Lines Clearly Drawn in State Senate 21 and Exec Council Races

Whether the issue was what to do with federal money for healthcare and education, how best to reach across the aisle at the State House to get things done or broad based taxes, State Senate District 21 and Executive Council candidates showed their is a clear choice during Wednesday night's debate.

The Citizens for Voter Education hosted a debate that featured Democratic State Senate District 21 candidate Martha Fuller Clark and Republican candidate Peter MacDonald of Lee along with incumbent Republican Executive Councilor Chris Sununu who squared off against Democratic candidate Bill Duncan of New Castle.

When asked how they would achieve a more bi-partisan approach in Concord, Fuller Clark said she would draw upon her previous experience as a State Senator and “find people who are concerned and interested in the same issues I am, both Republicans and Democrats.”

“That is the way to look for solutions to issues facing the state and to be able to work together,” she said.

MacDonald said he doesn't consider himself to be a Republican or a Democrat and would strive to work with everyone. “We have to change, we have to bring everybody in,” he said. “We need to try to think with everybody’s brains and to communicate to make this country what it was,” he said.

Both candidates said they would do away with the statewide property tax, which forced Portsmouth to be a donor community. Fuller Clark said she would strive to target tax dollars to communities that need it to improve their schools.

When asked if they would accept federal money for education and health care, both candidates said they would accept those dollars.

"We should accept those dollars and we should become a player in that program,” said Fuller Clark when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid.  “If we decide to go it alone, it will raise the cost for health care and health insurance for all  of us and I do not believe that is a wise or prudent approach.”

Peter MacDonald concurred, “I believe take money from wherever you can get it.”

Fuller Clark and MacDonald also found common ground on preserving a women's right to make health care decisions and their right to get an abortion as well as equal pay for equal work.

Executive Council Democratic candidate Bill Duncan and incumbent Republican Executive Councilor Chris Sununu did not find as much common ground on the questions they were asked.

For example, while Duncan said he supported accepting federal dollars to set up Obamacare health care exchanges, Sununu said he does not. “The problem I have is it comes with so many strings attached.”

Sununu said local communities know what is best for their children’s education, not federal government. “As a state we do our best to fight for what we need for our state.”

When asked how they would avoid making policy as an Executive Councilor, Duncan said the role makes it clear that the Executive Council is there to make sure the state's laws are carried out.

Sununu also said it is not an issue for that purpose. “The quick answer is we don’t make policy.”

Sununu also said, “While we don’t make it, we sure as heck speak out on it.”

He added the council can bring issues related to legislation to the Legislature or to the Governor if they feel it is something that needs to be addressed.

The two candidates also differed sharply on the Executive Council's previous vote to turn down federal money that would have paid for a high-speed rail study to see if the state could add high-speed rail passenger service from Nashua to Concord.

“I would have voted for it,” said Duncan.

Sununu said funding a $5- to $6 million study on this issue didn't make sense for New Hampshire. Maine's experience with the Downeaster passenger rail service shows that state has to subsidize the service with $8 million per year, he said.

Sununu said New Hampshire would have to spend $350 million to build a high-speed rail corridor when "we haven’t even come close to finishing the I-93 project yet."

“I wasn’t going to spend your taxpayer dollars, or my taxpayer dollars for a study that would never come to fruition that would have to be done again,” Sununu said.

The two candidates also said they would never support a broad based income tax, but differed on the proposed New Hampshire Constitutional amendment that would ban it outright.

Sununu said he would support such an amendment if that was the best way to preserve the New Hampshire Advantage. Duncan said he would not support it because he would not want to prevent future Legislatures from dealing with the issue as they see fit.