Candidate Eddie Edwards lays out campaign platform

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Eddie Edwards brought his Republican congressional campaign to the Lakes Region on Thursday, promising to fight the opioid crisis, reduce government regulation and improve the health care system.

Between a visit to the Golden View Health Care Center in Meredith and lunch at the Laconia VFW, Edwards stopped at The Laconia Daily Sun office to explain why he wants to succeed Democratic incumbent Carol Shea-Porter. She has decided not to run for re-election in the First Congressional District.

Edwards, of Dover, is a former police chief for South Hampton and a past chief of liquor enforcement with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Opiate crisis

Edwards' career in law enforcement gave him the opportunity to see the damage done by drugs and alcohol.

Overdose death rates in New Hampshire are among the highest per capita in the nation.

“One of the biggest things we have to get our hands on and address is the opiate crisis,” said Edwards, who is a board member of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Hampshire and is chairman of the Governor's Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice.

“I spent the vast majority of time in my law enforcement career on the problem of substance abuse disorder and I think we have to address this issue in our state. We've been disproportionately impacted, so the resources have to be provided to the state to do what's right.”

Health care

One of Edwards' campaign planks is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 80,000 people in New Hampshire gained medical coverage under Obamacare, reducing the state's uninsured rate from 11 percent to 6 percent.

“There's not a lot of support for the ACA in terms of its current form,” Edwards said. “Even those who have supported this would say there are a lot of problems with the approach.”

He is concerned about large increases in insurance premiums for people who don't receive government subsidies.

“So to me, let's provide something that actually works,” he said. “I think the more that we can drive greater access, reduced costs, increased competition, the better system it will be.”

Family values

Edwards said he was raised with strong values, but not in a politically charged environment.

“My grandmother raised me with strong American values,” he said. “As a young child, I wasn't someone who recognized what a conservative was versus a liberal or a Republican versus a Democrat.

“I just understood conservative values, American values. Work hard. If you want something you've got to work for it. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, forgive people. My grandmother taught me how to love, how to be patient, work hard and be independent.”

Political polarization

He said he would like to work to help change the current polarized political climate.

“I constantly try to figure out how do we get back to a place where we as Americans can all kind of find common ground,” Edwards said.

He supported the tax cut signed into law by President Donald Trump, saying the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that it would increase the deficit by $1.4 trillion doesn't take into account business gains that will boost government revenue.

“We should be very thankful that, at this moment, there is a record-breaking stock market, for blacks, Latinos and women, there is record low unemployment,” he said. “People are working, they are energized, enthusiastic, companies are sharing profits with workers, people are feeling a level of confidence and that there are good times ahead.”

Edwards said he supports reductions in government regulation as a way to further support business growth.

Gun regulation

The debate over gun regulation has been back in the news with Tuesday's school shooting that killed two and injured 18 in Kentucky. Some gun sales at weapons shows can now be done without criminal background checks.

“I think there has been a lot of support for universal background checks,” said Edwards, a graduate of the FBI Academy.

“I think the same rules should apply whether you go to a gun show or a gun shop to purchase a firearm. A trade show is a mobile, retail environment.”

He doesn't support background checks for private sales and said he is a strong believer in the Second Amendment.

President Trump

Also in the news recently has been a discussion about how minorities are treated, and about President Donald Trump's views on people of color.

The president has been criticized over a vulgarity used in discussing immigration from certain countries. Trump was a leader in the movement questioning President Barack Obama's birthplace. He used the words “rapists and criminals” to describe Mexicans who cross the border illegally. Some have labeled some of Trump comments as racially derogatory.

Edwards, who is black, is not critical of the president and said there is a good bit of politics in the criticism of Trump.

“I don't think I'm qualified to determine what is in anyone's heart,” said Edwards, who was co-chairman for Dr. Ben Carson in the New Hampshire presidential primary. “I find it interesting, though, that we're quick to label certain people racist but kind of allow other people to walk by their comments.

“For instance, there are people who are liberal, let's say, and they made similar comments, or similar suggestive comments, and they are not deemed a racist, but if you are a white conservative male, someone can easily tag you with that rather than have a full conversation.”

Eddie Edwards talks about his Republican campaign for New Hampshire's First Congressional District. (Adam Drapcho/Laconia Daily Sun)