Take a look at Carla Horne's 'interests & activities' on Facebook

To the editor,

Meredith has been very lucky to have Colette Worseman as both our state representative in Concord and the chair of our Board of Selectman. Having such a fiscally conservative business person in both of these positions has given Meredith a unique advantage that few other towns in New Hampshire can claim. She advocates for Meredith at every turn and is often the sole voice of reason among casts of professional politicians, lobbyists, and special interests. Through it all, her dedication to the taxpayers and the local businesses that employ us is unwavering.

Those of us who closely watch the goings on in our state and local governments know what an asset Colette has truly been for the people of this town and how much she has done to maintain the quality of life in Meredith while keeping spending and waste in check… how much she has done to help our employers stay in business. Nobody knows how high our taxes would be if not for her tireless efforts and unwavering loyalty to the taxpayers. And no one knows how much of those taxes would be going to waste on nonsense if not for her oversight… how many more of our local businesses would have given up over the past couple of years and how many more local jobs would have been lost if not for Colette’s efforts.

Carla Horne sounds like a wonderful person, and we are lucky to have her as a neighbor, but in these tough times, we cannot be taking risks on less qualified or less seasoned candidates, just because we like them personally. Besides, I have a big problem with many of the extremely liberal positions she has expressed over the years (If Meredith’s small businesses can’t afford a tax increase, they shouldn’t be in business?), and with many of the controversial entities that she associates with. For example, the “Interests and Activities” listed in her Facebook page include such extremely left-leaning groups and people as Left Action, Barney Frank, Blue Hampshire Blog, Americans Against the Tea Party, The Other 98%, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, People Against Glen Beck, You Can’t Have A Tea Party Without Fruitcakes and Nuts, Huffington Post Politics, Rosie O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Vote Out Anti-Equality Legislators, Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Annie Kuster, Michelle Obama, Woman’s Campaign Forum, Carol Shea Porter, Emily’s List, and many other such entities. While the names of these few of the many she such groups she associates herself with may sound rather harmless, visiting the sites she apparently frequents left me feeling that she might be a better candidate for the San Francisco Selectboard. As a relatively conservative guy struggling in this economy, how can I expect a person with such a left lean to possibly represent my interests fairly… no matter how nice she is?

While there are many things broke in N.H. politics these days, Colette Worseman ain’t one of them. And when it ain’t broke, there is no need to fix it. We need to not just get ourselves down to vote for her next week, but to re-elect her to the Selectboard with such an overwhelming majority that it tells the others on the board just what we expect of them. We need to send a message to all those who would seek such a position that this is the type of public servant they should aim to be.

Frank Marino

Meredith