Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I have lived in the Lakes Region for many years and like you, I enjoy our beautiful lakes and mountains. And like you, I am very concerned about our future. Our friends and families are struggling - many have lost their jobs and can't afford to pay their bills. While New Hampshire citizens have tightened their belts and made painful decisions, state government spending grew by 17%. Now with the faltering economy and shrinking revenues, our state must make difficult budget decisions.

That's why I'm running for the District 3 State Senate seat. Now more than ever, I believe the budgeting decisions we make today affect our way of life. Raising taxes, like rooms and meals tax, will harm the tourism industry -- the lifeblood of small businesses in the Lakes Region and Mt. Washington Valley. We can't shift costs from the state to property taxpayers. Rather it is time to reduce unnecessary spending by prioritizing the services and programs necessary for our friends in need, while making sure we don't keep raising spending to levels we can't afford. Creating jobs in New Hampshire and getting people back to work means not raising taxes on businesses and means no sales or income tax...ever!

It might surprise many of you that I am running for State Senate, but I have always made public service to my community and my state a priority. Many of you may remember that I served several of the communities in District 3 as a State Representative for 12 years. As I always have, I will work across the aisle to develop common sense solutions for the challenges facing our state.

Please join my team and I hope I can count on your vote in the Special Election on April 21. Thank You!