Terri O'Rorke
Candidate for re-election to NH House District 7
About Terri
Terri is a mom, grandma, hairdresser (retired), quilter, author and volunteer.
Terri has recently been endorsed by
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NH Rights & Democracy
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Planned Parenthood - NH
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American Federation of Teachers (AFT) of NH
A Petition on EFAs
-- published August 24 on Substack
The Education Freedom Account, also known as the hated school voucher program, came into existence in 2021 and was aggressively promoted by Free Staters as a “choice” for low-income New Hampshire families who wanted to either send their children to private school or home school them, rather than public schools. It was originally intended for students who were already in public school to make that transition. It was also originally intended for students whose family’s annual income was at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. That cap had been incrementally raised and now, in five short years, has been eliminated altogether. The Children’s Scholarship Fund (based out of New York), is the administrator of the school voucher program. ClassWallet doles out the money to educational providers. This includes homeschools, on-line learning, out-of-district public schools and private/religious schools. And yes, they do draw a paycheck, costing the state an additional $5 million each year. This past Session Democrats attempted to bring accountability to this out-of-control, public education destroying, program. No go, these bills got tabled or voted against. Let’s refresh on what YOUR tax dollars are subsidizing by the voucher system while the Free Staters continue their attack on public education: Your child interested in taking dance lessons, including Irish step? How about learning karate/martial arts? Plenty of businesses to choose from. Perhaps your child is interested in horses, just contact a stable in Alstead, Belmont or Temple. They’ll set your child up. French horn lessons. Piano lessons. Photography school. Child needs driver training? Schools in Enfield, Goffstown, Moultonborough or Rochester. Tutors? Skiing lessons? Gunstock Area Commission received $62,738; Pat’s Peak Ski Area, $4,246; Waterville Valley Ski Area, (Sununus, they’ll take your money) $237. Let’s not forget the Association of Pickleball Players who received $1,510 in voucher money. All happy to do so. Here’s another one with their hand out, The Prickle. Their logo is the Free Stater porcupine. Tells us all we need to know . . . Did you know the Children’s Scholarship Fund has approved 12,500 EFAs (way up from the original 300 of barely five years ago), now totaling over $60,000,000 in state funding? Did you know NH’s Education Trust Fund is a state‑maintained account created by RSA 198:39 to collect specific state revenues and use exclusively for designated education‑related purposes, including school grants, special education aid and certain property tax relief programs. Made a little more challenging now with more and more state revenue sources being outright repealed by the Free Staters. Now for the petition organized by Kathleen Keegan Malsbenden and Stan Duncan seeking financial accountability of this unconstitutional program. The petition will then go to the Governor and members of the NH Legislature. So far, three states, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Colorado have formally ended their public school voucher programs through voter referendums. Let’s add New Hampshire to that list by voting out the Free Staters in Nov.!
To add your name to the petition, click here. And then be sure to share with others.
So who wants to tell him?
--by Terri O'Rorke, published Aug 27 in Substack
The television ads promoting John E. Sununu’s run for the United States Senate have lately, given me pause for thought. These ads are typical “blame game” ones that we’ve all, sadly, become accustomed to over many years. One of them is paid for by “Americans for Prosperity”, a political arm of the Koch family billionaires. “. . .families dig out and pay down credit card debt. Government spending is reined in and inflation cools. Prices cool at the pumps . . .” So, who wants to tell him? Government spending has increased! The federal government spent $7.04 trillion in fiscal year (FY) 2025. This averages about $20,600 per person in the US. Our national debt has risen by $3.8 trillion (T) since Jan. 2025. Prices have cooled at the pumps?? Which pump would that be? “Congress has made all our lives so expensive. Let’s reduce wasteful spending.” So, who wants to tell him? This do-nothing congress (unless it has to do with immigration) has a Republican majority and here’s your “wasteful spending” Congress did nothing about. ~The East Wing at the White House (the People’s House) is demolished. ~The Reflecting Pool is destroyed. ~The regime’s tariffs. ~The regime’s illegal war with Iran. ~The 250th anniversary parade in Washington, DC. ~A boxing cage fight on the White house lawn. ~Wasteful, petty lawsuits. I could go on, but you get the idea of “wasteful spending.” “We need to protect those gains that the President and this Congress has made.” NH Democratic Party on X: “John Sununu believes “we need to protect those gains that the president and this Congress has made,” but Granite Staters are increasingly fed up with Donald Trump’s costly tariffs, expensive war with Iran, and drastic health care cuts. #NHPolitics #NHSen” / X So, who wants to tell him? Any gains would be for the incredibly wealthy only, such as congressional stock trading. Or how about insider trading? (The convicted felon is exempt, of course. A “gain” for him.) Nepotism, anyone? John Sununu’s Senate campaign paid his sister, Catherine Sununu, more than $36,000 in consulting fees. Sununu himself got $15,000. These payments were made between March and June of this year, according to campaign finance reports. The payments to Catherine were coded as “Fundraising Consulting,” while the Sununu payments were labeled as “Reimbursement-See Memo.” What memo? It seems a memo has not been provided. John Sununu put his sister on the campaign payroll Need more? Good for New Hampshire? | DemocracyNH Sununu Campaigns on Affordable Living, Local Control During WKBK Interview - My Keene Now So, who wants to tell him? Republicans have held congressional majorities during the 114th (2015–17), 115th (2017–19) and the current 119th Congress (2025–27), where they control both the House and Senate. Look to your own house first, John.
Terrible things are happening outside
--by Terri O'Rorke, published Aug 16 in Substack
“Terrible things are happening outside. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. . . Everyone is scared.” ~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl Wait. What? Is this a description of what is currently happening all over America, now just recently right here in Keene, New Hampshire? Nope. These were horrific events taking place in 1940’s Netherlands, described by a young Jewish girl kept hidden along with her family in Amsterdam, which was then occupied by the Germans. This genocide became known as the “Holocaust,” Adolf Hitler’s attempt to exterminate an entire race. Genocide: the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. Holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war. During that terrible time in global history, there were people who saw and knew what was happening to their fellow human beings was wrong, evil. These brave folks took action by assisting those being persecuted by hiding them or getting them out of the country, knowing it was not safe for themselves to do so. We have seen such acts of bravery here, in our own country. Human beings assisting fellow human beings, knowing it was not safe for themselves to do so. The Underground Railroad comes to mind. . . Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, human beings were abducted from the African continent by slave ships to be brought to the “New World,” sold as “merchandise,” thus becoming the “property” of their white master. Of course, this was IF they survived crossing the ocean, a harrowing trip which could last anywhere from two to four months. Chained together and tightly packed in belowdecks, many died from malnutrition, murder, suffocation or suicide. An estimated 2.2 million Africans died during these horrific trips. The “Underground Railroad” was created during the early to mid-1800’s and was a system of safe houses and hidden travel routes utilized by Black slaves escaping to free states in the north or to Canada. Other routes went into Mexico, where human bondage had already been abolished. By 1850, it is estimated about 100,000 human beings escaped their life of slavery through the Underground Railroad. Besides John Brown, Levi Coffin and Frederick Douglass, the most famous “conductor” was Harriet Tubman, who was so successful she became known as “Moses,” a name given to her by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. It also led to a $40,000 reward posted for her capture, dead or alive. And we are now seeing similar situations happening here in America. Immigrants to our country, some seeking legal asylum, others on work or school visas are now reduced to living in fear for their lives. Even those who were born here, whose families have lived here for generations, are being targeted. This has all been planned in Project 2025, laid out in the chapter on immigration. This past week in Keene, ICE came in and snatched a young man from Equador. He has a wife, three young children, a job and is here legally. Understandably, there is uncertainty and fear amongst the immigrant community because “Terrible things are happening outside.” NH activists warn of increased ICE activity in state | New Hampshire Public Radio Earlier this year, people spoke up against the proposed ICE detention center in Merrimack and residents in Keene have been peacefully protesting the “disappearing” of valued members of our community. Embarrassingly, as of mid‑2026, NH is the only New England state that has local law enforcement agencies participating in the task force model of ICE’s 287(g) program, authorizing municipal and state police and county sheriffs to carry out certain immigration enforcement duties alongside ICE. While the current regime and Free Staters in the NH legislature have been successful in getting rid of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mandates, it is the bravery of individuals and organized groups who continue to speak up and protect those who seek only safety and opportunity in the United States. Let’s grow that group of people. The following are quotes from Native Americans in response to their land being forcefully taken by white European IMMIGRANTS. “How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right.” Black Hawk, Sauk “Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then you will find that money cannot be eaten.” Cree Indian Prophecy “They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it.” Chief Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota
Federal cuts impact NH residents
-- by Terri O'Rorke, published Aug 8 in Substack
Since being installed back into the Oval Office, the current regime has seen fit to cut one federal agency after another under the guise of “streamlining” the federal government and cutting back on “waste.” A year and a half later, where have those cuts gotten us and the world? US Agency for International Development: (USAID) resulted in HIV clinics in South Africa closing, medical programs in Afghanistan ending, with many worldwide programs addressing preventable diseases and malnutrition ending. This leaves at least 23 million children losing access to education, up to 95 million people losing access to basic healthcare, likely leading to over 3 million preventable deaths annually. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 70% of humanitarian assistance is now gone, worsening food insecurity, displacement, and outbreaks of cholera and Ebola. In Ethiopia’s Gambella refugee camp, half of a clean water project’s budget is now gone. Department of Education: Budget cuts shrink staff, increases class sizes, decreases enrichment programs and limits or cuts supplies for basic operations. How many of us know educators who have to bring in their own basic class room supplies? Here in NH, the Free Staters vote to NOT feed children from low-income households a school lunch. Funding cuts can delay building maintenance, leading to unsafe or unhealthy learning environments. National Science Foundation: Beginning in April 2025, NSF had canceled more than 1,500 grants and contracts, which totaled over $1 billion in research funding. By Nov. 2025, the regime had frozen or stopped over 1,300 NSF grants, amounting to about $700 million in unspent funds. There was a sharp drop in the amount of new grants awarded, from 11,000 in 2024 to roughly 8,800 in 2025. Not surprisingly, areas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), environmental protection and public health initiatives were all targeted. AmeriCorps: (Formerly known as the Corp. for National and Community Service). In April, 2025, nearly $400 million in grants were withdrawn from AmeriCorps grantees, affecting over 1,000 nonprofit and civic organizations that hosted AmeriCorps members and Seniors volunteers www.serviceyearalliance.org. Most federal AmeriCorps staff were placed on administrative leave, others were later terminated and many of the programs were ordered to immediately stop, including the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). This affected 745 active members, ending 80 service projects across 67 sponsor organizations. These are just a few examples, there’s more who experienced cuts; Office of Management and Budget (OMB); Peace Corps; Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During that same time period, there was only one federal agency to increase its workforce by 0.4%. The Dept. of Homeland Security. Surprised? I’m not. So, what impacts have all these cuts to federal agencies (such as the ones listed above) done for New Hampshire residents? As of June 2026, the average household in NH has had to spend $4,400+ more on goods and services under the current regime. According to the Joint Economic Committee: ~NH families spent $1,108 more on housing costs such as rent and mortgage payments. ~ We’ve paid $310 more for groceries in 2025 and are now more than 4% higher. Beef (ground) has risen almost every month to a record high of more than $7 per pound. The price of coffee is now nearly $10 per pound. ~ Due to the illegal war in Iran, gas prices have soared, resulting in people across NH spending $316 million more at the pumps. The average NH family has now spent $596 more on gas. ~Families in NH paid $140 more for electricity in 2025 than they did in 2024, with that number expected to only rise. ~NH families paid $205 more to heat their homes with oil this past March compared to last year. ~ The Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax cuts help people afford their health insurance. But now, due to Republicans’ refusal to extend these monthly premiums, plans rose over 50% on average in 2026 compared to 2025. Meanwhile, deductibles jumped to record highs, increasing by more than $1,000 on average. Add to that the crushing increases in property taxes brought on by the Free Staters who have repealed nearly every source of state revenue in sight in order to make their wet dream of little or no government an unsustainable reality. How do we turn this around? How do we take back our state, our local government, our public schools and libraries? First, identify them (list on 2nd page). Second, vote them OUT on Nov. 3rd! Try as they might to suppress our basic right to vote, we all need to vote or be outvoted! “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
Subterfuge: deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Now we can add, “Beware of Free Staters in Democrat clothing.” There are eight of them running for a House seat and one running for the Senate in the Sept. 8th primary. Ready? Here we go. - Aria Demezzo: Keene’s Ward 5, Cheshire District 3. Founder of the Reformed Satanic Church of Keene, sentenced in 2023 to 18 months in prison for operating a money transmitting business without a license. - C. Riley Blake: Keene’s Ward 4, Cheshire Dist. 4. The “Shire Free Church” is the same address as his home address. The treasurer is Bonnie Freeman, relative(?) of Ian Freeman. - Robert Daniel: Manchester’s Ward 4, Hills. Dist. 24. Responded to the Citizens Count questionnaire. - Derek Verbugge: Manchester’s Ward 5, Hills. Dist. 25. No response to the Citizens Count questionnaire. - Mark Grigoriev: Manchester’s Ward 7, Hills. Dist. 26. No response to the Citizens Count questionnaire. - Josh Holmes: Manchester’s Wards 1, 3, 10, 11 and12. Hills. Dist. 40. No response to the Citizens Count questionnaire. Same person who ran previously as a Republican? You be the judge. - Rebecca Smith: Manchester’s Wards 2, 4, 5 and 7. Hills. Dist. 41. She last ran in 2024 and lost in the primary. No response to the Citizens Count questionnaire. - Gabe Holdren: Pembroke, Merrimack Dist. 12. Home and business addresses are the same. No response to the Citizens Count questionnaire. - Matthew Ping: Manchester, Senate Dist. 20. Ping moved to Manchester in 2012, runs Porcupine Real Estate, the porcupine being the Free Stater mascot and is Treasurer of the NH Blockchain Council (Bitcoin). He has responded to the Citizens Count questionnaire. His wife Brittany, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for the same Senate seat two years ago and is currently running for a seat in the House for Manchester’s Ward 11. There is nothing like a little subterfuge to take a person’s vote away, even in a roundabout manner. Many thanks to Sebastian Fuentes at NH Rights & Democracy for putting this list of “Free Staters in Democrat clothing” together. Now, more than ever, it is critical to know who is looking for your vote. How to identify candidates who support the Free State agenda. “No one would be trying to take your vote away from you with this level of intensity if they didn’t understand how important you vote is, how powerful it makes you.” Joyce Vance, American lawyer and legal analyst
What is “Democratic Socialism”?
-- by Terri O'Rorke, published Jul 31 in Substack
The term “Democratic Socialism” is often accredited to the early 20th-century socialist and political theorist Eduard Bernstein, who sought to bring socialism and democracy together. The term gained importance in the mid-20th century through its use by various political parties and movements in America and Europe by stressing the pursuit of socialist goals through democratic means rather than revolutionary change. A good example is Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, with Social Security, federal housing initiatives and farm supports, other historical examples where government created public systems that stabilizes livelihoods and redistributes risk. Public education and libraries, minimum wage laws, Medicare and Medicaid are also examples of democratic socialism. Your house is on fire, who do you call? The neighborhood bucket brigade or your local fire department? Another example of democratic socialism. Democratic socialists believe in having a substantial social safety net within the confines of democracy. The movement is best explained as a set of policy goals, focusing on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation. Democratic socialism expands opportunities for everyone, such as: Democratic Process – Our multi-party elections, free speech and civil liberties are protected. We, the People choose our leaders. Markets – Markets exist, but when fairness, stability, worker safety and community well-being is in peril, government steps in. (Think Environmental Protection Agency, Transportation Security Administration, Food & Drug Administration, etc. Protected Freedoms – Civil rights and freedoms are protected by law, beginning with The Bill of Rights. The Constitution of the United States. A Fairer, More Equal Society – The goal is to reduce inequality while ensuring basic needs for all (healthcare, education, housing, etc.) With upcoming elections right around the corner, it might be worth a few minutes of your time to meet and ask questions of those who seek your vote. Are you looking for a representative who shares your concerns and values? How to tell? You can find some good suggestions and questions here. Donald Trump recently referred to Democrats as “hard core, godless Communists” at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s 2026 policy conference. This is a values-based response to that comment: Be sure to vote on Sept. 8th and Nov. 3rd!
Impact of Fossil Fuel Industry on NH
--by Terri O'Rorke, published Aug 12 in Substack
Did you know the fossil fuel industry spends approximately $250 million per year lobbying elected officials. A huge majority of this money goes to Republican officials and candidates. Look it up. Did you know the federal government spends up to $35 billion annually on handouts to the fossil fuel industry. These perks include not just special tax breaks, but deductions, cheap access to drilling on public lands and regulatory loopholes. It took less than ten years for that amount to more than double, from $17 million. In the meantime, the planet struggles to survive as some of us wonder how current and future generations themselves will survive? Try as we might to get money out of our politics, we can’t even get climate candidates elected to address this immediate issue! In early 2025 the current regime instructed a half-dozen federal agencies to come up with plans to derail the nation’s offshore wind industry, intensifying their attack on a source of renewable energy. The regime got rid of Pres. Biden’s funding that supported clean energy projects, repealed policy supporting climate-related regulation and put a stop to wind energy developments. In Aug. 2025, the Dept. of Defense stopped signing agreements or communicating with developers, freezing pending projects at differing stages of review. In the meantime, the regime lifted barriers to coal mining, gave two years of regulatory relief to coal-fired power plants and other polluting industries, opening millions of acres of federal lands for mining and dedicating millions of dollars to these coal plants. This, despite the fact that globally, solar and wind power generation outpaced electricity demand in 2025 and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined, generated more power than coal. Wind power grew by 7.7% with solar power experiencing a record 31% growth in the first half of 2025. As of June, 2026, 67% of Americans feel the US should prioritize developing alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, and hydrogen technology. Ninety-three percent say clean energy is important to the country’s energy future, 63% support the goal of the country becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Eighty-three percent of Americans support solar energy, down from 91% in 2013, 70% support wind energy. Here in New Hampshire, we have witnessed time and again proposed legislation by Democrats for wind and/or solar energy, whether it’s to study the benefits of or to advance it’s use with the added benefit of rebates, repeatedly get voted down. The majority Do Not Want Renewables! Last month, the District of Columbia along with 18 states, filed to intervene in a lawsuit against the Dept. of Defense that was originally brought by wind industry companies, claiming the government froze all new wind projects by refusing to conduct routine national security reviews. This shutdown has stopped over 155 onshore wind projects, according to the American Clean Power Association. Added to the lawsuit were the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. Notice one state in particular that’s missing from this list? That’s right! Because the majority in NH Do Not Want Renewables! The planet will not save itself, it’s up to us. We can begin that process by voting in next months primary on Sept. 8th and then again on Nov. 3rd. Let’s elect climate and renewable energy candidate advocates and put a stop to the backward thinking of the majority party, here in NH and in Washington, DC! “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy! What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that!” Thomas Edison Tom knew what he was talking about. . .