. Funny how having to pay the bills changes us, and getting married and raising children changes us more
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I began as a Democrat and over the years matured into a full fledge Reagan Conservative. The Red Sox and Patriots won multiple championships, gas rose to 4 dollars a gallon and Tom Cruise went from being admired as "Top Gun" to being laughed at as Katie Holmes' crazy ex- husband.
I don’t regret my youth, it helped make me what I am today, but my current values and beliefs are why I am running for State Senate in 2012.
District 11 needs a Senator that is working for them and not the lobbyist, Insurance companies, tobacco companies and unions. District 11 needs a Senator who understands that people and small businesses need to be able to have the free market to buy health care out of New Hampshire. District 11 needs a Senator who understands what it is like to have to pay a tax to leave town to go to work and pay it again when they return to their families. District 11 needs a leader who cares more about the residents of Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, Wilton and our neighboring communities then filling their campaign coffers with lobby, insurance, tobacco and union money.
A failed voting record and an overflowing campaign war chest is not what District 11 citizens wants from their Senator. I will work for the district to bring jobs, open the free markets on health care and remove the toll taxes that affect every District 11 resident that either works in Merrimack or lives there. Make no mistake the ramp tolls affect not just Merrimack residents but our neighbors as well. The Senate is a powerful place and it needs someone who understands the term "Public Servant" and will use the power for the good of the people.
It’s no longer 1986 and I’m no longer 23, the world we live in is a lot more complex, but I still have the energy work hard for a better life for District 11 citizens and the State of New Hampshire. I look forward to the opportunity.
