Announcing the Launch of Citizens for Carroll County

Over the last 10 years, the citizens of New Hampshire have been asleep at the switch while an influx of libertarians and Free-Staters came to the Granite State. This minority of extremists now has an oversized influence over our politics. They have been elected to school boards, county commissions, and the state legislature.

They have espoused a philosophy of minimal state government, self-reliance, and free markets.  You may recall that libertarians cut the school budget in half in Croydon and tried to end state control of Gunstock Mountain, a beloved ski and recreation area.  They came close to shutting it down altogether.

Citizens for Belknap County was founded as a result of the Gunstock recreation area debacle to remove extremists from office. This nonpartisan group removed extremist legislators from their county delegation and blocked several more from gaining seats in the NH Legislature. They did this through a nonpartisan effort to elect moderate legislators regardless of party affiliation.

Inspired by this movement, a group in Carroll County organized Citizens for Carroll County, a nonpartisan group that aims to elect moderate Democrats, Republicans, and independents to office.  The group aims to educate voters about the voting records and platforms of those running for state and county government in Carroll County. As in Belknap County, a voter’s guide will be developed towards this goal. 

The idea for forming this group emerged as there were strong parallels between Carroll and Belknap Counties regarding governance.  Our county commissioners severely damaged our county nursing home, Mountain View Community. They sold a historic courthouse to a charter school with ties to a religious school, Hillsdale Academy, for the grand price of $1. 

The nursing home’s rating plummeted to one out of five after the notification of COVID protocol violations; a fine of over $100,000 was levied. Both the commissioners and the majority of the delegation (comprised of NH State Reps) shrugged their shoulders. One of the commissioners had the audacity to suggest that the COVID violation was the result of a bad decision by a third-shift nurse. 

These are a few of the many reasons that Citizens for Carroll County is being launched. With the filing season for commissioners and state representatives now closed, voters will be presented with a slate of moderate candidates. These individuals will provide a contrast to extremist state representatives and county commissioners who have failed to protect our county assets.

Many of the incumbent state representatives have voting records aligned with extremism.  This includes support for the wildly overbudget Education Freedom Accounts, which drain money from our public schools, attacks on voting rights, and block clean energy legislation. They have also failed to recognize that abortion rights cannot be separated from women’s healthcare, which may include severe underlying or untreated health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperthyroidism during pregnancy. There are also situations invol

We are seeking citizens who are weary of party politics and incompetence in county government to join our movement. Citizens for Carroll County will focus on identifying moderates and extremists running for office at the county and state levels.  We will not endorse any of the candidates but will provide data to demonstrate which candidates running for office can be characterized as extremists. This will be based on voting records and policy statements.  

We are looking for volunteers to assist with many aspects of this campaign, including researching candidates' voting records and positions on key issues, organizing events, writing letters to the editor, and developing our voter’s guide.  We will welcome donations from members of the public who are sick of bipartisan politics. Donations cannot be used to support or campaign against any given candidate, but to enable us to conduct research and distribute the voter’s guide.

Those interested in our movement can visit us at www.citizensforcarrollcounty.org, or email us at info@citizensforcarrollcounty.org.

If you wish to donate to this non-profit, non-partisan PAC, you can do so now:  https://www.citizensforcarrollcounty.org/donate