Monadnock Votes!
A community site for voters in northern Monadnock towns:
Alstead, Gilsum, Harrisville, Keene Ward 2, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson, Roxbury, Stoddard and Sullivan
Latest local news & commentary
2026 NH Energy Summit
Lucius Parshall (third from left above) candidate for State Rep, Cheshire County District 16, at the 2026 New Hampshire Energy Summit, September 28, in Concord
NH's use of nuclear power
-- Lucius Parshall, Oct 3, email
2026 New Hampshire Energy Summit brought together policymakers, industry executives, and stakeholders to analyze the state’s changing power landscape. Hosted by The Dupont Group, the event served as a critical platform for addressing the dual challenges of grid modernization and consumer affordability.
The first topic on the agenda was incorporating Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) into New Hampshire’s energy mix,. While proponents highlight its potential for 24/7 carbon-free power, nuclear development remains highly capital-intensive, carrying severe risks of regulatory gridlock, safety concerns, and steep cost overruns.
With most of the room in agreement that we would not see full-scale SMR deployment until at least 2045, it became clear that advanced nuclear is not a near-term fix. We simply cannot afford another two decades of out-of-control energy costs while waiting for unproven commercial rollouts. The summit ultimately underscored this urgent need for sola and wind innovation. To secure New Hampshire’s energy future, regional leaders must focus on immediate, scalable solutions—like battery storage and community power—rather than pinning long-term financial stability on a distant nuclear horizon.
See also Lucius's post Protecting citizens from untried energy solutions
Ward's retirement sets up Senate District 8
Jim Creighton, left and David Trumble, cnadidates for Senate District 8
Opposing views on key issues
--Rick Green, Oct 2, The Keene Sentinel
Ballot question:
Creighton supports a cap on school taxes to bring down the costs of public education. Trumble opposes the cap, saying that the state should bring down local school taxes by paying its fair share.
State revenue:
Creighton says that low business taxes bring more businesses to NH. Trumble says that low business taxes means no state support for education or services.
Education Freedom Accounts:
Last year, Creighton supported the bill mandating that families at all income levels could receive state support for sending their children to private schools. Trumble does not support the use of taxpayers' dollars to pay for private education.
Affordable housing:
Trumble laments that the Legislature cut funding to two programs intended to spur the development of new housing units. Creighton says that more houses would be built if the approval process for residential construction were simplified.
See the full article here:
Latest state-wide news & commentary:
Ballot question on school funding
Ballot question: messaging guidance
--Jason Madden Oct 1, email
Jason Madden is the caucus director for the NH House Democrats. His guidance reflects electoral research and input from stakeholder groups who participated in the recent legal action to try to stop this ballot question.
Here is his advice for talking about Ballot Question 2:
Do
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Connect voting “No” to protecting public education and supporting our students and schools.
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Communicate examples of what could be cut, including bus routes, CTE programming, extracurriculars, or arts and music courses
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Provide indicators to who is on each side of the issue.
Don''t
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Don't call it a "tax cap". Many voters support lower taxes. Call it "Question 2."
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Don't say "this takes away local control." Say "we want to decide how to invest in our schools."
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Don't bring up the cap on administrative spending. It's too confusing.
Terri O'Rorke: HB1300
--Terri O'Rorke, Sep 27, Substack
This referendum is nothing more than a devious attempt to unconstitutionally sidestep the legislative and electoral process, after almost all school districts, with budget cap proposals on their warrants this spring and last year, saw them fail. Precedent was also set when, in 1999, the NH Supreme Court found a similar question amounted to an unconstitutional delegation of power by the Legislature. What the majority party does NOT tell us is, in order to reduce our burdensome property taxes the state needs to increase its court ordered share of school funding.
Another step taken in the unconstitutional direction by Free Staters.
Read the full article here.
Steve Marchand: Ballot Question 2, part 2
--Steve Marchand, Sep 30, Substack
Republicans put HB1300 on the ballot to "juice up" Republican turnout and to be able to say "we did something about property taxes."
In this article, Steve Marchand describes the background reason why Republicans put HB1300 on the ballot. Although the top issue that concerns NH voters is affordable housing, many voters, including the voters most likely to decide the results of the 2026 election, are upset about how high property taxes are.
Read the full article here.
You can read part 1 of Steve's explanation of Question 2, here..
Latest state-wide news & commentary:
Other news
As winter nears, heating oil prices loom
--Abigail Ham Sep 25, The Keene Sentinel
Many Granite Staters may feel a chill from their heating bills as well as from the weather this winter.
With home heating oil prices up about 63 percent over this time last year, filling the tank may be a bigger financial hit than people are used to — or not possible at all.
According to data from Sept. 16, the average price for a gallon of residential heating oil in southwestern New Hampshire was $5.70. To fill a 200-gallon tank, that’s about $1,140. Do that three times in a winter, and that’s a $3,420 bill.
A year ago, that same bill would have been about $2,100.
Read the full article here.
Business and Industry Association Ranks Lawmakers for the 2026 Session; Political Winds Shifting
--Garry Rayno Sep 30, InDepthNH.org
The Business and Industry Association’s annual legislative report and legislative rankings is an indication of how much the political landscape has changed in Concord.
In the report on the completed 2026 session, Democrats voted far more favorably than Republicans on bills the organization selected as key to their agenda.
Of the 12 House members who voted 100 percent with the BIA, only one was a Republican, the rest were Democrats
Read the full article here.
Latest action alerts
Sen. Raphael Warnock, Cinde Warmington, Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas in Swanzey, Tuesday, Oct 6 5:15 pm
Join us and meet the candidates at the grand opening of the Organize NH office at 140 Monadnock Hwy in Swanzey.
Meet & Greet Candidates in Stoddard on October 16
The Stoddard Dems are hosting a Meet the Candidates event at the Stoddard Town Hall on October 16 starting at 7:00 pm.
Jim Gruber, candidate for NH House CC District 9, Lucius Parshall, candidate for NH House CC District 16, and David Trumble, candidate for NH Senate District 8 will be there.
No Kings Keene October 17
Because the Pumpkin Festival will be in Central Square on October 17, the Keene No Kings rally will be held at the Redfern Pedestrian Bridge, Rt. 101 and Ashuelot Rail Trail, 3-5:00pm.
No Kings Walpole Saturday, October 17
Join us at Jouvay Chocolate, 8 Huntington Lane, across from Dunkin Donuts on Hwy 12, 3:00 - 4:30 pm. Bring a sign and a chair!
Walpole Election Update Thursday, Nov 12
Join State Reps. Nick Germana and Lucy Weber at the Walpole Town Library
Volunteer to write postcards
David Trumble, candidate for NH Senate District 8, has an ongoing postcard campaign. If you can help, contact David at trumble4nh@gmail.com.
Yard signs
GraniteState.org has NH is Not Your Free State Project signs as well as NH Voters Guide signs. Scroll down the home page to see size options and to request them. Contact Jane Thickstun at cheshirecountydems@gmail.com for yard signs for other candidates.
Volunteer for phone banking at home on your own schedule
Please join the Cheshire County Democrats team in Phone banking for Pappas, Warmington and Down Ballot Candidates. To do phone banking, join us once for 10 minutes on Zoom so we can show you the process and the script. You can make calls on your own time after that.
We meet every Tuesdays from 5-7pm,
Zoom Link for Phone-banking:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85756834452?pwd=TxTnQLvB9naf1Asb0p07pGccEkGflb.1
Meeting ID: 857 5683 4452
Passcode: 571750
Volunteer for canvassing with Organize NH
