Sean M. Lewis

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire ban abortion after 20 weeks gestation, with exceptions for cases of rape/incest and health complications?

"I oppose a ban on abortion after 20 weeks gestation, even with exceptions for cases of rape/incest and health complications."

Project Vote Smart Survey, 2018

"Abortion can a difficult decision made worse if it is the result of a sexual assault. Regardless of an individual's reasons, I don't believe that the state has the right to tell a woman what she may or may not do with her own body. I don't believe that the state has the right to tell a doctor what they may or may not discuss with a patient. With regards to public funding, often such organizations provide a variety of women's health options in regions where medical care isn't often available here in NH."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH pursue expanded commuter rail?

"I support expanded commuter rail."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH limit terms for elected officials?

"I support term limits for New Hampshire elected officials."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH increase funding for heroin treatment programs?

"I support increased funding for heroin treatment programs."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH add an income tax on earned income?

"I oppose New Hampshire adding an income tax on earned income."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?

"I oppose New Hampshire adding a broad-based sales tax."

Project Vote Smart Survey, 2018

"The majority of taxes raised in this state comes from two sources: property tax and business profit/enterprise tax. We have cut our business profits tax rate twice over the past two years and it will continue to fall over the course of the next several years. We have done this on the hope that businesses will relocate or expand here in NH but it is ultimately trickle down economics on a state level. Property-rich communities like New Castle will continue to thrive while poor communities like Franklin will struggle and cut services as the state continues to withhold support."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH legalize the recreational use of marijuana?

"I support marijuana legalization."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Was New Hampshire right to continue expanded Medicaid eligibility, using the traditional Medicaid system of managed care instead of private insurance?

"I support expanded Medicaid eligibility, using the traditional Medicaid system of managed care instead of private insurance."

Project Vote Smart Survey, 2018

"Yes"

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH do more to enforce federal immigration laws?

"I am undecided on this issue."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire increase subsidies and tax credits for business investment?

"New Hampshire should not increase subsidies and tax credits for business investment."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Is police brutality an issue in NH?

"I don't think that police brutality is an issue here in New Hampshire as we see it reported in national media but we can't act as though we are immune to it ever finding it's way into our community. Taking steps to limit both the appearance and opportunity for police overreach is imperative and I think the Salem PD does a very fine job with the resources at their disposal. I am against requiring body cameras at a state level not because they can't be a useful tool but because they are financially prohibitive. Individual body cameras run tens of thousands of dollars and that's before you begin dealing with the computer/media storage requirements to keep thousands of hours of video available for review for a period of three years or more. Salem is not a cash-poor town but it would be near impossible to handle such a mandate. This is an issue that is best left to individual towns to implement assuming they have both the need and the finances to accommodate. As for military equipment - this goes back to the gun restriction issue. The broader the definition of permissible firearms, the more the police have to take steps to protect themselves and the larger community. While I don't like the idea of surplus military gear ending up in a town's police department, I acknowledge that it is sometimes necessary to have these resources in order to face the constantly changing threats that law enforcement faces."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire continue to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which requires utilities to purchase allowances for every ton of carbon they emit?

"I support New Hampshire's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire maintain the renewable portfolio standard, which requires public utilities in New Hampshire to obtain a certain percentage of electricity from renewable energy sources (25% by 2025)?

"I support the renewable portfolio standard in New Hampshire."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire government do more to increase the supply of affordable housing?

"New Hampshire government should do more to increase the supply of affordable housing."

Candidate's Facebook Page, 2016

"Political action by the community reaps benefits in today's Executive Council vote on restoring funding to Planned Parenthood!"

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH continue to administer statewide standards-based student assessments?

"We need to distinguish between two main issues: 1) What do we want to do? 2) What are we mandated to do by federal law? Under George W. Bush's 'No Child Left Behind' act, we are mandated to teach and test in the manner we now do. That's why we do it - not because we like it. What we should do is completely overhaul our national standards to focus on growth rather than proficiency. We should use proficiency tests to measure growth rather than determine success and, worse, use that testing as a requirement for graduation. The current top-down approach to teaching and testing is a disservice to students and teachers alike. However, I think it's important to use some form of statewide testing to help administrators, state officials, and teachers form a baseline opinion of where NH's education system is as a whole, where our students are performing relative to where we think they should be, but ultimately we need to put more control in the hands of our superintendents, principals, teachers, and parents. No politician can know a student better than those who teach them."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?

"Before we discuss restrictions we should point out that by and large New Hampshire doesn't suffer from the gun violence rates that other states do such as New York. There is a history to gun ownership in NH that I think leads to a largely responsible, gun-literate population. However, we are not immune to gun-related crime nor do we accept our role in the trafficking of guns across state borders. States like Massachusetts have far stricter gun sale laws and so New Hampshire runs the risk of being the source of firearms sold and then traded or trafficked across state lines to bad actors. Since Salem is a border community to Methuen and Lawrence, we run the risk of dealing with those same bad actors, and same weapons, when they cross the border to commit a crime or deal drugs (both of which are on the rise in this community). Having said all of the above, we need to first identify areas of concern. The three areas where I think legal restrictions on firearms can do the most good for Salem are as follows: ITEM 1: The repeal of 'Constitutional Carry' or concealed weapons without a license. ITEM 2: Requiring background checks on all persons looking to purchase a firearm. ITEM 3: Requiring that all firearms transactions be carried out or brokered by a federally licensed firearms dealer. ITEM 1: In NH we had a system where local police approved the requests for concealed carry permits with an approval rate of over 90%. By and large, those who wished to own firearms, specifically pistols, and carry them on their person were able to do so. By repealing this pro-forma licensure process we have now created an environment hostile to police and our community. COMMUNITY MEMBERS can no longer assume that those who do carry concealed weapons were first approved by local police officials. POLICE OFFICERS - and specifically patrol officers - must now approach every interaction, every driver they pull over, and every call for service with even greater caution as police records will no longer display whether or not an individual has a concealed carry permit. As someone who lives in a border community alongside Massachusetts towns like Methuen and Lawrence, the prevalence of registered and unregistered weapons is high and police often find themselves in highly dangerous. There is no common sense reason to remove a rule that served as a last-ditch safety mechanism for law enforcement in their efforts to safeguard the town of Salem. ITEM 2: The instant background check rule that many have sought, like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence founded by Ronald Reagan's former press secretary James Brady, has been shown by non-partisan studies to help reduce violent gun crime and suicide. Of all suicide attempts in the United States, roughly half involve a firearm and of those a whopping 85% are, unfortunately, successful. And though violent gun crime has fallen since the early 1990's from a rate of 1.2 million incidents of firearm violence with over 1.5 million victims to approx. 400 thousand firearm incidents with over 450 thousand victims as of 2011, background checks can lead to a reduction in our already declining violent gun crime rates. For more information please see the RAND Corporation and the National Institute of Justice (a US government organization designed to foster science-based criminal justice practices). ITEM 3: Lastly, I favor closing the gun show 'loophole' and similarly unregistered firearms sales by requiring that all sales be brokered by a federally license dealer. Under current law, it is required that all private sales be registered but that is at the discretion of the seller themselves. Please note that by discretion I'm not saying there is an option to not report but that the seller must then take it upon him/herself to actually fill out the required forms and submit them post-sale. Having a federally licensed firearms dealer act as the broker for any private sales and immediately recording that sale will help late enforcement track the path of any weapon(s) used in the commission of a crime. It can also help identify individuals who perhaps should not own a weapon (here I am thinking of red flag laws that would ID individuals with mental health issues and pose a risk to themselves or others - as well as people with multiple domestic abuse allegations, for example). Once again, law enforcement in Salem often has to deal with bad actors from across the state border who come to NH to purchase weapons, deal drugs, etc and I support any tool that will help law enforcement protect our community and prevent weapons from falling into the hands of criminals."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should New Hampshire allocate tax revenues for private and home schooling costs?

"I oppose allocating tax revenues for private and/or home schooling costs."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2018

Should NH impose strict residency requirements on registering to vote?

"Since this survey doesn't define 'strict' residency requirements, allow me. Since NH doesn't allow early voting - which it should - and instead prides itself on the ability to register and vote on the same day, then we need to accept that certain groups (college students,a low income voters, the elderly) may not have all the necessary paperwork being required by recently passed voter eligibility laws. In return for allowing people to register and vote day-of (or more accurately, for refusing to participate in early voting efforts despite the fact that they could boost our already higher-than-the-national-average voting participation rates) we should be prepared to deal with out of state licenses, non-photo ID, and unregistered voters having to fill out affidavits testifying to their residency without the hassle of having to return to Town Hall to produce ID, being forced to immediately register an out of state vehicle, or paying for a new in-state form of ID when they have a perfectly valid out of state ID. Voting should be the easiest thing any American ever does The continued focus on the idea of voter fraud, where none exists, is the biggest threat to voter security that we currently face because we are undermining the faith we have in our own system of government. And just in case people think I am advocating for or turning a blind eye to voter fraud, read this report from the Brennan Center for Justice (a part of the NYU School of Law) where it debunks years of voter fraud conspiracies: https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/Briefing_Me...."