Dan Toomey, Nashua State Representative Candidate
Dan Toomey
Age (as of Election Day)
82
Position Sought
NH State Representative, Hillsborough 32 (Nashua Ward 5)
Party Affiliation
Democrat
Family
Kathy Toomey, wife of 31 years, five adult children, and six grandchildren
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
My oldest daughter, Valerie Hoyle, is the Oregon Commissioner of Labor, a statewide elected official.
Education
Batchelor's degree in Human Services with a Labor Studies concentration, New Hampshire College (now SNHU) 1985
Masters degree in Regional Economics and Social Development, UMass Lowell 2001
Occupation
Retired in 2020. Former Community Media Director, Lowell Telemedia Center (11 years) , Former project manager UMass Lowell (9 years), Former Staff Representative American Federation of Teachers (6 1/2 years), Retired Nashua Firefighter (21 years), Viet Nam era U.S. Air Force medic (4 years).
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office
NH State Representative 2018-20 and 1989-90, Commissioner NH Public Employees Labor Relations Board 1986-89
Campaign website
Why are you seeking elective office?
People who work for a living can't afford to get away from their jobs to speak for their needs and interests at the NH legislature. I can. I am a recently retired long-time worker advocate who has fought and advocated for both public and private sector workers. I hope to be re-elected to continue the work that I've done in this house session.
The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.
The single most pressing issue that our community is facing is ensuring that people can get back to work safely while the COVID pandemic is still a threat. Pre-pandemic, finding affordable, quality child care was a struggle for working people in NH. Now the options are even more limited at a time when more children are home with remote learning. All evidence shows that investment in quality child care and early childhood education more than pays for itself and I believe that our state should invest in our children and our future. When I am reelected, I will prioritize programs that support working families like family leave, expanding employment related day care funding and expanding the earned income tax credit to put money back in the pockets of working people and into our local economies.
What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
NH State Representatives Allison Nutting-Wong, Michael Pedersen and I were honored to be elected in 2018 to fill the three, two-year long, Nashua Ward 5 seats in the NH legislature. In that time we have worked together to represent the interests of Nashua residents and working people throughout the state. I sincerely hope to be able to serve with them again although we have different backgrounds, we work well together and are able to forgo partisanship and focus on the needs of our city. My focus is probably more targeted to issues of workers and the workplace safety due to my background as an Air Force medic, firefighter and co-founder of NH Coalition of Safety and Health. For those reasons, I have been assigned to the Labor Committee in my two terms in the NH Legislature.
My Republican opponents seem to be focused on the Presidential election and supporting Donald Trump's agenda of reversing the Affordable Care Act and allowing insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions and giving tax breaks to the wealthy instead of working people. They also support Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's national effort to defund public schools in favor of unregulated charter schools. Finally they do not believe in the scientific evidence that wearing masks or social distancing will limit the spread of a deadly pandemic and that these simple acts will protect the people in NH from getting sick and potentially dying from COVID 19.
If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)
Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform
My priorities in the 2021 session begin with ensuring that health care access remains affordable and accessible, especially for those people with pre-existing conditions. With the Trump administration's focus on reversing key provisions of the Affordable Care Act through the courts, we face the prospect of going back to the time when insurance companies could deny coverage for preexisting conditions like arthritis, asthma or diabetes. Many of my constituents and citizens across NH have made it clear that they want me to advocate for laws that protect access to affordable health care for small business owners, students, those with preexisting conditions, people with disabilities and seniors. I am committed to fighting at the state level to make sure citizens in NH are protected regardless of what the Trump administration does at the federal level.
Equally important will be to do everything possible to ensure that Nashua and the state of NH can grow our economy by expanding the number of family wage jobs and apprenticeship opportunities including those for high school students. Apprenticeships offer a pathway to middle to high wage jobs without the burden of crippling student debt and allow us to fulfill the business community's workforce needs with a highly trained and qualified personnel. When most people think of apprenticeships, they think of good paying jobs in the building and construction trades but registered apprenticeship programs can and should be expanded. If reelected, I will work with both labor and business groups to expand these opportunities.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I've served two terms successfully as a NH state representative with no absences. I served as a commissioner on the NH public employees labor relations board for three years. I was a project manager at UMass Lowell's Center for Family, Work and Community and a community media director at Lowell Telemedia Center serving successfully in those roles for over two decades up until early this year when I finally retired.
The best advice ever shared with me was …
Accept the things you cannot change, change the things you can and pray for the wisdom to know the difference.
What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I'm a responsible, healthy and driven individual who will advocate and vote for the interests of the city of Nashua and its working people.
This article originally appeared on the Nashua Patch
