To the Editor:
Here’s a detail everyone should know: Regardless of your expressed wishes as a voter in New Hampshire, a big majority of Republicans won’t listen to you. They are beholden to multiple national libertarian, right-wing organizations including Young Americans for Liberty (a Texas-based, billionaire-funded group that contributed $1 million to Republican campaigns last year), the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity and the Liberty Alliance (the political arm of the Free State Project). Their goal is to defund all public services including public health, schools, and environmental protection. See below for the most up-to-date list of Republican legislators from the Senate, Grafton and Sullivan Counties who have received funding or endorsement from YAL or the Liberty Alliance.
Senate 1 David Rochefort
Senate 3 Mark McConkey
Senate 11 Tim McGough
Senate 16 Keith Murphy
Senate 18 Victoria Sullivan
Grafton 11 Lex Berezhny
Grafton 18 Donald McFarlane
Sullivan 3 Walter Spilsbury
Sullivan 4 Judy Aron
Sullivan 8 Michael Aron
Non-listening House Republicans are in all other counties including Belknap (5), Carroll (1), Cheshire (3), Coos (3), Hillsborough (28), Merrimack (12), Rockingham (19), and Strafford (11).
Some Republicans don’t attend committee meetings to discuss bills because they have already been told how to vote by their out-of-state libertarian power centers.
House Bill 115 seeks to make the education voucher program (supplies taxpayer money for families to use for homeschooling, private or religious schools) available to any family even if they’re wealthy. During a January public hearing on HB115 the online voting was 4 to 1 in opposition. The Republican House majority voted to pass it anyway.
House bill 524 seeks to abolish the New Hampshire Vaccine Association, a nonprofit the legislature established more than 20 years ago to provide discounted childhood vaccines. The online voting had 3,552 opposed and 193 supporting. The Republican House majority voted to pass it anyway.
Some elected Republicans are not beholden to outsiders. Ask your representatives who they’re listening to. The answer should be you.
Leslie MacGregor
Grantham, NH
Standing with the autism community
To the Editor:
On April 16, 2025, during his inaugural speech as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made deeply concerning and misleading statements about people with autism.
Contrary to Secretary Kennedy’s claims, autism is not a tragedy, nor is it a disease or an epidemic. These characterizations are not only inaccurate — they are harmful. They perpetuate outdated stereotypes that dismiss the strengths, dignity and potential of millions of people on the autism spectrum.
At Health Care & Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), we recognize autism as a natural variation of the human experience. People with autism enrich our communities every day — as students, employees, artists, volunteers, friends and family members. Their voices matter, and their contributions are vital.
We stand with individuals with autism, their families, and our colleagues across the field in rejecting fear-based narratives. Instead, we champion a vision of inclusion, understanding, and respect for all.
We invite our partners and the broader community to join us in promoting accurate, compassionate awareness — and to build a society where all people are celebrated for who they are.
George Karabakakis, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Jean Warner
Director of Developmental Services
HCRS
Springfield, VT
