Four vie for two seats in Sullivan District 1

By GLYNIS HART
[email protected]
PLAINFIELD — Sullivan County District 1 comprises Cornish, Grantham, Plainfield and Springfield. 

Brian Sullivan (D) is the current state representative for District 1. There are four candidates for two seats: Lee Walker Oxenham, Virginia Drye (R) and Tanya D. McIntire. Oxenham, a Democrat, did not respond to email enquiries. 

 

Virginia Drye

(R) 

Hometown: Plainfield

 

Eagle Times: What particular skills or experience do you have that make you the best candidate for the House of Representatives for Sullivan County, District 1?

Virginia Drye: I am a graduate of three political leadership schools. I started in TeenPact (which teaches how state government works), participated in American Legion Girls State (a famous national program), and recently graduated from the Vesta Roy Excellence in Public Service Series (part of a national leadership program.) Here in Sullivan County, I was a leader of my 4-H club and in the county 4-H program. I am an American Legion Oratorical Contest state winner and represented New Hampshire at the national contest. These experiences have helped me learn leadership and communication skills and given me a love for the political process and the founding documents that control it.

ET: Is there a particular issue or problem you are focused on for the upcoming term?

VD: We need to keep young people in the state. Some of the top reasons young professionals leave the state include: lack of affordable housing and career opportunities, lack of opportunities to meet new people, lack of cultural opportunities, lack of public transportation, and lack of quality nightlife and entertainment.

The legislature can work on: retaining the quality of the environment, parks, and recreation; creating a welcoming business climate that will keep good jobs in the state: supporting local community colleges that help keep higher education costs down; helping ensure that credits from community colleges transfer seamlessly within the state university system; and working on infrastructure and transportation issues.

ET: What achievements have you made in the past that are relevant to what you want to achieve in the legislature?

VD: In August of this year, I worked with former Democrat state Senator Peter Burling to put a memorial to the only son of Plainfield to die in War World I. Through our collective efforts with the town of Plainfield, we put up a town marker on the town line of Plainfield and Cornish.

I am known in town as someone who gets things done, and I can work well with anyone.

ET: What challenges are facing the legislature in the upcoming term?

VD: School choice and school funding came close to passing last term. We will probably see them come up again. We also may see an attempt to raise the minimum wage; New Hampshire uses the federal wage of $7.25.

 

Tanya McIntire

(R)

Hometown: Grantham

 

Eagle Times: What particular skills or experience do you have that make you the best candidate for the House of Representatives for Sullivan County, District 2?

Tanya McIntire: I am familiar with the language of law with 22 years on Zoning Boards of Adjustment helping to write and edit ordinances as required by Supreme Court decisions.

EA: Is there a particular issue or problem you are focused on for the upcoming term? 

TM: The issue I am currently focused on is equity in education. Ensuring district policies and rules comply with education statutes and Supreme Court decisions.

EA: What achievements have you made in the past that are relevant to what you want to achieve in the legislature? 

TM: I have written several appeals based on a student’s hardship needing appropriate placement. I discovered a 1974 New Hampshire Supreme Court decision defining hardship as: availability at the school to which transfer is sought of courses better suited to the educational needs of the child. There is nothing in the decision insisting a parent prove there has been a detrimental effect caused by the school where the child is originally enrolled. The Supreme Court decision makes no determination about public or private, and the statute to which the decision is linked says that a school district (not a school board) shall make a policy not limited to the public school when determining what an appropriate placement should be.

EA: What challenges are facing the legislature in the upcoming term? 

TM: The challenges are when statutes are revised or amended, that the language used clearly reflects the intent and what the will of the people is, and that amendments are explained and understood by the people who need to implement the laws. Also, that any administrative rules comply with the intent of the statute. The aligning of these levels of law is a challenge I look forward to working on, and thereby ensuring Liberty and Justice for All.

 

Lee Walker Oxenham

(D)

Hometown: Plainfield

 

Eagle Times: What particular skills or experience do you have that make you the best candidate for the House of Representatives for Sullivan County, District 2?

Lee Walker Oxenham: I am currently running for my third term in the House of Representatives.  Over the last four years I have participated in a series of state-wide, regional and national legislative trainings and conferences where I have learned the skills needed to craft legislation, forge compromises, and build support on the issues of greatest concern to our community.  

I have built up a network of relationships with community members, our non-profit and religious communities, and local business leaders — like Chamber of Commerce President Rob Taylor.  Finally, as Liberal Arts chair at Lebanon College, I trained students in critical thinking, research, and effective communication skills –all of which are vital components of the legislative process. 

ET: Is there a particular issue or problem you are focused on for the upcoming term?     

LWO: My priority focus is accelerating our transition to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels — to mitigate climate disruption, reduce health care costs, and increase the quality of life in New Hampshire.  

I am working with the National Caucus of Environ-mental Legi-slators to leverage lessons learned across the country to produce legislation which will use market mechanisms to level the playing field for our local, “homegrown” renewable energy resources, while increasing and incentivizing consumer choices.  This measure can grow the New Hampshire economy, help build a high tech manufacturing base, and attract the young demographic we need to keep NH’s economy growing into the future.  Best of all, we can both reduce everyone’s property taxes and provide cash offsets to low income consumers by placing a small price on carbon and redirecting the millions of dollars New Hampshire earns under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program, but which are currently wasted by the Sununu administration

ET: What achievements have you made in the past that are relevant to what you want to achieve in the legislature? 

LWO: I have initiated legislation to ensure that the public interest is given equal consideration with those of the “public” utilities in matters before the Public Utilities Commission (which oversees our electrical system); that safeguard our waterbodies and wetlands from harm; that raise the standards that protect our water supplies from toxic contamination, to protect immigrant communities, expand net metering and promote the modernization of our electrical grid.  Almost none of these measures have been successful in the face of Republican majorities in the legislature and a Republican governor who vetoed the few progressive bills which reached his desk.

ET: What challenges are facing the legislature in the upcoming term? 

LWO: The upcoming legislative session needs to take a comprehensive look at “the state of our state.”  We need to examine the fundamentals of our economic structures in order to ensure future growth, equitable policies, and the nurturing of our youth.  

Restructuring our system of educational funding ranks high on the list.  We will not attract the young families we need without providing a high quality education for their children — who are our future.  As but one example, New Hampshire ranks at the bottom nationally in terms of funding for the state’s college and university system, and saddles its college graduates with the highest student debt.  This is not a recipe for success.

Other issues of concern include: funding our mental health system, upgrading infrastructure, and guaranteeing high speed internet and cellphone access throughout the state.  In short, we need to prioritize the investments in our communities that will ensure New Hampshire becomes a regional and national leader.

 

Brian Sullivan

(D)

Hometown: Grantham

 

Eagle Times: What particular skills or experience do you have that make you the best candidate for the House of Repre-sentatives for Sullivan County, District 2?

Brian Sullivan: I believe that my background with 35 years involvement with education will be of great value while serving as one of the two District 1 representatives. Teaching science for 10 years gave me a first hand understanding of what it is like to work with students in the classroom. In addition, by experience working as a professional negotiator on behalf of school employees will provide valuable skills in working with colleagues in the House. These skills will allow me to help craft compromises that will result in majority support of proposed legislation.

EA: Is there a particular issue or problem you are focused on for the upcoming term? 

BS: School funding is an issue that is again crying out for an effective solution. The New Hampshire Legislature has not fulfilled its constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education to all students regardless of what town they live in. I look forward to being a part of the search for a funding system that will be fair and effective state wide. 

EA: What achievements have you made in the past that are relevant to what you want to achieve in the legislature? 

BS: I am proud of being part of the majority of New Hampshire House members who voted against SB 193, the school voucher bill that would have removed millions of dollars of funding from public schools and transferred that money to private and religious schools as well as home school families. If passed this bill would have forced school districts to either cut valued school programs or raise property taxes to offset the lost funding.

I am also proud of my vote to extend expanded Medicaid for five years. It will continue to provide health coverage to 50,000 New Hampshire residents as well as providing a critical support for opioid addition treatment. 

EA: What challenges are facing the legislature in the upcoming term? 

BS: The budgeting process is always a challenge, but may be even more of a challenge because some continuing programs were supported by one time sources of revenue. Balancing increases in revenue with cuts in programs will be a difficult but important part of the work of the next session.