Jeanie Forrester

To the editor,

My name is Jeanie Forrester and I am a small business owner from Meredith running for State Senate in District 2. I have never run for political office before and set out to make meeting voters and community leaders one-on-one the cornerstone of my grassroots campaign.

As part of that effort, I met with each and every one of the 31 selectboards in State Senate District 2. From Meredith to Monroe, Canaan to Campton, Orange to Orford and all the communities in between. It has been an informative experience to discuss current fiscal and regulatory challenges with local selectmen.

The concerns and frustrations shared with me were the same: state government is spending too much and using our towns as dumping grounds — shifting state costs onto the backs of local property taxpayers. Concord is simply hurting our communities, taxpayers and job creation.

It is clear to me that the state needs to start taking its cues from these local government leaders, who, when in hard economic times and faced with less revenue, make the tough decisions, prioritize spending and find ways to do more (or the same) with less. State government should too.

Many thanks to the selectmen from across the district for their service and for sharing their time and ideas with me. I believe that we can find ways to reduce spending, rein in regulation and make New Hampshire a pro-business place of economic prosperity.

Jeanie Forrester

Meredith