NH election 2022: Four running for two state House seats representing Epping
Four candidates are running for two seats representing Epping in the state House.
Republican incumbent state Reps. Cody Belanger and Michael Vose are being challenged by Democrats Joe Perry and Mark Vallone.
Cody Belanger
Hometown: Epping
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?
This is a hot topic for a lot of people in our community. As a state lawmaker, this is one of my least favorite topics to even have to consider. This issue is not an easy one to have a conversation about. I do fully support, allowing the state to decide what should happen. Even more, I support putting abortion on the ballot so that our constituents can decide. You will never be able to outlaw and ban abortions completely. If you were to do that many people would seek to have an unsafe abortion. I support some of the work the Legislature this past session has completed, but I will not vote for a complete abortion ban if that comes up this session.
The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?
As a newly single father and small business owner, I recently saw my home electric bill, which showed me a decrease in electricity usage by 22.7%, however my bill increased by $160. This is unacceptable for many in our community and most importantly, across our state. We need to find more affordable ways to produce, electricity, in a failing infrastructure. Government subsidies aren’t the answer. Windmills and solar panels aren’t the immediate answer but can help lower the cost for families. The green new deal and the ban on gas is not the answer, this is an out-of-touch Washington D.C. pipedream with no real resolutions to fix the problem. As a small business owner with 10 employees, I know the struggles of hiring and maintaining quality staff. It is my belief that it is up to the individual company to retain and attract those quality workers by offering good benefits, and good wages. I think this is a private issue between employers and their employees. The states should not get involved. Affordable housing in Epping continues to be an issue. I purchased my house in 2018 for $189,000. Today if I were to sell it, I could get upwards of $320,000. But where do I go? This is due to the lack of supply which is driving demand. We need to loosen the restrictions on town planning boards to allow developments to come in at affordable prices for families.
What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?
During the past two years that I’ve had the honor of serving my community of Epping at the state House, I have learned and grown a lot. I learned that the work we do does not end in one day or one session. We have to continue fighting session after session. It’s not about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s about doing the right thing and working together for the betterment of the state and our communities. That’s why I have cosponsored many pieces of legislation with both Republicans and Democrats. The same issues that were important to me two years ago are still important to me today if reelected to serve my community for another two years. I will continue fighting for juvenile justice reform, DCYF reform, the continued closure of the Sununu youth prison, and fighting like hell for a better building to ensure that every child has a voice and a safe place to be when they are most vulnerable. I will continue fighting for families and children who don’t have a voice. I will continue fighting for my community to receive every dollar that they provide to the state gets returned to them to lessen their property taxes. And I will continue fighting for lower taxes and encourage schools to challenge themselves to be better for their communities. My opponents will not work across the aisle as I have. They have shown that just because you are a Republican or a Democrat, that means you cannot work together. We need less DC politics and more of the New Hampshire Way.
Joe Perry
Hometown: Epping
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?
States have no business getting involved in family or woman's personal decisions. Roe v. Wade has been law since 1973. It helped thousands of women and families plan their future. It's a medical procedure that's safe and can save women from long-term sickness or death. State lawmakers have no right to make any decisions involving a woman's right to choose. The three years following the 2010 elections resulted in 205 anti-abortion laws across the country, more than in the entire previous decade. They profess to care about the unborn, when in actuality they do nothing to help the lives of America's children or mothers.
The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?
The supply chain has been damaged due to outsourcing and greed. We have the strongest employment market in 50 years, along with the lowest unemployment. Small business needs community support, affordable rents and local suppliers. Before 1981, we had restrictions for dealing with China because of its Communist Government. In 1981 Reagan lifted trade restrictions against China and we lost 10 million jobs and 200,000 factories! This directly impacted the supply chain during the pandemic driving up prices on everything. Our government also subsidizes the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $10 to $52 billion annually. This trillion-dollar industry exported about 8.54 million barrels of petroleum to 176 countries, including China and Russia. Both subsidies and exports have to stop, while making investments in green energy to make us truly energy independent. Housing is impacted as well, due to most working in retail and service industries, resulting in lower wages. We need affordable housing, but most won't allow workforce housing in their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, many must live with multiple people just to get by. We need to regulate rents and build more affordable housing units while assisting building owners with the tools needed to have success.
What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?
A New Hampshire resident for 37 years. Married for 47 years, with three children and four grandchildren. After 25 years in corporate America, I began consulting for companies throughout New England. I also created several small businesses serving New Hampshire's local communities. Born just over the New Hampshire border in Haverhill, Massachusetts, I grew up in an apartment in very poor, working-class neighborhood. My dad supported the family by working in factories, while my mother cared for the household and five children. I understand what it’s like to struggle to survive, as an individual and in business. Because of this, I've been an activist for people since the 70s. Working as a union organizer and founder of a neighborhood association resulting in millions for infrastructure, beautification and new businesses. I believe it's my duty as a dad and papa to help them by working for political campaigns and fight for local causes. Most recently, I worked with my local community, fighting corporate greed and putting a stop to the Granite Bridge project in Epping. What I won’t do is lie, and won't tolerate Fascist MAGA extremists, anti-democracy propagandists, or servility to insurrectionists. Our community and the great state of New Hampshire needs representation that won't be submissive to outside corporate special interests, lobbyists, or the radical Right who aid in the degradation of our democracy. I've always been a fighter and committed to doing the same for all of Epping's residents.
Michael Vose
Hometown: Epping
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?
State lawmakers listen to their constituents and create policy in line with citizen opinion. Polling shows that most N.H. residents support current state law on this issue. Changes to current law would seem to be contrary to constituent preferences.
The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?
Re-examine land use policies in the state to reduce regulation that makes housing expensive. The only way to make housing affordable is to increase its supply. The same goes for energy. The labor shortage poses a larger problem that requires further study to find out its causes, whether demographics, social and fiscal policy, or some other not well-understood issue. Inflation requires a significant decrease in federal government spending.
What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?
Responsible fiscal and executive governance during the past few years have served our state well and made us the envy of our New England neighbors. More can be done to strengthen our state's fiscal foundation while providing the essential services our residents require. I will support policies that take care of citizen needs while supporting the economy that serves us all. I will support innovation in energy policy as long as it does not burden consumers. Economic and personal freedom will help our state's citizenry endure the challenges that lay ahead of us.
Mark Vallone
Hometown: Epping
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and placed the power to regulate abortion with the states. What should state lawmakers do regarding abortion laws?
I believe the Legislature should support the consensus we had in our state that abortions should be safe, legal and rare. Unfortunately, there are extreme Republicans in our state Legislature who have tried to make criminals out of mothers and doctors, and advocated unsound medical procedures that seem to be designed more to punish women than to protect the privacy of patient and doctor. I do support laws and programs that encourage childbirth and adoption over abortion. I think N.H. can do more to reduce abortions by addressing poverty, providing health care, and offering other assistance to pregnant women, children, and families.
The state's residents and businesses face many economic challenges, including high prices for electricity and fuel, a labor shortage, a lack of affordable housing and rising prices due to inflation. How would you address these challenges?
You know N.H. has had the second-highest electric rates way before this year’s rate hikes. mainly because of restrictions on alternative energy sources. As a legislator, I supported expanding energy sources for electricity - sources such as biomass generators that used N.H. forest products to create electricity. I also supported expanded solar energy allowances for homes and municipalities. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues in the Legislature and the governor put an end to biomass generating plants and limited solar energy allowances, keeping our reliance on out-of-state energy sources and driving up the cost. We still need gas and oil and nuclear energy in the short term, but, long term, need to promote less and less reliance on them.
In regard to housing, I think we need a set of laws that give cities and towns more flexibility with zoning regulations. I also believe the state should increase its permanent funding of public education. More state education aid would relieve pressure on towns which zone to restrict housing so that there are fewer families with school-age children, which then drives up the cost of real estate. Lower property taxes would make housing much more affordable in towns like Epping.
What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?
Many people in Epping know me as a school principal, a coach, a volunteer, or just a friend. I am all in for Eppin' and have worked for decades to help students, their families, small businesses, and taxpayers. I don’t take extreme positions and believe in the dignity of all, including those who disagree with me. I believe there is too much extremism in politics and governing these days, and I want to make civility a cornerstone of how things should get done. We can accomplish so much more when we work together, which will be my goal as a legislator - working across the aisle with members of both parties and with independents to fix problems like the traffic on Beede Road or high property taxes.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH election 2022: Four running for two Epping state rep. seats
