NH election 2022: Grassie vs. Walker for Rochester Ward 4 seat in NH House
In the 2022 election, Democratic incumbent state Rep. Chuck Grassie is being challenged by Republican David Walker for the New Hampshire House seat in Strafford County District 8 representing Rochester's Ward 4.
Chuck Grassie
Hometown: Rochester
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?
As a sponsor of a constitutional amendment to place reproductive health-care protections in our constitution, I have been a strong supporter of protecting the decisions one makes between themselves and their doctors. I will continue to work to protect the privacy rights of all our citizens to ensure that choice is available to all women of our state.
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?
Reducing property taxes is my number one priority. Increasing state funding for education, fully funding the states promises for government employee retirement cost, increasing assistance for road improvements and keeping our promises for clean water grants will help our city get control of property taxes and increase investments for developing a stronger tax base. New Hampshire has the highest energy cost in New England. this is because the governor and NH House leadership have refused to support local efforts to diversify our energy sources. if we had worked in conjunction with our New England neighbors, we would not be seeing the increasing we see today. a diverse and renewable energy supply is the answer to the problems we see today. Increasing support for our technical high schools and community college system will help us address our current skilled labor shortage. NH has always been known for its strong, highly educated, labor force. we need to continue to support innovative new industries and local small businesses to increase wages and opportunities for all our citizens. I have been working with state and local agencies and local businesses to address our affordable housing issues. One plan we now have on the table is for the county to join with Strafford County communities to provide transmissional housing for those working families who may be currently unhoused. i am also working with local groups to find a solution to out "tent city" problems.
What else do you want voters to know about you or your policy positions before the election on Nov. 8?
I successfully sponsored bills which created the strongest standards in the nation for lead and arsenic in public drinking water. This year I will be introducing bills that will address the issue of PFAS contaminates in our water supply. I have also worked tirelessly for the protection of our wetlands, rivers, lakes, and wildlife in NH. Sportsmen and vacationers come to our state for its clean, and safe environment. My bills capping the cost of Insulin and EpiPens for NH citizens was a start to getting prescription drugs under control. It also created the NH Wholesale Drug Importation Program and established the NH Prescription Affordability Board. The Republicans have been trying to repeal these important services. My opponent will tell you that the New Hampshire Advantage is our low taxes, but ask yourself this: Who has low taxes? Republicans continue to give large multinational corporations like Walmart big tax breaks and bail out millionaires who lose money on bad investments, while our property taxes continue to rise to some of the highest in the nation. The real New Hampshire Advantage is our great local schools, our clean water, our great state park system, and our clean environment. Far too much of our NH Advantage is being sold off to the highest bidder. I pledge to continue to fight for our children, our seniors, our families, and our future if you return me to Concord.
Editor's note: Seacoast Media Group made a good-faith effort to distribute our candidate questionnaire to all candidates. We will add any missing candidate questionnaires when they are received. If any candidates have questions or need information on how to be included, please email news@seacoastonline.com or news@fosters.com with "candidate questionnaire" in the subject line.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: NH election 2022: Grassie vs. Walker for Rochester Ward 4 state rep.
