Hillsborough Districts FDC 1, 3, 4 and 38 NEWS D1: Antrim, Hillsborough, and Windsor QUARTERLY D3: Bennington, Hancock, and Fall 2020 Greenfield D4: Francestown, Lyndeborough, Wilton, and Greenville D38: All ten towns listed above. DOWN BALLOT VOTING The 2019-2020 legislative session had unprecedented challenges. After months of virtual committee meetings and remote sessions, the House concluded its work in September with the Sununu veto-override day hosted by UNH in Durham. With the 2018 elected majorities in the Senate, House, and Executive Council, Democrats delivered historic levels of education funding and municipal aid for communities. They provided relief to the unemployed, and the governor vetoed. They acted to protect our environment, and the governor vetoed. They supported paid family leave, and the governor vetoed. They cleared a path to independent redistricting, and the governor vetoed. They raised the minimum wage, and the governor vetoed. They closed loopholes in gun sales’ background checks, and the governor vetoed. In fact, in the last two years, the governor vetoed a record 79 bills, bills that had broad, bipartisan NH State Representatives support; bills that would have made a difference in - Marjorie Porter, D1 - Dem the lives of thousands of New Hampshire residents. ([email protected]) But, let’s be clear: it was not the governor alone who - Jim Fedolfi, D1 - Rep failed the people. Republicans in the House and ([email protected]) Senate sustained virtually all of Sununu’s vetoes. - Dan Pickering, D3 - Dem Republicans supported bills in committee, on the ([email protected]) floor of the House, and then caved to pressure and - Jennifer Bernet, D4 - Dem refused to vote to override the vetoes. ([email protected]) - Kermit Williams, D4 - Dem That is why down-ballot voting is crucial next month. That is why we need a strong Democratic ([email protected]) turnout! - Chris Balch, D38 - Dem ([email protected]) - Jim Bosman, D38 - Dem ([email protected]) FDC News Quarterly - Fall 2020 Page 2 FROM THE CHAIR *Put up yard signs to signal that the Blue Wave has hit Francestown. Contact Eric Rasmussen at [email protected] to arrange to have With just thirty days left until Election Day, we signs delivered to your home, or to pick them up need all hands-on-deck. Here are some of the at our FDC Sign Depot on Bible Hill. ways that you can help contribute to a Democratic victory in November: *Contact organizenh.org, (or call Suzanne Farrell at 609-203-81555) to help make phone *Write a Letter to the Editor at the Monadnock calls to NH voters about how and why to vote Ledger-Transcript , Milford Cabinet, or Concord for Democrats this November. Monitor, supporting one or more of our Democratic candidates, or educating readers *Volunteer to write postcards to NH voters with about problems created by Republicans in the Kent Street Coalition and 603 Forward, OR Washington and Concord. It's important to get learn how to send text messages to voters the word out about how damaging Sununu has through the national OutVote program. actually been to NH and women's reproductive Contact [email protected] for rights. Link him to Trump. Contact Jim Bosman information. at [email protected] for talking points, or contact our state candidates directly . *Work with NextGen America to send texts to young voters in eleven swing states. Go *Reach out and ask your neighbors if they could to https://actn.et?FzAkh5i0 use help obtaining Absentee Ballots and returning them, or if they will need rides on *To make phone calls or send postcards to Election Day. Step up and shepherd them voters in D38 contact Jim Bosman at through the AB process. Call Ted Graham at [email protected] and for the swing state of 547-2548 to book rides for them to the Polls. Wisconsin, contact Wisdems.org. *Turn out on Saturday, October 10th, at 4pm to *Help out on Election Day with poll watching, meet our D38 candidates (and Francestown voter and ballot tracking, and our Visibility and residents!) Stephanie Hyland and Jim Bosman, GOTV activities in Francestown. Please commit and our D8 Senate candidate Jenn Alford to an assignment by contacting me at Teaster: Parking and a Socially Distanced [email protected]. Outdoor Rally in Jim Bosman's yard at 243 Journeys End Road. Masks required. Bring a friend. Come hear how to support these - Sue Jonas, Chair candidates during their final push. We'll also have sign-up sheets for VISIBILITY EVENTS, Francestown Democratic Committee literature for you to distribute, and yard signs for ALL Democratic candidates. DEMOCRATS CAN'T WIN *The Red Team is showing up, and we need to WITHOUT YOU AND YOUR HELP. step up our presence NOW. Email Stephanie Hyland at [email protected] for the schedule of planned local visibility events for D4 and D38 candidates. Please volunteer to accompany candidates on their visits to Town Recycling Centers and Town Centers. FDC News Quarterly - Fall 2020 Page 3 FROM THE REPS communities which house them. But when the new filing period opens, it will be on many MARJORIE PORTER - NH REP, D1 more. Bottom Up It’s vital we keep and expand our Democratic majority in the NH House. All the policies and With the election only weeks away now, programs we hold dear depend on it. Please vote Democratic candidates all over the state are Blue from the bottom of the ballot UP and get geared up and working hard to get elected. This your friends to vote that way too. year, we have a record number of Democrats running to represent their neighbors in - Marjorie Porter Concord. With so many good candidates we’re Municipal and County Government sure to keep the House blue and gain a veto- proof majority to boot! DAN PICKERING - NH REP, D3 Although the State House complex is still officially closed, incumbent Democratic state What If? reps have been hard at work preparing for the term ahead. For ten days starting September 8, What if I told you that three years ago when the those of us running for re-election had a chance NH Republicans controlled the House and to file bills for the coming term, and 153 bills Senate, they passed a bill with bipartisan help have been filed so far. We get another chance from some of the Democrats. And, two years ago after the election too. when the NH Democrats controlled the House and the Senate, they passed a bill with The continuing uncertainty created by the bipartisan help from some of the Republicans? coronavirus makes us realize we need to be very And you guessed it, one year ago the Democrats efficient this year. We may not have the luxury passed the same bill with bipartisan help from of holding multiple hearings at the same time in some of the Republicans. How can this happen? the Legislative Office Building as we’ve become used to. To help things work more smoothly, the What if I also told you that there was a high House Democratic caucus has identified ten or likelihood that passing this bill could: twelve policy areas as priorities the 2021 session • help towns balance their budgets without year, and like-minded representatives are raising taxes; working together to craft bills to file in • help struggling small businesses generate November in each area. Some high-priority some extra income; areas include racial justice, civil rights and • create new high-quality jobs to vastly improve police accountability, gun violence prevention, energy independence; Covid relief, housing affordability, election • create cleaner sources for the electrical grid; integrity, clean energy and climate action, • and not negatively affect the State budget? LGBTQ+ rights, child and family issues, and health care. What information am I leaving out? So far, my name is on only a few of the early Every time this bill reached the Governor’s desk, bills—a constitutional amendment to establish he vetoed it. The first two times, the supporters an independent redistricting commission, a bill of this bill (from both parties) tried to override related to my work on the NH Commission on the veto they fell a few votes shy. Currently, New Deafness and Hearing Loss, and a bill fixing a Hampshire has to buy energy from outside the glitch in the way DRA sets the tax rate for wind State and then Eversource distributes that farms to protect property tax-payers in energy to all of us. Those outside sources need FDC News Quarterly - Fall 2020 Page 4 to make a profit and Eversource does too. dedicated to the lives lost and devastation that Interesting fact: Eversource is also one of the took place there. As a people, we came together, Governor’s biggest donors. and, as best as we could, healed the harm that had been done. Oh, did you wonder what this bill is about? NET METERING! I believe we can do the same thing today. If we, as a community of brothers and sisters who - Dan Pickering, Hancock believe in love, in hope, in peace, and in caring Transportation Committee for our planet; if we reject ignorance, hate, and profiteering, we can create a new and better nation for the future. CHRIS BALCH - NH REP, D38 Cleaning Up the Mess We can heal. So, please, take heart - while today’s mess is a huge one and cleaning it up I was paddling on the Souhegan River when I will extend well beyond this November’s saw a cluster of people at a boat landing elections, it is the 'good fight,' and the good fight huddled around a car, listening to the car’s is just beginning.