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"I believe we have lost this ‘good neighbor’ approach to legislation and need to restore a sense of compassion to the NH State House."
Education
Stanford University, MS-Engineering Economic Systems
Bowdoin College, BA German, Philosophy, Physics
Public School System, Scranton, PA
Professional Backround
24 years Systems and Software Development Satellite Communications, real-time systems design and programming, simulation systems development at Telos, Sanders, Johnson Space Center, MIT Lincoln Labs and BAE
8 years IT development and support for hospital and university systems
24 years post-retirement volunteer work in advocacy for land preservation, environment conservation and education, social justice issues, and OLLI (Osher Life-long Learning Institute) educational classes for seasoned adults
Who are you, and what ties you to our community?
I am a retired systems and software engineer, married to Happy Beale, a retired librarian and middle school history teacher. Happy and I share 5 children and 10 grandchildren spread across the country. Our deepest ties to Goffstown are our friends at St Matthew’s Episcopal church, where we have been active members since 1987 when we married and moved to Goffstown. We then lived nearby in Bedford for two decades before moving to our current home in Goffstown in 2014.
We also share a deep commitment to education, especially public education. We love to travel and have great respect for other cultures and peoples. Education and travel provide a broad perspective on the diversity and basic dignity of humanity, which is one of the best lessons we can offer to future generations.
Why are you running for State Representative right now?
New Hampshire people have always been known as frugal, but always more than ready to help neighbors in need. I am running right now because I believe we have lost this ‘good neighbor’ approach to legislation and need to restore a sense of compassion to the NH State House. We have a chance to bring humane balance back to our political lives and re-establish a sense of decency to public life. I hope to support this great team of candidates on the Goffstown/Weare Democratic ballot and help bring about that so-needed change.
We need to elect a NH House and Senate that will reverse the ongoing destruction of our public institutions, particularly public education. We also need to increase our revenue sources so we can provide relief from this dysfunctional property and adequately address the public infrastructure, education, medical care, food assistance and shelter so necessary to a caring community.
What are the top 2–3 issues facing our district?
We must fix our failure to fund community needs through a fair and rational taxation system. Reliance on property tax may have worked when there was a federal safety net to bail-out its failures but now is shown to be clearly unworkable.
The current legislative attack on public institutions, especially public schools, must be stopped.
We must publicly denounce and repeal all legislation that dehumanizes and strips away the dignity of targeted minorities.
How would you address these issues?
The property tax has risen to unsustainable levels for most residents of NH. It has seen its day as the sole source of funding for schools and local governments. The State must step into the 21st century and repair the tax system to make it fair for the hardworking people in our communities.
We need to begin a public discussion and legislative study about increasing revenue sources for the state. There are many widely used and well tested options in other states; we just need to overcome our fear of discussing them and choose which work best for New Hampshire. This includes restoring the previous level of the Business Profits and Enterprise taxes.
The current legislative leadership seems intent on destroying public education. The so-called Education Freedom Account is a voucher system that takes money from public education budgets to pay private institutions and individuals. The administration of this scheme is shaky and unregulated, and there are no safeguards to assure that any education is in fact provided for these public dollars. Further, the amount of funds is unbounded and out-of-control. This system needs to be reviewed and revised from the ground up.
The attack includes broader maneuvers to take control away from local school boards by unprecedented state politic interference with school budgets, and blurring definitions of administrative authority concerning where students may enroll. These attacks must stop, and local control must be restored as a longstanding fundamental principle of NH schools.
We need to derail legislative cruelty targeted at minority neighbors in our communities. This includes rigorous rejecting of legislation violating basic human rights and freedoms.
How will you represent all constituents—including those who may disagree with you?
Humans are very complex beings, driven by many conflicting needs and desires, imperfect in understanding and judgment, and not always governed by our better angels. When there are conflicting opinions you cannot represent both sides; the best you can do is listen to all parties, weigh their opinions, and try to draft legislation that truly addresses the most significant concerns of all sides. If this is done well, no one will be completely satisfied, but we hopefully arrive at a compromise solution that is acceptable to most constituents.
In politics, both historical and current, this process is seldom easy. You must get beyond that all-too-human desire to win arguments and intently focus on solving the real problem while balancing grievances and values.
When listening to others you must always suspend your own prejudices as much as possible when trying to understand their perspective. You must consider why they are working on this issue in terms of their personal hopes and fears (their standing), whether that interest is self-interest or the broader public good and, ultimately, their sincerity. This requires a shared trust and civility.
What values guide your decision-making?
The first value is that every human being must be treated with dignity and fairness.
I believe that an economic safety net should be available to everyone in our community to assure essential human needs are met: food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care.
Broad policy decisions should consider not only current constituents but also future generations, particularly in questions dealing with long term preservation of the environment and economic well-being.
What else would you like voters to know about you?
I grew up in a very large extended family in Pennsylvanian coal-country. It taught me to appreciate diversity, and respect for others. No matter how different anyone’s finances, education, passions or philosophies, when someone needed help everyone got together to provide it. I like to view all humanity as the expanded version of this family.
