By Kevin Shalvey
Staff Writer

Bedford voters will decide who will represent them in the New Hampshire State House on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Up for election are six Democrats and six Republicans vying for six seats. Five Republicans are incumbents.

Voting will take place at McKelvie Middle School, 108 Liberty Hill Road, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mark Clark

Incumbent Mark Clark, R-Bedford, 39, has lived in Bedford his entire life.

In the House, he has served one term and sits on the Fish and Game Committee.

Next term, he said he hopes to pass a bill eliminating a tax on vehicles for the handicapped. Sometimes, the temporarily disabled have to rent handicap vehicles, and shouldn’t be taxed, Clark said.

“I wouldn’t ask the people of Bedford to make sacrifices when the state of New Hampshire could be run more efficiently,” he said. “And by sacrifices, I mean taxes.”

John Graham

Incumbent John Graham, R-Bedford, has lived in Bedford since 1996 and has been a District 18 representative for three terms. He is a member of the Public Works and Highways Committee.

“In my next term, first and foremost, is to balance the budget without sales and income tax,” Graham said. “And second is to work on the transportation management of the state. I want to make sure that we are giving money to upkeep of existing roads as well as to new construction.”

Edward Moran

Incumbent Edward Moran, R-Bedford, has served four terms in the State House and has lived in Bedford for 30 years. He is chairman of the Child and Family Law Committee.

“Last term, we put in a bill to look at performance standards,” he said. “We are way, way, way overdue for a level of accountability in this state.”

A major problem with New Hampshire is that many politicians don’t know the monetary or public effect of passing a bill, Moran said.

“Most of the legislature is more concerned with process,” he said.

Ken Hawkins

Incumbent Ken Hawkins, R-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for 28 years and has served two terms in the House. He is a member of the Executive Departments and Administration Committee.

“I’ve learned a lot about the way the state government works,” Hawkins said.

As a former Marine Corps sergeant, Hawkins is interested in veterans affairs and the New Hampshire retirement system, he said.

If elected for another term, Hawkins would push for a constitutional amendment for education, and wouldn’t support either income or sales taxes, he said.

Isabel Partin

Isabel Partin, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for eight years, and said she is underrepresented in the House.

“Because, I felt as a Democrat in Bedford that I wasn’t fully represented,” she said.

The challenger wants to vote how her constituency would want, she said, not along party lines.

“I wanted to run to represent people regardless of their party line, because I feel that that’s what a representative is supposed to do,” Partin said. “To represent the people of Bedford with integrity, regardless of what party they might be, because they are my friends, my neighbors and my family.”

“Moe” Villeneuve

Incumbent Maurice “Moe” Villeneuve, R-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for 74 years and is running for his second term as representative. He is a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

“My favorite subject is eminent domain, and for 36 years, our eminent domain law has been unconstitutional,” Villeneuve said.

Last session, he proposed a bill to change New Hampshire’s guidelines for eminent domain. The bill failed, so he has resubmitted it for next session, he said.

Another bill he has proposed would impose tougher restrictions on underage drinking, Villeneuve said. Underage kids could be tested for alcohol if police thought they had been drinking, he said.

“This is to save lives,” he said.

Alan Seidman

Alan Seidman, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for eight years and is running for the House because he wants to make a difference, he said.

Seidman said he would push for a bill to make any legislation clearly identify where money for proposed projects would come from. This would exclude public safety and education, he said.

Also, Seidman said the state could gain revenue by making all travelers who go through Manchester-Boston Regional Airport pay a small fee. This would bring in a lot of money to the state, he said.

Karla McManus

Karla McManus, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for seven years and in New Hampshire for 17 years. She has worked with the New Hampshire government since 1995.

McManus said she would bring an ability to help form a consensus the House, and would help all sides work together to solve issues.

“I’m for the smoking ban, and I’m for preserving the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. Land preservation is one of my big things. I’m also against a broad income tax or sales tax,” she said.

Jayne E. Spaulding

Jayne E. Spaulding, R-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for 15 years. She is running for state representative because she is interested in helping her community, she said.

In Bedford, she serves on boards, including the Town Common Committee, and said she would like to work on similar committees in the House. She cited the Environmental and Parks and Recreation committees as examples of interest.

She is against new taxes, she said. One reason she moved to New Hampshire was because of no income or sales taxes.

“But, it adds one extra burden to the Legislature that has to find a way to pay for different things,” she said.

Robert Jones

Robert Jones, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for almost 25 years. As state representative, one of his main concerns would be preservation of land and supporting the Land and Community Heritage Program.

He is also concerned with quality of education in New Hampshire, and ensuring that everyone has adequate heath care and health coverage.

“I don’t really feel like I’m some going in with an agenda,” he said. “It’s really just getting onto the committees and doing the legwork.

Cynthia Onigman

Cynthia Onigman, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for six years. She said her age, 80, will make her opinions unique.

“I’ll bring the feeling I have about New Hampshire being a beautiful state, and that I’d like to keep it that way,” Onigman said.

She’s interested in conservation, improved health care for everyone and a higher minimum wage. Also, she supports a smoking ban.

“I encourage the smoking ban because my husband died of lung cancer,” she said. “I think smoking is bad for smokers and also for anyone near a smoker.”

Kathleen McLaughlin Peterson

Kathleen McLaughlin Peterson, D-Bedford, has lived in Bedford for 50 years. If elected, she would bring her knowledge as a small business owner to the position, she said.

“I think it’s about new voices and people who haven’t spent too much time in politics bringing a new view to the issues,” she said.

She would focus on the economy, environment and managing the state business and population growth, she said. Also, the quality of education is as important as securing funding for education, she said.

“I want to focus on being the best state we can be for our citizens and our visitors,” she said.

(Editor’s note: A photo of Republican state representative candidate Jayne E. Spaulding was unavailable at press time.)