Longtime school superintendent running for Meredith Statehouse seat

MEREDITH — Dean Cascadden, a lifelong Granite Stater who spent his working life devoted to education and now sees some “real issues” going on at the state level, and has decided to make a run at the Statehouse.

A self-described centrist, Cascadden will be on the ballot as a Democrat, after hearing from constituents he would be a viable candidate in the November election. There are two seats in District 2, representing solely represent Meredith. One is held by Rep. Matt Coker (R-Meredith), and the other left vacant after the resignation of Matthew Lunney last year.

Cascadden was raised in Littleton, where he graduated high school before going off to Dartmouth College. He married his high school sweetheart, and lived in the Upper Valley for the next eight years, where they raised two children. After receiving a master’s degree and a doctorate from William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Cascadden spent time as a college professor in Oswego, New York, before heading back to the Granite State.

Cascadden settled in Bristol, and became the Newfound Middle School principal from 1997 to 2003, which was his introduction to the Lakes Region. By this time, he had four kids who were attending school in the Newfound Area School District.

Being a “big water guy,” Cascadden bought property on Lake Wicwas, and slowly but surely developed a home in the area.

“I bought a couple properties, and built a nice house there, and became a Meredith resident in 2016,” Cascadden said. “I love it here.”

Cascadden was superintendent in Whitefield from 2003 to 2007, then spent the next 14 years as superintendent of the Bow School District, until 2023. He has also been a teacher, a curriculum director, and a coach.

“I’ve had a long career in education across the state, and that’s the biggest reason I am running,” Cascadden said. “I want to give back with my knowledge of education.”

When Cascadden was working in Bow, he became president of the New Hampshire Superintendent Association, and spent plenty of time in the Statehouse. This was his first introduction to politics, and he got the notion he could make a difference.

“I spent a lot of time down in front of the Education Committee testifying, and all sorts of stuff,” Cascadden said. “I am mostly concerned on where we are in educational policies. I’m every concerned about how public schools are overregulated, and underfunded.”

Cascadden criticized Free State politics, saying he hears talk about wanting to do away with public education as we know it. He noted bills are pushing largely toward charter schools, while reducing the number of superintendents.

“Not to mention that there are culture war bills, book bills,” Cascadden said. “What it comes down to is that we haven’t dealt with the fundamental issue of how to fund education, and that is the big issue for me.”

A new Democrat

Cascadden grew up in New Hampshire delivering the Union Leader newspaper, and said he was a Republican for a “long, long time,” dating back to the Reagan administration and his time in a conservative church.

His wife died almost two years ago, he retired, and his children have all grown up. Suddenly, Cascadden had time to focus on issues he cares deeply about. He said his friend Rick DeMark, vice chair of the Meredith Democrats, approached him about running for office.

“I told him, 'Well I’m not really a Democrat,'” Cascadden said. “But he said, 'Well, you care for education and the environment, you basically are.'”

Cascadden tended to agree, but said his views remain in the middle, as far as political party.

“For me, I’d be a centrist, and I really want to solve practical problems,” Cascadden said. “I’ve seen Libertarians and Free Staters come in who don’t believe in government. But you need roads, and schools, and services. And you need to pay for them.”

He said when he first started talking about running, people would give him a litmus test on Democrat ideals. Cascadden does believe in inclusion, saying working in public schools, whoever walked through the door was someone he would educate fairly and effectively.

“But I am a fairly moderate person, in the middle, and as a superintendent I have to be in the middle to find commonalities,” Cascadden said. “I have a lot of experience in school administration and education. I know the ins and outs of policy.”

He also thought when Coker changed parties after being elected as a Democrat, voters may have felt “burned,” and he promises not to do the same.

“I will not change parties.”

On the issues

Cascadden said public education is a top priority. According to his website, locally-controlled public education with a “wide base of funding is the hope and future of our democracy.”

He is particularly concerned about property tax reform when it comes to public education. Cascadden said the state has cut business taxes, and specific policy decisions have been made on what is taxed.

“We heavily tax properties for schools. And that’s a big problem, because there is uneven distribution,” Cascadden said.

He said Meredith is a tough town, because they pay three times the state average for property tax per student. He said the town has excess Statewide Education Property Tax, also known as SWEPT, and at one point, Meredith was a donor town, and is currently part of a coalition against the practice.

“I don’t want to see that either, because I think that is fundamentally wrong,” Cascadden said. “But without property tax, we need to find ways to fund things, and find ways to educate students and pay for it in a way that is more fair.”

Cascadden pointed to struggling districts, like Newfound, in such bad shape they have to close schools.

“We have schools going fiscally under, and some is due to the policies at the state level,” Cascadden said. “I love New Hampshire for no sales tax, but you can’t do that and cut business taxes to the bone.”

He noted New Hampshire funds most of its services from property taxes, user fees and “sin taxes,” and much of the burden has been moved from Concord to local municipalities. He said state leaders need to look at other sources of revenue for funding.

Cascadden said he will never be in favor of an income or sales tax, and that is part of his DNA growing up in the Granite State. Plus, he doesn’t think constituents want them, either.

“We have an older, grey state,” Cascadden said. “There would be implications in that.”

Protecting the environment is another key running point for him, as he is president of the Lake Wicwas Association, and runs the Lake Host program.

“We live in a very touristy area, and we need to make sure we protect those lakes and mountains, and manage them for recreation,” Cascadden said. “That’s our economy. We need to make common sense rules on how to protect these and move forward.”

Representing Meredith

Cascadden loves the town, but admits he still feels like he's getting to know the ins and outs of the community. He is a member of the Meredith Rotary, and has been getting more involved with organizations like the Greater Meredith Program. Cascadden has also attended selectboard meetings, and Town Meeting, in recent months.

He believes the town’s highway department is top tier, saying they do a great job on the roads, with a good amount being gravel and dirt. Cascadden loves the transfer station, praised local leaders, and said residents have quite a lot to be happy about.

“It is a well run town with money to take care of things,” Cascadden said.

He wants the town to be able to continue to do their strong work, while having a representative like him in Concord. Being a centrist, he thinks he can bring “collaboration and cooperation” to the table. He said he has always been able to listen and talk to everyone, whether they lean right or left, or somewhere all along the political spectrum.

Cascadden yearns for civility in politics, and plans to make that a focus, if elected.

“We used to see that in politics down in Concord,” Cascadden said. “Guys a decade ago said they’d fight it out on the floor, but it wasn’t as personal. I want to get back to that, to listen and handle things in a civil way. I think people are sick of the politics of outrage.”