Incumbent Giuda says he lets data guide him on issues

LACONIA — Bob Giuda, who is running for his third term in the state Senate, says he lets data, science and facts guide his stance on the issues, just as he once let his flight instruments guide him to a night landing on an aircraft carrier.

Giuda, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in engineering/operations analysis, was a Marine Corps aviator before a 30-year career piloting jetliners for United Airlines.

“The analytics are compelling in decision making,” he said. “Emotions can and do mislead. I equate it to a night approach on a carrier.

“Based on your visual acuity, you’d say, ‘There’s never a way this airplane will get on that carrier deck,’ but if you use your instruments and see you are on the right glide path, you will be right where you need to be.”

Giuda, a resident of Warren, is facing Belknap County Commissioner David DeVoy in the Sept. 8 Republican primary for the 2nd New Hampshire Senate district, which reaches into Belknap, Grafton and Merrimack counties.

The Republican primary election is next Tuesday, Sept. 8.

DeVoy said the first thing he would do if elected would be to introduce legislation to do away with the Business Enterprise Tax. The 0.60 percent tax is assessed on a company’s enterprise value tax base, which is based on compensation, interest and dividends.

DeVoy said the tax is not fair because businesses must pay it even if they don’t turn a profit.

Giuda said the tax has been reduced, but to eliminate it completely would reduce state revenue by one-third of a billion dollars and create momentum toward imposing a state income tax.

“We understand businesses hate it, but the point to be made is that it’s a reckless move to eliminate the tax,” he said. “People are more sensible than that, and if we did it, we’d have an income tax.”

Giuda said the Business Enterprise Tax was created many years ago to tax some corporations that are exempt from the profits tax because they pay out all earnings to partners at the end of the year.

“People were doing tax avoidance, legally,” he said. “They were making lots of money, with no state personal or corporate tax.”

Business owners have also been concerned about state pandemic emergency orders that caused some businesses to close and others to limit operations. Giuda sits on the Governor’s Economic Re-Opening Task Force.

He said the state’s precautionary measures were warranted and effective.

“There was no data about COVID-19,” he said. “You have to weigh the balance on disruption of lives and businesses versus the potential threat to public health.

“With no data, you err on the side of caution. We’ve had spectacular results here. It peaked in June, has come way down and is very manageable. I understand the need to balance safety with economics.

“What is an acceptable mortality rate? Health and Human Services would love it to be zero, and rightly so, but that’s not realistic.”

During the pandemic, the state used a vacant building at the old Laconia State School property to house homeless people who tested positive for the virus. This led to some local opposition, but Giuda said it was the right thing to do.

“What were you going to do with them?” he asked. “Hotels were filled with caregivers or shut down.

“You can’t leave them on the street. For an interim period, until the crisis was averted, you have to solve the problem at hand. There was no other way to handle it. You can’t ignore it and let them stay out and travel around and die.

“It was appropriate and more than appropriate precautions were taken. It was not reckless. It was carefully thought out.”

Some members of the public Giuda talks to on the campaign trail have expressed concern over state services for seniors.

Giuda said he favors a great emphasis on programs for the seniors.

“I’m starting to hear more that we’re doing enough for the substance abuse folks, some tell me we’re doing too much, and there is a looming concern for the elderly,” he said.

“We have an aging population and as they are retiring or having health issues, we have concerns. I’d like to shift the focus from substance abuse. It’s a problem, but one we’ve spent a lot of money on the last four years.”

He said there should be a general review of all state programs: “Are they necessary? Are they performing the function for which they've been assigned. Are they operating efficiently, or can we structure them so they do? Are we getting enough bang for the buck?”