Tom St. Martin

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH pursue expanded commuter rail?

"FOR: Further study, particularly how smart cars and smart trucks will impact mass transit."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH limit terms for elected officials?

"I support term limits for NH elected officials."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH increase funding for heroin treatment programs?

"Subject to expert recommendations and analysis, with plans to track success ( or failure)."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH add an income tax on earned income?

"I oppose NH adding an income tax on earned income."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?

"I oppose NH adding a broad-based sales tax."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH authorize one or more casinos?

"FOR, with strong reservations. It is a personal choice issue. It also comes with a number of social ills, and is a very regressive revenue source. Those must be addressed."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH continue to base statewide assessments on Common Core standards?

"As a former engineer, my professional life was based on national and international standards. Common Core is a set of standards that can be tailored to fit local needs; rejecting them out of hand is reinventing the wheel for every district. Complaints about CC revolve around testing. Testing is necessary to determine whether you are reaching your standards. However, there's nothing to say that the current testing assessment can't be made more workable."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH broaden campaign finance disclosure laws?

"I support broader campaign finance disclosure laws."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH increase law enforcement policies and penalties for heroin-related offenses?

"Our focus on interdiction and penalties hasn't worked as well as we'd like. We need to look at Rx laws and pain treatment, at strengthening families and the community, at improving medical and psychiatric treatment as well as examining law enforcement methodolgies as part of the solution."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH legalize the recreational use of marijuana?

"A pharmacist I once worked for - Frank Case - told me that *any* drug is dangerous if overused. That being said, the greatest dangers of marijuana use for most adults are 1) getting a criminal record and 2) associating with criminals who deal in illegal substances. We should legalize and regulate it, similar to the way alcohol is treated."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Was NH right to expand Medicaid eligibility, using private insurance wherever possible?

"Better to have low-income health insurance for earlier treatment than waiting to visit the emergency room. It's better financially ( we all pay for uninsured emergency room visits), and better for the people treated in a timely fashion rather than losing work to emergency treatment, not to mention the human cost in suffering."

Other, 2016

"Yes. Part of keeping and attracting our young people in N.H. is making it affordable to live here. Part of keeping and attracting business is having a workforce that is educated and can afford to buy products. It has been demonstrated across the country that instead of costing jobs and loss of opportunity, raising the minimum wage is part of priming the economic pump and increasing prosperity."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH do more to enforce federal immigration laws?

"Would look to law enforcement for input. How big a problem is this in NH? What are we doing now? How much would it cost, both in dollars and in increased scrutiny of residents?"

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH allow the Northern Pass to proceed with some (not all) of the lines buried?

"AGAINST as proposed. Local control should allow the decision to bury lines. Environmental and aesthetic impact must be mitigated. Additionally, the energy gain should not be used to undermine local long-term job investment in solar and wind."

Other, 2016

"I will not support a broad based sales or income tax, nor anti-working-family Right To Work legislation."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

What is your opinion on the state providing some funding for Planned Parenthood?

"Contracting with PP and other providers as needed. I don't think 'funding' is quite the right term for what the state does, it implies some sort of no-strings block grant."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

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

"Businesses report that strong public education is one of the main criteria they look for when locating or investing. It matters to parents too. Widely adpted standards, and reliable tests to demonstrate adherence provides information businesses and parents need, and gives feedback to both taxpayers and educators about successes and deficiencies."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?

"People have the rights of the 2nd Amendment, as well as the NH Constitution. People are also within their rights to expect a reasonably safe public environment. There is a balance to be struck. I'm open to hearing what might be done to protect the rights of responsible gun owners and continue to provide public safety."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should parents be allowed to opt their children out of the NH immunization/vaccination registry?

"AIDS, Ebola, ZIKA, mumps, measles, lyme ... does anyone doubt that new diseases and outbreaks of 'defeated' diseases are going to keep popping up? Health officials need the information to be able to track outbreaks, to track possible vaccine lot efficacy, and more. Privacy is a key concern, but we now live in an environment where disease outbreaks are like flash fires. Privacy protection can be worked into the registry."

Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH restrict further wind power development?

"FOR, but not unrestricted. Local control, environmental and aesthetic impact must be provided for."