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October 2010 Member Posts (38)

Voter turnout estimate: 47 percent

Come Tuesday, it's up to you, the voters.

And Secretary of State Bill Gardner predicts that 47 percent of registered voters will turn out for the election.

His estimate of 430,000 going to the polls throughout the Granite State would make it the second-highest total for a non-presidential year in state history.

In the 2002 mid-term election, a record 66 percent voted, giving Republicans big gains in the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C. That was the year of… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 31, 2010 at 11:47am — No Comments

Money fuels the campaigns

Donations are the fuel for a campaign's engine, and the LFDA has summarized the sources of the fuel in its Election Central pages.

In the race for the U.S. Senate, Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Paul Hodes are pretty close when it comes to how much they've raised and spent as of Oct.… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 30, 2010 at 10:32am — No Comments

The Week in Review: Same-sex wedding announcements, commuter rail and independent choices.

Same-sex marriage continues to be a hot topic for the citizens of New Hampshire. The Union Leader made headlines this week for its refusal to publish same-sex wedding announcements.

"We are not 'anti-gay.' We are for marriage remaining the important man-woman institution it has always been," Publisher Joe McQuaid said in a statement.

The LFDA received dozens of comments from… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 29, 2010 at 9:26am — No Comments

Joe Citizen's Facebook blog: Printing gay wedding announcements

This is a blog post on a recent LFDA Facebook discussion. LFDA Facebook fans commented on an issue regarding the Union Leader newspaper's decision not to print the wedding announcement of a gay couple.

State law… Continue

Added by Joe Citizen on October 27, 2010 at 3:00pm — 2 Comments

Take me off your mailing list!

Is anyone else getting inundated with flyers from political groups? Here's a sample of the items I received over the past few days:

The mailings came from RightChange.com Inc.,…

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Added by Chuck McKenney on October 27, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

New Hampshire LLC's

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Added by Tom Thomson on October 26, 2010 at 11:47am — No Comments

Know your Independent Choices

Unless we do something, when our children or grandchildren hear Democracy, they will think of those outrageous mailers, vicious attack ads, us vs. them partisan warfare and a political system that makes the future worse.…

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Added by Steven Borne on October 25, 2010 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Thomson endorses Bass

Conservative Tom Thomson of Orford, endorsed Charlie Bass for Congress. Tom POINTED OUT THAT Charlie was one of the first to sign the Americans For Prosperity Anti-Tax Pledge. Bass has pledged to the citizens of…

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Added by Tom Thomson on October 25, 2010 at 9:56am — No Comments

2010 election week in review for Oct. 25: Challenges, rallies, endorsements

The final countdown to Election Day is on, and campaigns are concentrating on last minute ads, endorsements and get-out-the-vote efforts.

Some campaign methods were called into question last week: a push poll on behalf of the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hodes and an attack ad against Republican gubernatorial candidate… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 25, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

NH pension system still at risk despite some good news

The New Hampshire pension system is showing signs of life, but recent news about unexpectedly high interest earnings doesn't get it off the critical list just yet.

The public pension fund earned almost 13 percent on its investments in the fiscal year ending June 30.

At the close of the fiscal year, the retirement system's trust fund was $4.85 billion. As of Sept. 30, it was $5.2 billion.

Dick Ingram, executive director of the New Hampshire Retirement System,… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 23, 2010 at 8:42am — No Comments

Blue governor facing red Legislature?

If the polls are correct -- and, yes, it's voters not polls who decide elections -- then New Hampshire's Democratic governor is going have to deal with a Republican-controlled Legislature starting in January.

Two new WMUR/UNH New Hampshire Election Polls predict a partisan push-pull couple of years.

One new poll concerns the governor's race and shows Democratic incumbent John Lynch, who is running for… Continue

Added by Paul Briand on October 21, 2010 at 2:24pm — No Comments

Medical Amnesty, Alcohol and UNH from President Huddleston

The University of New Hampshire recently launched a pilot program that encourages its students to seek medical attention for fellow students suffering an alcohol-related emergency. The concept of “medical amnesty” is part of a national effort being promoted by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a nonprofit advocacy group that seeks to engage and mobilize…

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Added by Mark Huddleston on October 21, 2010 at 12:38pm — 1 Comment

NEW HAMPSHIRE IS AT A CROSSROADS!

On November 2^nd, Election Day, we will have a clear choice as to which road to take at this critical time in our state’s history.…

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Added by Tom Thomson on October 21, 2010 at 10:44am — No Comments

Joe Citizen's Facebook blog: Civilian flaggers

This is a blog post on a recent LFDA Facebook discussion. LFDA Facebook fans commented on an issue regarding the use of civilian flaggers in construction zones.

When the question is asked -- civilian flaggers vs. paid police details in construction zones -- our discussion participants are unanimous: Use civilian… Continue

Added by Joe Citizen on October 20, 2010 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Local school board censures one of its members

Recently, the ConVal School Board voted to censure one of their members for doing the seemingly unspeakable — vocally opposing a measure that the board was attempting to pass.…

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Added by Jim Lockwood on October 20, 2010 at 1:30pm — No Comments

BORNEfor4 Write-in for Governor

After meeting with some of the 11 NH candidates running as Independents in 2010, I realized we need more people like them who are willing to represent us. We can have more representatives who are fiscally conservative and socially moderate and do not carry any party idealogy or the strings associated with other people's money.

If we can get 4% of the vote to write in Steven Borne Independent for Governor, this can create a space for Independent or un-declared candidates for…

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Added by Steven Borne on October 20, 2010 at 6:28am — No Comments

2010 election week in review for Oct. 18: A question of character

With just about two weeks before the election, the deciding issue may be coming down to character.

Last week focused to a lesser extent on the continued debate of the issues and to a greater extent on questions of trust in the campaigns for the U.S. Senate and two U.S. House seats.

Paul Hodes, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, alleged that Republican opponent Kelly Ayotte politicized the murder of a Manchester police officer to advance her… Continue

Added by LFDA Editor on October 18, 2010 at 7:30am — No Comments

Joe Citizen's Facebook blog: Are political organizations transparent enough?

This is a blog post on a recent LFDA Facebook discussion. LFDA Facebook fans commented on an issue regarding mandatory use of transparency for certain political organizations.

The LFDA blogged this week about the 501(c)(4) organizations that are spending a lot of money on attack ads here in New Hampshire and elsewhere in the… Continue

Added by Joe Citizen on October 15, 2010 at 3:02pm — No Comments

The Week in Review: Prison reform battle, attack ads and cell towers

Legislators returned to the Statehouse this week to address Governor Lynch's vetoes and the controversial prison reform bill - SB 500.

Republicans wanted to "toughen" the law, but Democrats would not allow them to suspend House rules in order to alter the legislation.

Asked whether the renewed concern about SB 500 was legitimate or political, most of our Facebook respondents… Continue

Added by LFDA Asst. Editor on October 15, 2010 at 11:30am — No Comments

NH Legislature upholds vetoes, keeps prison reform as is

The New Hampshire Legislature upheld Gov. John Lynch's vetos of five pieces of legislation that included a change to the oversight of financial institutions and changes to the state's open meeting law.

The legislature also considered whether to alter the state's reform of the prison system, but Democrats held back a Republican attempt to change the law.

It was a day for the Legislature to consider whether to override Gov. John Lynch's veto of five bills it had passed in the…

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Added by LFDA Editor on October 13, 2010 at 4:30pm — No Comments