Send Elaine Swinford back to Concord to serve all our citizens

To The Daily Sun,

We need a Representative in Concord who will get the job done, not just talk about what should happen. Elaine Swinford will be that Representative.

She has served Barnstead in many capacities over the past 12 years. As vice chair of the Planning Board, Elaine has worked with the Barnstead Development Group to improve the town's commercial tax base by bringing six new businesses to the Barnstead Business Park (the old Timco property) and a solar farm to Barnstead for clean energy. As overseer of Public Welfare in Barnstead, she balances the needs of citizens with the town's budget needs by helping those who receive services to get back on their feet. Elaine is available 24 hours a day to any resident who needs help.

In order to provide a food pantry in town, Elaine created the thrift shop to minimize the financial impact on the town budget. Each year Elaine has been able to return a significant portion of the welfare budget to the town through her efforts to reduce expenses.

We need a Representative in Concord who understands all citizens and all their issues. As a state representative for Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, and Gilford, Elaine only missed two sessions in four years. When a tough decision needs to be made, Elaine has demonstrated that she will make it, and take the time to understand the big picture and its impact on all citizens, not just favoring a select few or a single industry.

As chairman of Criminal Justice and Public Safety, she demonstrated the need to understand the total impact on budgets when voting rather than just cutting dollars without understanding the unintended consequences. Elaine is respected for her active leadership role in the House where she worked to unify all House Republicans around major bills and issues.

We need a Representative in Concord who is accessible and who makes the effort to meet frequently with every town that he or she represents. In Barnstead, we have not had that representation for the past two years from the tri-town representative. Elaine will actively meet with citizens of all the towns whom she represents. She will represent the interests of all citizens and businesses in those towns, not just those that would serve her own interests.

We need a Representative for Barnstead, Alton, and Gilmanton with a proven track record of serving all of our citizens. Elaine Swinford has proven her dedication in her volunteerism in Barnstead over the past 12 years as well as in Concord for four years as a Representative. I urge you to vote for someone with a proven track record and send Elaine Swinford back to Concord as the Representative from Alton, Gilmanton, and Barnstead.

Jan Face Glassman

Center Barnstead