Aldrich vies for reelection on platform of low taxes, constituent rights

GILFORD — Rep. Glen Aldrich (R-Gilford) moved to the Granite State as part of the Free State Project, and has since served five terms in the Statehouse. He's taking on six candidates in the Primary Election Tuesday, Sept. 8, with hopes of retaining his District 6 seat serving Gilford, Gilmanton and Laconia Ward 2.

Who is Glen Aldrich?

Aldrich relocated to Gilford in 2010, with his wife of 31 years, from New Jersey, and is part of the Free State Project.

“That’s why I moved here, and that’s a big thing,” Aldrich said. “The devil’s in the details with that.”

The couple raised two children, and live on Old Lakeshore Road. After getting hurt and retiring from his construction business, he quelled rumors he is living off disability payments, but rather on Social Security funds. He did “handyman” work all over New Hampshire, and beyond.

Aldrich was a representative from 2014 to 2022. He was voted out of office, and blames misinformation from Citizens for Belknap and what he called an “ambush.” He rallied in 2024, to be voted back in.

“They do nothing but lie,” Aldrich said. “They’ve got me as a Gunstock hater, and I guess the only qualification for that is if you didn’t go to the meeting.”

Aldrich was referring to what he called the “Save Gunstock” meeting, and said the late Rep. Harry Bean urged him to go multiple times, but he opted not to, because he thought it was illegal.

“I read the statute, and it says only the chairman or his designee can call for a meeting, and I didn’t want to get tied up in any lawsuits, so I didn’t go.”

Aldrich said this likely cost him on the election in 2022, and said there were other “lies” that kept him from being reelected that year. He said he was naïve on one, and thought he was taken advantage of, as he was one of 13 Republicans who voted to put a secession measure on the ballot.

“These guys just kept saying, ‘He voted to secede. He voted to secede.’ No,” Aldrich said. “I would like to get our constituents more involved with all of this, so I thought it was a good thing. Until the fight broke out about it, I realized it might not be a good thing, but I still voted for it, because it was a question to the people. I never dreamed they were going to secede. I wasn’t going to vote to secede; I was merely trying to get the people involved.”

The constitutional amendment was voted down overwhelmingly, 323-13.

Reelection

Aldrich ran in 2014, because he saw young families and elderly people struggling with taxes. He continues to stick by his platform 12 years later.

“I never dreamed that I would be elected,” Aldrich said. “I didn’t know nobody, hardly, but I guess being a Republican, they figured it was better than the Democrat looking for all new taxes.”

After being defeated after four straight terms, he said he learned Citizens for Belknap “doesn’t tell the truth.” He was recently criticized by members of the organization for not answering a questionnaire, which he said was true.

Aldrich said redistricting didn’t help his cause in 2022, and believes he got more votes in Meredith than he did in Gilford when they shared a district. He said “nobody” knows him in Gilmanton, and this also goes for Ward 2 of Laconia, the third community he represents in the district.

“They fear mongered those people who didn’t have a clue who I was, but I think when I ran the next time, they saw what these guys are putting out was not necessarily the truth,” Aldrich said. “I think they did their own research, and realized there is a bunch of crap coming out of this place, and they voted me back in.”

Platform

“It is always taxes,” Aldrich said.

Aldrich and his wife are both living on Social Security payments, and he understands living on a fixed income. He used to volunteer for the Center Harbor Food Pantry, and would take food to multiple families a week, including a family with twin boys who was struggling.

“Overregulation and taxation, I think, is what’s putting people here,” Aldrich said. “For example, the Town of Gilford was all happy with, ‘Oh, we didn’t raise your taxes.’ You know what they did? They reassessed our values.”

Aldrich said his taxes more than tripled, and that is unacceptable.

Aldrich is concerned about the county nursing home, saying they can’t get enough help, which means all the beds can’t be filled.

“Technically, that is a money maker for the county,” Aldrich said. “I’d like to see that taken care of, but I don’t know how to do that.”

Another ongoing issue is the county jail, and he said this is a tough situation they have already spent millions of dollars trying to address.

“We don’t have anymore people in the jail than we had before we spent $8 million, and now they’re back to wanting to spend another $40 million with the jail.”

Aldrich would like to tour the jail. He said at one point, there were inmates sleeping in the gym.

“I know they are the ones that really suck the county dry,” Aldrich said. “Every year they are adding people, but they don’t have any more inmates than they did before we built the new jail. All we’ve done is increase county employees and we still need a jail.”

Cost of living

“I don’t know there’s a whole lot we can do about that,” Aldrich said. “Gas prices are sneaking up to where they were with Biden, but eggs aren’t $12 a dozen anymore. They’re a couple dollars a dozen now, maybe less than two. I think if it wasn’t for, I hate to say it, but I think Iran has to be dealt with.”

Aldrich thinks Iran is a threat, and if they had a nuclear bomb, they’d use it. He said the root of the problem is when they allowed 4,000 Islamic refugees in, and became an Islamic country. He thinks Islam is “a cult” and the Quran promotes danger, though he said he has never read it.

“England’s heading that way, Australia’s heading that way, and we’re heading that way,” Aldrich said.

LGBTQ+ rights

“I was proud to vote to keep the men out of those ladies rooms, and the governor vetoed that,” Aldrich said. “Look, I don’t care what you do. Don’t shove it down my throat. I don’t think it is right to have parades half naked going down the street with children viewing them. And, to have a whole month, I think is ridiculous. Our veterans get a day.”

Aldrich stressed he has friends who are gay, but he doesn’t think it is fair to women to have transgender people playing in their sports, or in their locker rooms.

“I don’t think it is fair to women that they have to undress in front of a biological male,” Aldrich said.

Hearing from constituents

Aldrich said he doesn’t have all the answers, but he tries listening and research as much as possible.

“I try to speak with my constituents, and that is how you come up with the ideas, and hopefully one will be the correct one, or at least something we can live with.”

Aldrich has been receiving emails from constituents saying large corporations, like Amazon, are not paying enough in taxes. They are asking for him to create a bill that would involve a tax to raise millions. He said this won’t work, because corporations will pass costs off to the consumer, but it is important to listen.

“Nothing is free,” Aldrich said. “You have to take the good with the bad, and try to work through the mumbo jumbo, try to find the facts and try to come to a reasonable conclusion of what is the best path moving forward.”

Free State Project

The Free State Project, according to its website, pledges to expand personal and economic freedom through activism and entrepreneurship. Participants include both native Granite Staters and newcomers of “all ideological stripes that believe in liberty, including libertarians, constitutional conservatives, classical liberals, and all varieties of freedom seekers.”

“Our aim is a Free State where the maximum role of government is protecting life, liberty, and property — as we build solutions to other social challenges through free markets and voluntary efforts,” the website states.

The idea started in 2001, with a goal of bringing 20,000 libertarians into a low-population state, and New Hampshire was chosen two years later.

While living in New Jersey, he and his wife bought a 4-acre farm, and watched their taxes double in a decade.

“I had already joined the Free State, because I lived there and the taxes were terrible,” Aldrich said. “The gun laws were terrible. People used to say, 'Where are you from?' I’d say, ‘South Jersey, the 51st state.' I thought we should have seceded from Jersey, because all the money we spend on taxes they send up north.”

Aldrich doesn’t want New Hampshire to be the same way. He sees people fleeing Massachusetts, and then they try to do the same thing here. This is why he supports Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s “don’t Mass up New Hampshire” slogan.

He said the Lakes Region Porcupines, a group he started with other Free Staters, is involved in charitable endeavors. They pick up trash, donate to animal shelters, work with food pantries and toy drives, all without state or federal dollars.

Aldrich said he is currently involved in Free State Project, and will “never not be a member.”

“These people aren’t going to let me forget, and I don’t try.”

Why vote for Aldrich

Aldrich is vehemently opposed to an income tax, and thinks  too much money is taken from residents by the government. He said voters can rely on him sticking to his guns — literally — and standing up for his constituents.

“I would continue the same things that I’ve done: fighting for low taxes, responsible spending, making sure that your gun rights are protected, the whole nine yards.”