My votes will go to Joel Mudgett and Susan Price

To The Daily Sun,

Well, it’s that time again. We are called on annually to elect those people who will guide our town administration to the best directions in a variety of business, policy and financial decisions. We expect full transparency. This year we have a number of candidates to fill two seats.

With one seat retiring and an incumbent asking for another term, we are left with a few choices. We need to thank Russ for his many years of sitting on the BoS. We hope he enjoys his time off with less stress and quiet evenings free.

Here are my thought processes. First, we are in need of select board members who are reasonable decision-makers with the information they are given, have sufficient experience in such matters as town management and policymaking. Secondly, they need a balanced judgment that they can communicate to the taxpayers and residents of Moultonborough. A little frugality wouldn’t hurt, either.

Joel Mudgett is experienced and has, as member and chair, developed the qualities needed for the job. I have not always agreed with Joel but I have great respect for his demeanor and the respect he has shown to the electorate. He gets my vote.

Jim Gray has served several terms. Rarely has he shown enough “fire in the belly” to speak up for or against an issue. And that is not meant to slight or to offend. I have many times not spoken up to an issue I had opinions about, but not strong enough and regretted not doing so. As a BoS member, we need members to speak to both sides of an issue.

Susan Price, in her LTE in the Laconia Daily Sun, showed that she was a decision-maker, has “extensive experience managing contractors” and has served on an advisory budget committee and water-sewer committee. She has also served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. All are very good qualifications and great experience. But, most importantly, she stated that she is “concerned that we have many residents that see our ‘property-rich town’ driven by second homes on the lake, as a proxy for wealth of our year-round residents” when in reality Moultonborough’s “year-round resident median income is 8% less than the statewide median income.” An issue I have spoken about many times. She gets my vote.

Shari Colby has a vision for our “tiny community”… “Growing our small downtown into a thriving hub”. Really? One of the benefits of Moultonborough’s small downtown is that we have a vibrant business area more central to and invasive of the Center Harbor area (but within Moultonborough’s taxation area) than the quaint and quiet downtown of Moultonborough. Lots of dreamy plans for us but not a lot of experience.

So with all that said, my votes for BoS in Moultonborough will be Joel Mudgett (proven past) and Susan Price (experience and empathy for the year-round resident). Both are good options.

Rick Heath

Moultonborough