David Nagel: Events at Gunstock represent the tip of a legislative iceberg that needs to change

To The Daily Sun,

I have chosen to seek election to represent Belknap County District 6 in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

To learn more about my priorities for New Hampshire, please review my website drnagelfornh.com.

It has been my honor to serve our community locally, regionally, and nationally. In my roles as physician, policy maker, author, volunteer, and benefactor, I have served the needs of the stigmatized, particularly those who suffer from pain, addiction, and mental health disorders. My book "Needless Suffering" has been described as a blueprint for public policy in creating a balance between the public health crises these disorders create. I have created a number of advocacy groups locally and nationally to advance these causes and have co-authored creative, first-in-the-nation legislation to empower those who suffer and their families.

In all I do, I believe my role is to bring people together. While I endorse Republican beliefs of responsibility, hard work, self-sufficiency, fiscal responsibility, family integrity, mentorship, faith, and charity, I also believe that the complex social problems we face require complex solutions that can only be achieved through thoughtful discussion. All opinions have value and should be respected.

I am proud that in my advocacy and legislative work I have been able to function in a bipartisan manner, and I am proud that in my endeavor to serve as your representative, I have bipartisan support.

It is my concern that partisan politics has created an adversarial environment in Concord that unnecessarily divides us and has the potential to harm those most vulnerable. The recent events relating to Gunstock Mountain Resort represent the tip of a legislative iceberg that needs to change, and I intend to be a part of that change.

I ask your support in helping me return sensibility to Concord.

David Nagel

Gilmanton