SAMPLE ballots are now available at the NH Secretary of State’s website (Elections Department). Thus, if you want to see who is running in your town, go there and pick which ballot (Republican or Democrat) and then you’ll be asked for your town.
My choices are below, and some explanations below the ballot:
Explanations:
- Governor: while GraniteGrok did not give out an endorsement in this race, I will be voting for Karen Testerman.
- US Senate: Don Bolduc, hands down, as we at GraniteGrok DID endorse in this race and Groksters made him our choice. Certainly a great improvement on the patter, the knowledge of issue and NH politics, and organization since the last election cycle. There’s a reason why he’s at the top in polling – and why the GOP Establishment is throwing a massive amount of money against him and boosting Chuck Morse.
No, Morse is NOT my choice – he’s a “taxes and spending” guy (thankfully, less of both) but that’s it from what I’ve seen. The problem is, at least this election cycle and a couple more, grassroot Republicans are concerned with the Class (Elites vs us) and Culture Wars (must I explain?). The expectation is that taxes and spending are a given and no longer the be-all-end all – it is NEEDFUL to do more. I don’t think he’s there on the why and what to do.
We also interviewed Bruce Fenton and Vikram Mansharamani. While Bruce was knowledgeable about issues and the politics, there were a couple of issues that his positions on were just bridges too far. Vikram, on the other hand, is knowledgeable about his problem domains (MIT trained in business) but needs, like Bolduc did last cycle, to work on his homework.
- US Congress: Karoline Leavitt was the Grokster choice in this race and I’ll be voting for her as well. If she’s not quite your cup of tea, I’d suggest Tim Baxter. Has a voting record, can speak and defend it well, solid on foundational conservative philosophy; a very close second, IMHO.
- NH State Senate: John Plumer. This was more a politically driven one.
While Tim Lang has a conservative background, he went all in with trying to keep the Gunstock Area Commission in the hands of the monied interests to the point of introducing legislation that would take the GAC (which controls the ski area) out of the hands Belknap Delegation and the Belknap County Commissioners. Who watches the watchers? He didn’t want anyone! And he “has” an “elsewhere” PAC, the Granite PAC, putting out hit pieces against the real conservatives here in the county that have opposed him and the rest of his “gang”.
Unfortunately, while I had high expectations for Dave DeVoy when he ran for Belknap Commissioner (hey, he had Rand Paul come in to campaign for him!), his record did not meet those expectations. Better than Lang, however, given the current political situation on the ground.
- Belknap County Commissioner: Hal Shurtleff. He’s the guy that beat City Hall (Boston’s) at the US Supreme Court in a First Amendment issue (they refused to fly the Christian flag on the flagpole they set aside for people to bring issues / groups to the attention of others) of religious bigotry. That dedication to the Constitution needs rewarding. My part is giving him my vote.
- State Rep: Norm Silber and Greg Aldrich and I heartily endorse both. Their House Republican Alliance scores (fidelity to the NH GOP Platform) and NH Liberty Alliance (fidelity to our foundational values of Individual Liberty and Freedom) are superb. The problem is that they are part of the Reps that were intent in running down the rumors of malfeasance, the monied people intent on keeping the GAC for themselves ran into their massive hit PR effort in calling them extremists and haters – a Democrat projection. They both not just deserve re-election but have earned it!
I will NOT be voting for anyone else – especially Harry Bean and Gregg Hough. Both of them broke Trust with me by breaking the Law (just read my previous posts about their deliberate actions and failings); their HRA and NHLA scores became irrelevant the second they decided to go against the plain reading of the Law (RSA 91A and RSA 24:9-d) that I gave them in NOT having the legal latitude to do a mashup of trying to piece together the bits that allowed them to “get something done!!” that should have been done the right way.
Tell me – would you vote for people that would be Lawmakers if they can’t even outright refuse to follow the Laws that regulate their procedures? If they show you that their outlook is “Fine for thee but not for me”, isn’t it a disgusting display of holier-than-thou? That they consider themselves above the Law that they are going to jam down YOUR throats?
I have standards – they decided to no longer meet them. And they fell for a manmade hoax into which they weren’t bright enough to see what that manipulation was doing – even after I warned them.
- Register of Probate: Marc Abear. A former Grokster, he easily outweighs the former Belknap County Republican Committee Chair, Alan Glassman.
Who (if I hadn’t caused a row by stopping him) was all willing to have Alida Milham put up to be an official member of the NH GOP Committee even though she had broken an unbreakable ByLaw that says NO ONE can be on the Committee that has deliberately endorsed a Democrat over a Republican in an election race.
She didn’t do it once – she did so TWICE endorsed TWO Democrats. In the race over the Republican candidate. And Glassman was all too willing to excuse that and send her onward.
Sidenote – and his wife, Jan Face-Glassman, had a LtE to the Daily Sun pleading to put his kind of Republicans back in charge in Belknap? Endorsing Gail Huff-Brown was a signal that I didn’t want to be near voting for her as a moderate, squishy Republican isn’t generally going to endorse a hard core conservative.
- Delegate to the NH GOP State Committee: Kinda wonky but these people vote for the local Committee offices AND for the NH GOP Platform. They matter. So Priscilla Bean (who is as conservative as they come and has never given me cause to doubt her positions) and David Strang who I came to know in fighting the Gilford School Board, and then this other guy:
David Murphy. Which is me. They should have used “Skip” which is what most people know me by but hey, I had to sign the paperwork and they decided to ignore my nickname.
