Former State Reps. St. Clair and Fields agree: Service before party

LACONIA — Former State Reps. Charlie St. Clair, a Democrat, and Dennis Fields, a Republican, differ on some issues, but they agree on one thing — the primary role of a state legislator is service to the constituent, not service to a political party.

The Laconia Daily Sun interviewed both men this week to learn more about the inner workings of the New Hampshire State Legislature.

“My idea of the legislature was always to work for the people, not go in there with an agenda,” said Fields, 75, of Sanbornton.

He left office last month after deciding not to run for re-election following 34 years in the state House of Representatives.

“I didn't always agree with the party. I’d tell them I'd work for my constituents. I don’t want to do a bill that's going to hurt the majority of people in the state.”

St. Clair, 70, of Laconia, won a 2017 special election to fill the seat of Republican Rep. Robert Fisher, who resigned in a scandal over his involvement in an online forum that was critical of women. St. Clair lost on Nov. 3 to political newcomer Travis O’Hara, 6,811 to 5,385.

Independent thought

St. Clair said committee chairmen would sometimes reproach him “because I didn’t go with the flow.”

“My answer was I was down there not for myself. I wasn’t a soldier in somebody’s army. I was down there to represent the citizens in Laconia and Belmont.”

St. Clair used to be a registered Republican in order to vote in that party’s primary. When first considering a bid for the House in 2016, a couple of Republican operatives came to the lunch counter in his Laconia Antique Center and told him not to run.

“They said, ‘We know you, and you are too unpredictable.”

Democratic leader, Mo Baxley, later also visited the lunch counter.

“I told him, ‘All we ask is that you vote your conscience and what is in the best interest of the people,’” Baxley recalled. “We like independents.”

St. Clair ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in 2016.

When he arrived at the legislature a year later, he found  many issues favored by a majority of New Hampshire residents never got to see the light of day in Concord.

And, unlike many states, residents of New Hampshire don’t have the ability to put an issue on the ballot through a citizens referendum.

“If we were a referendum state, there's no doubt in my mind that marijuana would have been legal a long time ago and we'd probably have a lot of other things in this state,” St. Clair said.

“Representatives who oppose allowing referendums say, ‘That’s why we’re elected, to make these decisions, but my response would be, ‘But you’re not making these decisions.’”

Special interests

He said special interests have outsized influence at the state Capitol. The New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association frequently lined up against St. Clair’s efforts to ease vehicle inspection requirements.

“The people who really do their job very well are paid lobbyists,” St. Clair said. “State representatives refer to lobbyists as experts on topics. I find that discouraging. They are experts, but from a particular point of view because they're paid to have that point of view.

“Lobbyists are there to inform the representatives or senators of how their clients may feel. That's all good, but sometimes I feel a lot of legislators, rather than really getting into the guts of an issue, will rely on the lobbyists for their opinions on something.”

After-market parts

Fields recalls a time when he backed legislation to benefit his constituents but it inadvertently worked to the benefit of a car manufacturer. The bill regulated the use of after-market parts, instead of original equipment manufacturer parts, in automobile repair.

“Toyota sent me a $10,000 check and said, ‘We can help you.’ I sent the check back with a note, ‘I don’t need your money.’”

He was happy to work on constituent concerns, but there were some requests that went too far.

“One time somebody asked me to take care of a speeding ticket. I told them that’s not something I could work on, I can’t even take care of my own.”

Housing costs

Turning serious, Fields said he is concerned about the high cost of housing and the difficulty people have in making ends meet.

“A lot of people can't afford it. Some people have to have two or three jobs in order to make it.”

On the other hand, he is reluctant to increase the minimum wage because this could prove to be a burden on small business.

He recalls a time when legislators from both parties could work together on such a thorny issue.

“Everybody got along so well and could compromise. I think both parties need to work together more.”

Fields served aboard U.S. Navy patrol boats in the Mekong River during the Vietnam war. He has seen a lot in and out of politics and now says he’s ready for some rest and relaxation, which includes spending time with his great granddaughter.

Penny wise

St. Clair said one of the frustrations he felt while serving in the legislature was a “penny-wise, pound-foolish” attitude.

An example is rail service.

The Amtrak Downeaster provides service to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. New Hampshire does not contribute funding. That line runs along the coast.

St. Clair said he would like to see such rail service return to the central part of the state, but frequently hears objections based on the potential cost. He doesn’t understand that argument, since the Downeaster is successful at no cost to New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, the state has high property taxes, in part because it doesn’t have a general sales tax that could better garner money from the state’s many visitors, St. Clair said.

“I’ll also go back to the marijuana bill. I have a commercial driver’s license for 20 years now, so I don’t use it, but a lot of people smoke marijuana like others drink a cocktail. To let all that revenue go to surrounding states is ridiculous.”

Tough year

St. Clair, who is executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week, has had a difficult year.

The annual rally had to change its dates and had fewer people than normal because of the pandemic.

Before Motorcycle Week, he rode his Harley-Davidson 2000 Heritage Softail 2,150 miles to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. He stayed in a campground, wore a mask, but this was a business trip for him, and so he met briefly with leaders of that rally.

Concerned about the pandemic, he took a COVID-19 test on his way home. It was negative. Another test he took when he got back to New Hampshire was also negative.

Under state restrictions at that time, he was required to go into quarantine, despite the negative tests. State officials spoke to St. Clair’s attorney, who told him there was a chance he could get arrested if he didn’t comply.

The rules were later changed to exempt business travel from the quarantine requirement, or to reduce the length of quarantine after a negative COVID-19 test.

St. Clair said that after learning of the concerns from the state, he pulled back from his involvement in the rally, but the whole situation left him feeling surprised and blindsided.

“I’m glad I didn’t get arrested,” he said.

Another difficult event for St. Clair occurred on Christmas Day when a fire gutted the Motorcycle Week Association office and destroyed valuable memorabilia from the 97-year-old event.

Nursing home

As tough as last year has been for him, St. Clair realizes others have had it much worse. He is concerned about those in long term care, including at the Belknap County Nursing Home.

He encouraged the Belknap County Legislative Delegation to provide adequate funding to the facility.

“They’re going to do what they're going to do,” he said. “They are my representatives now. It’s a tough job. People are trying to keep expenses down, but on the other hand, you have expenses. The nursing home, the sheriff’s department, the jail, the court system, you can’t nickel and dime that stuff.

“That’s why we need revenues.

“Maybe the constituents in Belknap County want the nursing home gone or privatized, but I don't think they would feel like that if they had a relative there or if they really got to know about the situation. The very wealthy have what they need and the rest grovel for what they can get. That's why we have taxes and services to help everybody, it’s not a bad thing.”