Column: State Rep. Patrick Abrami announces bid for seventh term
It has been an honor serving the citizens of Stratham and the whole of N.H. for the last 12 years. I am formally announcing my run for my seventh term to continue to fight to keep New Hampshire the greatest state in the Union to raise a family, earn a living, open a business, and to have an outstanding quality of life. Here are the top eight reasons why those in Stratham should allow me to continue to represent them:
Responsive: When constituents call me, I always respond. Not only do I respond, but make their problem my problem. I will reach out to state officials, usually commissioners, to set up meetings in which I will attend with those with the issue. Most issues are resolved, with a solution found quickly. However, sometimes these issues require a legislative solution which leads me to filing legislation which I usher through the legislative process.
Trusted leadership: For six years I have been the vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee. With the retirement of my 12-term chair, I am poised to be chair next session. My leadership ability has been tapped being asked to chair four different commissions on a wide range of topics: legalization and commercialization of marijuana; utility property assessment; health and environmental effects of 5G; and worldwide combined reporting method for use in apportionment of taxes of international businesses. I have also been asked to chair two joint committees with the Senate: Tax expenditure review and rear facing car seats. I also served on three additional commissions: assess tax apportionment between the states; controls over charitable gaming; and the Seacoast cancer cluster as well as two other joint committees with the Senate: response to the S. Dakota vs Wayfair U.S. Supreme Court decision and citizen engagement.
Bipartisanship: I am respected by members of both parties for my knowledge, work ethic, and cooperative style. My peers know I will always work hard to reach consensus without sacrificing my core principles. Being respected and recognized as a person of your word by your legislative peers is the key to success in Concord.
Legislative action: I am prime sponsor or co-sponsor of an average of 10 bills a year. I file bills for constituents, for the Stratham Select Board or commissions, for agencies of government like the Department of Revenue, and for other groups like charities. A good number of my bills have co-sponsors of both parties. My record of getting bills through the gauntlet of the legislative process and to the governor’s desk is very respectable.
Consensus builder: Many bills that come to my Ways and Means Committee may be a good idea, but need work. Many times, I am asked to chair a subcommittee to determine whether it is worth saving, and if yes, working with the subcommittee members to build consensus around new language. I always set a tone of fairness and patience as we work to resolve issues. But I also know how to stand my ground when the situation requires it. My favorite, and most rewarding roles, as a legislator is to solve long-standing problems.
Common-sense: As I vote, I always fall back on our common-sense values as a state that has resulted in our state being ranked high among states in all major categories. The other thing I watch for is whether a bill is constitutional as well as making sure there are no unintended consequences created by a bill’s passage. I strive to have our state continue to be ranked number one in quality-of-life year after year as well as having the fewest number of families living under the federal poverty line, as we do year after year.
Life experiences: I bring my quantitative educational training with a BS and MS in industrial engineering/operations research to making N.H. an efficiently and effectively run state. My 43 years of being an owner/partner in a healthcare-operations consulting firm in which I have consulted personally in 37 states and D.C. at 400 plus hospitals, gives me an appreciation of how important it is to create a climate to attract business. When you live and work in other states you gain even a greater appreciation of what a great state we have. My life experiences provide me a balanced perspective as I consider the issues that come before the Legislature in Concord.
Tax fighter: Being a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee with 12 years of experience, I am positioned well to keep our overall tax burden on our citizens low. Over the past seven years, we have been steadily reducing our business profits tax and business enterprise tax rates. The result of this has been record high business tax revenues. We recently reduced the room and meals tax by half a percent and are in the process of eliminating the interest and dividends tax 1% a year until it reaches zero over a five-year period. We have invested in our state liquor stores so they continue to bring in record net revenue to the state. Many new products have been added to the lottery, such as sports betting, which has our Lottery Commission setting new records for revenue going into our education trust fund. These were all things I was a part of moving forward. In the past two terms alone, I have fought off an income tax, a sales tax, a capital gains tax, and a tax on skiing all things that have come before Ways and Means. N.H. should not emulate tax policies of all those bankrupt high tax states, these states should be emulating N.H.
To all voters in Stratham, I would appreciate your vote. With that vote, I promise to continue to work hard for each of you as we move forward as a state in the next two years.
Patrick Abrami is a Republican state representative from Stratham.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Column: State Rep. Patrick Abrami announces bid for seventh term
