July 10, 2008
Keene Sentinel
Democrats in region lash out
Say party is missing chance to fix problems
Nearly two years after the balance of power in New Hampshire tipped in their favor, some local Democrats say they feel disenchanted with the state party’s direction and decisions.
The 2006 elections brought a Democratic majority to the state House of Representatives for the first time in more than eight decades, and gave the party control of both the House and the N.H. Senate — last seen in 1874.
That year also saw Gov. John H. Lynch, a Democrat, win his second term in office, while the five-member Executive Council ended up with more Democrats than Republicans.
But in the time since, some area Democrats say, the party has not made the right choices on two key issues — how to properly fund education, and what to do about the pledge many Granite State politicians take not to support an income tax or sales tax.
“I’ve been a lifelong Democrat and worked in this Democratic Party for years,” said Keene City Councilor Margaret A. Lynch, a former state representative who served 14 years in Concord. “I’ve always been hopeful that we would be able to have a majority over there in the Senate and the House. I never thought we would have all three (including the governor’s office), plus the Executive Council.
“I think I have come to feel that there’s not a lot of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans once they get in Concord,” she said. “They’re all trying to cover their butts. No one wants to face the fact that we need money. They’ve all played games with the education problem. I’m just frustrated and very disappointed, and I can’t believe I’m saying I don’t see much difference. It’s a sad commentary.”
Democratic leaders had sought to pass an amendment to the state constitution concerning how education is funded. But some in their party objected, saying the amendment would undercut the N.H. Supreme Court ruling that the state must pay the full cost of an adequate education for all schoolchildren. The measure was voted down in May.
“The Democratic Party is in complete control of both houses and the governor’s office. They should be finding the best way to cure the ills of what’s happening here in the state of New Hampshire, particularly education,” said former Keene mayor Michael E.J. Blastos, who said he had been concerned about state aid dropping to Keene schools under the amendment.
“The state should step up to the plate and do what’s necessary to fill its obligations to its citizens,” he said. “The Democrats are not doing that.”
Blastos, a Democrat, said the education-funding stance of incumbent state Sen. Molly M. Kelly, D-Keene, was a major reason why he is supporting her Republican rival, Thomas R. Eaton of Keene in this fall’s election.
Blastos didn’t announce support for either candidate in 2006, when Kelly defeated Eaton for his Senate seat.
“I’m not advocating leaving the party,” he said. “We have contributed, and we certainly have helped candidates, either by working for them or endorsing them. I am not as active in the party as I once was. I guess I’m leaning more toward individuals now. What do they bring to the plate that is the best for citizens of the Keene area? That, to me, is the most important thing.”
Lynch said she will not be involved in the coming elections.
“I’ve always worked on campaigns, and often times would have workers stay at the house,” Lynch said. “I’ve always donated money, wrote postcards, made phone calls. I’m not doing any of that anymore.
“I can’t see myself voting for any of the people on the Republican side either,” she said. “I will still vote Democrat, but my heart is not where it normally is at this juncture. I think the representatives from Keene have done a reasonably good job saying what their district wants. The rest of the party seems to be chugging along like the good old days. I’m not happy.”
One Keene representative, Democrat J. Timothy Dunn, will not be seeking a fourth term.
Dunn is a proponent of doing away with “The Pledge” against instituting a state sales tax or income tax and of fostering discussion of how to lessen the property-tax burden in New Hampshire.
In the early 1970s, Republican governor Meldrim Thomson ran on an anti-income-tax platform and won three consecutive terms. Since then, many Granite State politicians have taken a pledge not to support an income or sales tax.
Residents in dozens of towns voted at town meetings this year to support a resolution calling property taxes in New Hampshire “unjust and unfair” and called on politicians to find a way to lower property-tax payments.
“We still have people taking ‘The Pledge,’ and apparently they will continue to take ‘The Pledge,’ ” Dunn said. “Serious discussion of the tax structure in the state is not on the table. I think it’s time for Democrats to stand up and really do some leadership. We did civil unions. We are very big for individual rights. One of the individual rights that needs to come around eventually is a fair tax structure.”
If that comes, it will be without Dunn in office.
“It’s time for me to move on and do something else,” he said. “The part of politics I hate is politics. It’s not that I don’t want to negotiate. I don’t want to sell out my principles.”
Christopher C. Coates, a former Keene city councilor and state representative who had worked for the Democratic Party on the county and state levels, said the Democratic majority doesn’t necessarily represent the same interests as area party members.
“I think what happens in Cheshire County is we’re seen as more progressive than the rest of the state,” Coates, a Keene Board of Education member, said. “That has hurt our standing in the state. I think the party seems to be led by the middle of the state: Manchester, Nashua.”
David F. Scannell, a Manchester representative and executive director of the state Democratic Party, said the dissent from some in the southwestern section of New Hampshire isn’t reflected in the party’s overall health.
“We truly are a big-tent party. We take all comers and all points of view,” Scannell said. “We want to obviously make sure that people of divergent viewpoints are welcome and that their voices are heard.
“But I think every indication is that not only activists, but people of the state of New Hampshire are looking at the Democratic Party as the party of solutions,” he said. “All the official standards of measure we have indicate that the Democratic Party is stronger than it’s ever been.”