Granite State Taxpayers has surveyed candidates for their positions on topics of interest to taxpayers.
Notices for the survey were mailed to 21 primary candidates for Governor or the Executive Council.
The survey results include 7 responses received by mail or on-line by August 23, 2018.
All candidates (House, Senate, Gov., Council) were asked to answer the following 12 questions:
Will you oppose any income or sales tax, or any increase in the overall tax burden in New Hampshire?
Will you support decreasing state spending or at least preventing any increase in state spending?
Will you support limiting voting to persons who have been New Hampshire residents for at least 30 days?
Will you support using the same residency standard for all NH services that require residency?
Do you believe that state public school funding should be set by the legislature and not by the courts?
Do you support additional school choice options?
Will you support passing Right-to-Work legislation?
Will you support reducing business taxes and regulations to encourage economic development and business retention?
Will you support pension reforms for government employees including a transition from defined-benefit to defined-contribution plans?
Will you vote to terminate expanded Medicaid if the Federal contribution is cut?
Will you oppose casino gambling?
Will you support actions that decrease electricity rates, and oppose any actions that will increase them?
Governor and Executive Council candidates are asked to answer the following 7 additional questions:
Do you believe the actions of the Governor and the Executive Council must have a substantial influence on controlling State spending?
Will you oppose increasing the toll rates on NH turnpikes?
Will you support only Public Utilities and Environmental Services commissioner nominees who will roll back RGGI?
Would you support only a nominee for AG who will diligently investigate potential voter fraud issues?
Will you support only judicial nominees who will uphold the NH Constitution as written and in accordance with its original intent?
Do you believe that the Governor and Executive Counselors are entitled to complete information as to the need and purpose of particular contracts and those questions and answers should be aired in public?
Will you support only those nominees for the State Board of Education and Commissioner who will promote citizen choice in Education, such as homeschooling, educational tax abatements, and charter schools?
The candidate score is the percentage of their “Yes” responses to the above questions.
Candidates were asked to answer all 19 questions to discern their values and governing philosophy.
The first 12 are the same questions asked of House and Senate candidates.
The last 7 questions covered specific issues within the purview of the Council.
One candidate elected not to answer the first 13 questions as not pertinent to the Council
Two scores are shown: one on answers to all 19 questions, a second on answers to 7 EC questions.
To review the GST ranking of NH Governor and Executive Council candidates, please click:
2018 Gov/EC Survey.
To download a read-only spreadsheet with survey data and candidate answers and comments, click:
2018 Gov/EC Survey Spreadsheet
The survey also asked the candidate’s position about the ATR Pledge.
Would you agree to take the ATR Pledge: “I will oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”?
Granite State Taxpayers is New Hampshire’s oldest statewide taxpayer association.
Founded in 1990 by former Governor Mel Thomson and former State Senator George Lovejoy, our mission is to inform, educate and motivate New Hampshire taxpayers and to influence the legislature on their behalf.