{"id":70,"date":"2008-07-10T03:20:05","date_gmt":"2008-07-10T07:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/?p=70"},"modified":"2017-12-18T16:22:20","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T21:22:20","slug":"democrats-frustrated-by-pledge-taking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/2008\/07\/10\/democrats-frustrated-by-pledge-taking\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats frustrated by Pledge taking"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 10, 2008
\nKeene Sentinel<\/a> <\/p>\n

Democrats in region lash out<\/strong>
\nSay party is missing chance to fix problems<\/em><\/p>\n

Nearly two years after the balance of power in New Hampshire tipped in their favor, some local Democrats say they feel disenchanted with the state party\u2019s direction and decisions.<\/p>\n

The 2006 elections brought a Democratic majority to the state House of Representatives for the first time in more than eight decades, and gave the party control of both the House and the N.H. Senate \u2014 last seen in 1874.<\/p>\n

That year also saw Gov. John H. Lynch, a Democrat, win his second term in office, while the five-member Executive Council ended up with more Democrats than Republicans.<\/p>\n

But in the time since, some area Democrats say, the party has not made the right choices on two key issues \u2014 how to properly fund education, and what to do about the pledge many Granite State politicians take not to support an income tax or sales tax.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a lifelong Democrat and worked in this Democratic Party for years,\u201d said Keene City Councilor Margaret A. Lynch, a former state representative who served 14 years in Concord. \u201cI\u2019ve always been hopeful that we would be able to have a majority over there in the Senate and the House. I never thought we would have all three (including the governor\u2019s office), plus the Executive Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I have come to feel that there\u2019s not a lot of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans once they get in Concord,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re all trying to cover their butts. No one wants to face the fact that we need money. They\u2019ve all played games with the education problem. I\u2019m just frustrated and very disappointed, and I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying I don\u2019t see much difference. It\u2019s a sad commentary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic leaders had sought to pass an amendment to the state constitution concerning how education is funded. But some in their party objected, saying the amendment would undercut the N.H. Supreme Court ruling that the state must pay the full cost of an adequate education for all schoolchildren. The measure was voted down in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Democratic Party is in complete control of both houses and the governor\u2019s office. They should be finding the best way to cure the ills of what\u2019s happening here in the state of New Hampshire, particularly education,\u201d said former Keene mayor Michael E.J. Blastos, who said he had been concerned about state aid dropping to Keene schools under the amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state should step up to the plate and do what\u2019s necessary to fill its obligations to its citizens,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Democrats are not doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blastos, a Democrat, said the education-funding stance of incumbent state Sen. Molly M. Kelly, D-Keene, was a major reason why he is supporting her Republican rival, Thomas R. Eaton of Keene in this fall\u2019s election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blastos didn\u2019t announce support for either candidate in 2006, when Kelly defeated Eaton for his Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not advocating leaving the party,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have contributed, and we certainly have helped candidates, either by working for them or endorsing them. I am not as active in the party as I once was. I guess I\u2019m leaning more toward individuals now. What do they bring to the plate that is the best for citizens of the Keene area? That, to me, is the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynch said she will not be involved in the coming elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always worked on campaigns, and often times would have workers stay at the house,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cI\u2019ve always donated money, wrote postcards, made phone calls. I\u2019m not doing any of that anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see myself voting for any of the people on the Republican side either,\u201d she said. \u201cI will still vote Democrat, but my heart is not where it normally is at this juncture. I think the representatives from Keene have done a reasonably good job saying what their district wants. The rest of the party seems to be chugging along like the good old days. I\u2019m not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Keene representative, Democrat J. Timothy Dunn, will not be seeking a fourth term.<\/p>\n

Dunn is a proponent of doing away with \u201cThe Pledge\u201d against instituting a state sales tax or income tax and of fostering discussion of how to lessen the property-tax burden in New Hampshire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, Republican governor Meldrim Thomson ran on an anti-income-tax platform and won three consecutive terms. Since then, many Granite State politicians have taken a pledge not to support an income or sales tax.<\/a><\/p>\n

Residents in dozens of towns voted at town meetings this year to support a resolution calling property taxes in New Hampshire \u201cunjust and unfair\u201d and called on politicians to find a way to lower property-tax payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have people taking \u2018The Pledge,\u2019 and apparently they will continue to take \u2018The Pledge,\u2019 \u201d Dunn said.<\/strong> \u201cSerious discussion of the tax structure in the state is not on the table. I think it\u2019s time for Democrats to stand up and really do some leadership. We did civil unions. We are very big for individual rights. One of the individual rights that needs to come around eventually is a fair tax structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that comes, it will be without Dunn in office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for me to move on and do something else,\u201d he said. \u201cThe part of politics I hate is politics. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t want to negotiate. I don\u2019t want to sell out my principles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopher C. Coates, a former Keene city councilor and state representative who had worked for the Democratic Party on the county and state levels, said the Democratic majority doesn\u2019t necessarily represent the same interests as area party members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what happens in Cheshire County is we\u2019re seen as more progressive than the rest of the state,\u201d Coates, a Keene Board of Education member, said. \u201cThat has hurt our standing in the state. I think the party seems to be led by the middle of the state: Manchester, Nashua.\u201d<\/p>\n

David F. Scannell, a Manchester representative and executive director of the state Democratic Party, said the dissent from some in the southwestern section of New Hampshire isn\u2019t reflected in the party\u2019s overall health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe truly are a big-tent party. We take all comers and all points of view,\u201d Scannell said. \u201cWe want to obviously make sure that people of divergent viewpoints are welcome and that their voices are heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think every indication is that not only activists, but people of the state of New Hampshire are looking at the Democratic Party as the party of solutions,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the official standards of measure we have indicate that the Democratic Party is stronger than it\u2019s ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 10, 2008 Keene Sentinel Democrats in region lash out Say party is missing chance to fix problems Nearly two years after the balance of power in New Hampshire tipped in their favor, some local Democrats say they feel disenchanted with the state party\u2019s direction and decisions. The 2006 elections brought a Democratic majority to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-nh","category-broadbased","category-governor-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6682,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70\/revisions\/6682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}