November 5, 2024 Voter’s Guide
Candidate information for residents of Nottingham & Northwood New Hampshire.
Voting will take place between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Nottingham votes at Nottingham School, 245 Stage Road. Northwood votes at Northwood School, 500 1st NH Turnpike.
The Nottingham Blog’s voter’s guide focuses on local elections for which there is little or no media coverage. If you’re undecided about the races for President, Governor, or House of Representatives, I recommend I Side With. On this website you answer questions about your political positions. The website compares your answers with those of the candidates and then shows you how well the candidates represent your views.
This voters guide is based on the candidates’ responses to the CitizensCount.org questionnaire, and where that’s not available, on the candidate’s websites.
Executive Council
Jim O'Connell (D) website - Facebook - X.com
John Stephen (R) website
Neither candidate filled out the Citizens Count questionnaire. Neither lists issues on their websites. I suggest visiting both websites to compare their statements about themselves. Learn more about what the Executive Council does.
State Senate
Howard Pearl (R) incumbent - website - voting record
Kelly Roberts (D) - website
Neither candidate filled out the Citizens Count questionnaire. Here’s a summary of the top issues the candidates discuss on their websites.
Opposes a state income or sales tax
Work to lower property taxes
Protection of speech and gun rights
Support law enforcement
Addressing the housing shortage
Expanding voting rights
Modernize voting equipment
Voter education and outreach, particularly targeting underrepresented communities and young voters
Ensuring access to abortion.
NH House of Representatives
Nottingham and Northwood residents will elect three representatives to the NH House. Two incumbents are running:
The other candidates are:
Scot Bryer (R )
The candidates’ responses to the Citizens Count questionnaire show major differences among them. On only two issues do the candidates all align by party.
Taxes
Tudor, Bryer, Guzofski, and Rafter are opposed to instituting a state sales tax. Sanderson is undecided. Fyfe is in favor of creating a sales tax on luxury goods.
Fyfe is in favor of instituting a state capital gains tax. Tudor, Guzofski, and Bryer are opposed. Sanderson and Rafter are undecided.
Bryer and Guzofski are in favor of decreasing business taxes. Rafter is opposed. Fyfe and Sanders are undecided.
Education
Tudor and Guzofski are in favor of continuing the state’s current system of public school funding in which about two-thirds of total funding comes from local property taxes. Rafter, Fyfe, and Sanderson are opposed to this system. Bryer is undecided.
Tudor, Bryer, and Guzofski are in favor of Education Freedom Accounts. This program gives students access to the per-pupil share of state school funding to spend on private school or home-school expenses. Rafter, Fyfe, and Sanderson are opposed.
Immigration Enforcement
Tudor, Bryer, and Guzofski are in favor of requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Rafter, Fyfe, and Sanderson are opposed.
Voting
Tudor, Sanderson, Fyfe, and Bryer are in favor of conditional affidavit ballots for new voters (new law established in 2022). Rafter and Guzofski are opposed.
Abortion
All candidates except Guzofski are opposed to banning abortions in the first and second trimesters. Guzofski is in favor of banning abortion.
Fyfe is in favor of repealing the ban on abortion after 24 weeks. Tudor, Bryer, and Guzofski are opposed. Rafter and Sanderson are undecided.
Zoning Changes to Encourage More Housing
Bryer, Rafter, Sanderson, and Fyfe are in favor of encouraging changes to local zoning laws so that more housing can be built. Tudor and Guzofski are opposed.
Marijuana Legalization
Guzofski is opposed to legalization. All of the other candidates are in favor of legalization.
Of the possible distribution systems - state-run stores, private sales, home-growing only - all systems are acceptable to those in favor of legalization, except Bryer is opposed to state-run stores.
Climate and Energy
Rafter, Fyfe, and Sanderson are for additional state legislation to address global warming. Guzofski is opposed. Tudor and Bryer are undecided.
Rafter and Fyfe are in favor of legislation that would expand net metering for onsite electrical generation (e.g. solar). All other candidates are undecided.
Minimum Wage
Rafter, Fyfe, and Sanderson are in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Tudor and Guzofski are opposed. Bryer is undecided.
Interstate Travel Protections for Controversial Procedures
Rafter and Fyfe are in favor of adding legal protections for residents of other states who travel to NH for health care related to abortion or gender transition. Tudor and Guzofski are opposed. Bryer and Sanderson are undecided.
Gun Control
Fyfe is in favor of stricter gun control laws. Tudor, Bryer, and Guzofski are opposed. Rafter and Sanderson are undecided.
Increasing Funding for Childcare Providers
All of the candidates except Tudor are in favor of having the state increase the funding it provides to childcare providers. Tudor is opposed.
County Commissioner
Thomas Tombarello (R) website
William Tappan (D)
I was unable to find online information about Tappan.
Thanks very much for the link to "I Side With" site. Great questions with surprising results to me!