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Candidate Corner
Re-Elect Reps. Balboni, McClarren, Andolina, Twombly and Dee Hogan
In the sixth week of our Candidate Corner feature, Cornerstone brings you five more incumbents whom we hope will return to Concord so they can continue to put
families first in New Hampshire:
- Rep. Michael Balboni with a Cornerstone score of 97 percent is in a four-person race for three seats in Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29). (Skip to Rep. Balboni’s story.)
- Rep. Donald McClarren, who also scored a 97 percent on Cornerstone’s scorecard, is in the same race with Rep. Balboni in Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29). (Skip to Rep. McClarren’s story.)
- Rep. Donald Andolina, who aced Cornerstone’s scorecard making him one of Cornerstone’s heroes of the family, is running in a four-person race for three seats in Dover Wards 5 & 6 and Somersworth Ward 2, which is Strafford 17. (Skip to Rep. Andolina’s story.)
- Rep. Timothy Twombly, with a Cornerstone score of 95 percent, is running in a four-person contest for three seats in Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34). (Skip to Rep. Twombly’s story.)
- Rep. Edith “Dee” Hogan, with a Cornerstone score of 97 percent, is running in the same race with Rep. Twombly in Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34). (Skip to Rep. Hogan’s story.)
Please help support Reps. Balboni, McClarren, Andolina, Twombly and Hogan's candidacies today!
Rep. Michael Balboni for Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29)
As Chairman of the House Education Committee,
Rep. Michael Balboni led the way on several pro-family and education-freedom initiatives, and he was able to earn a 97 percent score on Cornerstone’s
scorecard—something uncommon for legislators in leadership positions. Along with Rep. Donald McClarren, Cornerstone is advocating for Rep. Balboni’s re-election in Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29).
Rep. Balboni was instrumental in the passage of
HB 545 and
HB 1571, two homeschooling deregulation bills that will lead to more a more cooperative, and less adversarial, relationship between local school districts and homeschooling parents. He also helped lead the way on
SB 372, the education tax credit bill that will help lower- and middle-class families afford the cost of sending their children to private schools or homeschooling their children.
Rep. Balboni was the prime sponsor of
HB 1360, which requires the board of education and the education commissioner to submit reports to the Legislature before they adopt special education rules that exceed the minimum requirements of state or federal law. This change will help minimize the damage of federal laws that have focused teachers on the weakest student in a classroom, which hurts the education of those students who are more advanced.
Additionally,
Rep. Balboni served on the Special Committee on Education Funding Reform and advanced a House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 26) that would have enabled the Legislature to assert its constitutional authority over the Supreme Court to set educational funding and curricula policy. HCR 26 would have been the Legislature’s best response to the Claremont opinions, and with its passage, a constitutional amendment would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, the clear and assertive resolution didn’t pass. Yet, Rep. Balboni will bring the same conservative ideals contained in HCR 26 back with him to Concord.
Along the same lines, Rep. Balboni co-sponsored
CACR 26, which, if approved by the people this November, would amend Part 2, Article 73-a in the N.H. Constitution and restore some of the Legislature’s authority to approve administrative rules in the Judicial Branch. Back in 1978, Article 73-a was added and gave full autonomy to the courts to pass administrative rules that have “the force and effect of law.” This has led to problems with judicial overreach.
The constitutional amendment CACR 26 will make the Judicial Branch accountable to the people again by allowing the Legislature to pass laws that nullify court rules, when appropriate.
Importantly, Rep. Balboni co-sponsored
HB 437, which would have restored traditional marriages in New Hampshire by repealing the current homosexual “marriage” law. Unfortunately, the Legislature didn’t restore the traditional definition of marriage in the outgoing session, but we can be confident that Rep. Balboni would support such a bill when it comes up again in the next session.
Rep. Donald McClarren for Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29)
Rep. Donald McClarren, a member of the Judiciary Committee, voted with Cornerstone 97 percent of the time during the past session. Along with Rep. Michael Balboni, Cornerstone is pushing for Rep. McClarren’s re-election in Nashua Ward 2 (Hillsborough 29), where the two Cornerstone favorites face two other candidates for three seats.
As a proud, constitutionally minded citizen who decided to run for office to undo years of Democratic spending and taxing, Rep. McClarren said he was proud to just “learn the ropes” in his first term. Unlike some freshmen, however, Rep. McClarren attempted several major efforts. Though it didn’t pass,
HB 527, his bill to limit tort payments in an attempt to reduce the cost of health insurance, was one of those efforts. Another was his effort to reduce the Room and Meals tax, which would have made New Hampshire a more attractive tourist destination. Still, he was successful on the Judiciary Committee in his effort to prevent a consolidation of the Manchester and Nashua Superior Courts, which he said would have made seeking justice costly and inconvenient for Nashua residents.
Upon re-election,
McClarren said he planned to focus on reducing taxes for businesses and families, which will help stimulate private sector job growth and business development. He said he was proud to be a part of a $1 billion budget cut, but noted that the budget needs to be cut further in the next session to allow for the tax and fee reductions that will help boost the economy. Additionally, he said he would work on education reform and pension reform to help restore the New Hampshire Advantage.
Rep. Donald Andolina for Dover Wards 5 & 6, Somersworth Ward 2 (Strafford 17)
With a perfect
scorecard percentage making him one of Cornerstone’s
heroes of the family, Cornerstone is advocating for Rep. Andolina’s election in Dover Wards 5 & 6 and Somersworth Ward 2 (Strafford 17) where he faces three other candidates for three seats.
During the last session, Rep. Andolina focused on several pieces of successful legislation that support family values, such as the parental notification bill (
HB 329) and the bill that prohibited late term abortions (
HB 1679) in New Hampshire. He was also an active member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Andolina proudly helped promote
HB 437, the bill to restore traditional marriage, and he co-sponsored a bill to make it illegal for businesses that sell liquor to award alcohol for winning games of chance (
SB 251). He also worked to oppose gambling and short-term loans that used what he called “usurious” interest rates, he helped repeal the use of an “evergreen clause” in union contracts (
SB 73), he helped drive more financial stability into the N.H. retirement system, and he helped try to pass Right to Work (
HB 474).
Upon re-election,
Rep. Andolina said he wants to continue his efforts to protect family values, the quality of life in New Hampshire and to defend the state and federal constitutions. He will work specifically to submit various bills relative to health and human services, he said.
Rep. Timothy Twombly for Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34)
Along with Rep. Dee Hogan, Cornerstone is advocating for Rep. Timothy Twombly’s election in Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34) where the two Cornerstone picks face two others in a contest for three seats.
Rep. Twombly voted with Cornerstone 95 percent of the time during the past session, and as clerk for the Finance Committee’s first division,
he helped craft the Legislature’s historic 11 percent spending cut that balanced the budget without new or increased taxes, fees, or borrowing.Division I of the Finance Committee is responsible for the budgets of 42 state departments, Twombly said.
Upon re-election, Rep. Twombly said he is looking forward to reducing state budgets again.
“If we want a successful growing private sector with its resultant jobs, we must not suck the life out of our businesses with overreaching regulations and ever increasing taxes,” he said.
In the past session, Rep. Twombly co-sponsored HB 242, sponsored by
Rep. Carl Seidelof Nashua Ward 1. The bill (
HB 242) gives more time to start-up companies to recover their losses before having to pay taxes on their income. Specifically, the bill increased the amount of losses investors can carry forward on their business taxes from $1 million to $10 million, which will increase the number of people willing to invest seed money in entrepreneurial ideas, attract new start-up companies and create jobs. Rep. Twombly also supported research and development tax credits to encourage innovation and job growth, and he voted to eliminate the hated auto registration surcharge, which will save N.H. families about $90 million a year.
On family values issues,
Rep. Twombly said he is a strong advocate for traditional marriage, charter schools, home schooling and the rights of the unborn. He is also against expanded gambling, because he sees it as the wrong approach to New Hampshire’s long-term financial stability. Instead, Twombly said the Legislature should focus on creating a more business friendly environment to expand the state’s tax base and continue to encourage family-friendly tourism.
Besides continuing his work in on the budget and family values, Rep. Twombly said he would fight to stop the pervasive spread of Agenda 21 and other foreign influences within New Hampshire. Stopping Agenda 21, which is eroding property rights in the name of sustainability, is now part of
the national Republican platform, and
many Democrats are also taking a stand against it.
Rep. Edith ‘Dee’ Hogan for Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34)
Along with Rep. Timothy Twombly, Cornerstone is advocating for Rep. Edith “Dee” Hogan’s election in Nashua Ward 7 (Hillsborough 34). Rep. Hogan, who scored a 97 percent on Cornerstone’s
scorecard, served as vice chairman on the House Committee of Children and Family Law and she also served on the Special Committee on Education Funding Reform.
During the outgoing session,
Rep. Hogan was co-sponsor of the critically important House Resolution that asserts New Hampshire’s 10th Amendment power to stand up to the federal government when it acts beyond its constitutional authority.
HR 25, which was sponsored by Rep. Dan Itse of Fremont, asserts New Hampshire’s authority to nullify all federal laws and regulations that violate the authority given to Congress and the federal Executive Branch in the U.S. Constitution.
Besides this effort, Rep. Hogan supported all of Cornerstone’s efforts to restore traditional marriage, support innocent human life and restore family values in New Hampshire, and she will continue to do so upon reelection. For these votes alone, she deserves another term.
To support Reps. Balboni, McClarren, Andolina, Twombly and Dee Hogan and others like them, please donate to the Cornerstone PAC today.
For families,
Shannon McGinley
Acting Executive Director
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