The US Supreme Court has explicitly overruled Roe v. Wade sending the decision on reproductive rights back to the individual state legislatures. New Hampshire is the only New England state without explicit protection for abortion rights. A top priority for the next legislative session, and my top priority, would be to ensure these protections of a women’s right to make her own healthcare decisions is codified in state law.

I believe public school systems within our district, the Timberlane, Pelham, and Salem schools, are the crown jewels of our communities. It is why families move to our communities. It is the cornerstone of the economic and social development of our towns.

My plan for public schools is grounded in common sense.

• Let’s appoint a secretary of education who believes in and supports public education.

• Let’s eliminate the devastating voucher program that siphons money from public schools to students already enrolled in private and religious schools. This program is the only line item in the entire state budget that has an unlimited financial liability for the state. The original budget estimate of $100,000+ has already reached $9 million and is projected to be over $27 million.

• Eliminate and oppose any legislation that criminalizes or punishes the profession of being a teacher.

• Let teachers teach! Students are not some pieces of clay to be molded in the extreme image of republicans. They are young people who need a safe space to learn, explore, and unfold to be themselves.

• Encourage students to read diverse books, especially the books some want to ban, by making them readily available in the library.

• Welcome LGBTQ students, their families, their teachers, and administrators to our community. United, our community is strong and welcoming, and divided we are weak.

• Protect our kids at school by restricting the carrying of firearms on school property.

The impact of climate change is all but certain to have a significant impact on the weather, precipitation, and sea level for New Hampshire. Every reduction in carbon emission has a meaningful impact in facing this crisis. In New Hampshire the three largest sectors for greenhouse gas emissions are transportation, residential, and electrical. The state can create incentives to encourage renewable energy, primarily solar and wind, for electricity generation and residential needs, and to provide incentives to migrate parts of our transportation fleet to electric vehicles.

A few years back my husband and I invested in 48 solar panels for our house that satisfy most of the electrical need of our residence. While many states provide incentives for such an investment, New Hampshire does not. Providing incentives or low-cost loans for home owners and businesses to provide more attractive net metering terms could create a springboard effective to have others invest in our future renewable infrastructure.

In my youth, I marched on Washington during the early days of the AIDS crisis. Over the years, the LGBTQIA+ community has made so much progress with marriage equality and federal job protections.

LGBTQIA+ youth face homelessness and suicide at higher rates than their straight peers. I will fight every day to ensure that our young people have the proper supports in place that recognizes their identity and provides safe spaces for them to discover and grow as healthy individuals.

I believe seniors should age with dignity within the community. It is important that we defend and maintain the Medicare and Social Security benefits earned by our retirees.

My mother in-law lived with us during her final years. Many families don’t have the resources or ability to house a multi-generational family. New Hampshire’s services and infrastructure will not be able to meet the need of this growing demographic. Seeking out opportunities and services that help individuals and their families remain within the community is a priority.

My family like many others throughout the country has lost a loved one to addiction to opioids. The priority for New Hampshire is to recognize addiction as a disease. We must remove the stigma that individuals and their families face as they struggle with addiction, often alone and without adequate resources. The war on drugs didn’t work for President Reagan and it won’t work for Governor Sununu. Public and private funding for intervention, recovery, and ongoing support are critical to turn the tide.