OUR SENATE RACE:

District 5 Hopefuls See Options to Property Tax-Based Funding (Dan Billin, 10/02/02, Valley News)

Both candidates in state Senate District 5 are calling for changes in education funding, giving voters a clear choice on the biggest issue facing the next legislature.

Democratic incumbent Clifton Below wants to lower local property taxes by increasing state aid to education 50 percent. He's pushing for an income tax dedicated to education funding.

Republican challenger Nancy Merrill wants to keep state aid levels where they are, but reform the way the money's distributed. Instead of giving every district the same per-student amount, New Hampshire should focus on picking up the special education costs that the federal government currently leaves to local districts, she says.

Both candidates are well-known in Lebanon, the district's largest community. That, along with the fact that redistricting has tipped this Democratic-held district slightly more Republican, could make District 5 one of the most competitive state Senate races this year.

The GOP currently controls the state Senate by a two-seat margin.

I helped write some ads for the guy who ran against Below last time. He had a pretty good shot until the out-of-state Dartmouth students who had been registered by the Gore campaign showed up at the Hanover polls to vote.
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 6, 2002 12:25 PM