Strafford County District 3 State Representative Candidates
Our district is comprised of Barrington, Farmington, Middleton, New Durham, and Strafford. We have a total of eight seats in the NH House of Representatives. Please take a few minutes to learn about the Democratic candidates for District 3: Dennis Vachon, Jim Cyr, Larry Brown, Bob Srnec, Sylvia Arcouette, Bob Perry and Susan Price.
Dennis Vachon
Dennis Vachon, a Democrat from Strafford County District 3, was first elected in 1996 and is currently running for his fifth term as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He has most recently served as a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means and has previously served three terms on the House Commerce Committee. In 2000, Representative Vachon ran an unsuccessful campaign for the State Senate in District 4 which runs north to and includes the city of Laconia in Belknap County.
When not serving in the New Hampshire House, Representative Vachon is a self-employed attorney who practices primarily in the areas of real estate, probate and business law. Attorney Vachon is an agent for First American Title Insurance Company. He is also a real estate broker and operates his own firm, Dennis Vachon Realty.
Representative Vachon is a former moderator of the Strafford School District. He has served on the board of directors for the non-profit advocacy group, New Hampshire Citizen’s Alliance.
Representative Vachon was employed for many years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service in Washington, D.C. He is also a former Peace Corp Volunteer, having served in Senegal, West Africa following college. Attorney Vachon received his law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire where he majored in political science. He also studied economics at the University of Maryland while working for the Federal Government.
Dennis Vachon resides in the Town of Strafford with Jane, his spouse of 25 years. They have two children, a son John-Paul who recently graduated from George Washington University, and a daughter Sarah who is a junior at Dartmouth College. Roscoe, a black lab and doberman mix from the Laconia SPCA, keeps them company while the children are away.
Hobbies include swimming, running, bicycling, gardening & home improvements.
Legislative issues of interest to Representative Vachon for the upcoming session include the following:
1. School Funding and Taxation Reform;
2. Health Insurance for Owners of Small Businesses; and
3. Fish and Game Department Funding.
Jim Cyr
Jim Cyr is running for re-election for his second term. He has been a Strafford resident for 19 years, his accomplishments include being a vetran of the US Army, graduate of Southern Maine Technical Institute, was a self-employed contractor in Connecticut until 1971, worked for the Hartford Connecticut Housing Authority, spending his last 5 years there as the Administrator of Skilled Trades, and he was the former President AFSCME Hartford Housing Authority in 1983. Since moving to Strafford 19 years ago Jim has volunteered with the Boy Scouts, Strafford School, the St. Joe's Senior Center, the town Natural Resources Council, and is a board member of the Bow Lake Community Club (Grange) in Strafford. He served as the immediate past treasurer of the Strafford Town Democratic Committe, his is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. Joseph's Parish in Northwood.
As your state representative Jim serves on the Public Works and Highway Committee, he voted to keep children in school until they are 18 years old, he proudly voted to raise the minimum wage to $7.25.
Jim is committed to:
Quality Education
Energetic Service to District 3
Fiscal Responsibility
Healthcare for All
Protecting Our Groundwater and the Conservation of Natural Resources
Supports LCHIP (Land and Community Heritage Investment Program)
Helping Seniors Stay in Their Homes
Supporting Democratic Governor John Lynch
Larry Brown
Larry Brown is a two term candidate for re-election to The New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Representative Brown voted for and supports Governor Lynch and the Democratic majority “Promises Kept” agenda: Legislation to serve all members of our civil democracy (http://www.nhdp.org). If re-elected, Mr. Brown will do so again. This representative thanks all for their consideration and vote.
The Federal Shadow: – Representative Brown believes that on every critical task New Hampshire faces – on energy, employment, and education, on housing and healthcare – we cannot escape the federal cost of war, the federal cost of housing debt, the federal cost of fragmented healthcare, and the unfunded federal costs of education..
· Vote for Federal Change – Obama, Shaheen, & Carol Shea-Porter
· Vote for Governor Lynch and a “Promises Kept” legacy
· Vote for a Democratic Majority in the NH House & Senate
Background: Larry Brown has over 2000 hours of community volunteer service – as Cemetery Trustee, on the Budget Committee and Planning Board and other past and present committees. He chairs the Strafford Regional Planning Commission and serves as Trustee and next-door neighbor to the NH Farm Museum. His job history is as a Social Worker and Vocational Rehab Counselor. He enjoys 42 years of a most fortunate marriage, his father’s ’41 Plymouth, and an 1825 Cape, he does car repair by choice and house repair by necessity, and from “Farmer Brown” over in Amherst 200 years ago claims a genetic fondness for old stone walls.
Personal thought: Eventually the plow turns over every furrow. What is up this year may well be down the next. For that, it is prudent to “plow in hope”, to vote tomorrow’s child no fewer liberties than yours. Please give Larry Brown a call 652-4306 to discuss a bill, a vote, a good idea, or a bad one.
Bob Srnec
Bob Srnec has been married for 39 years, he and his wife have two sons and a granddaughter. He has lived in Milton for 28 years. Bob has been a Milton Selectmen and he is the chair of the Milton Budget Committee. He served 24 years in the United States Air Force and then joined the New Hampshire Air National Guard.
As a state representative, Bob Srnec serves on the Municipal and County Government Committee. This committee worked on over 300 bills in the past two years. As a Democrat he supported public kindergarten, defining an adequate education, and the Democratic Caucus over the past legislative session (two years). Representative Srnec states that it would be his honor to be re-elected to the legislature and serve a second term.
Sylvia Arcouette
Sylvia Arcouette has lived in Farmington for 43 years. She and her husband Ron together have 8 children, 16 grandchildren and 2 great grand children and a very spoiled Siamese cat named Nickey. She enjoys quilting, cooking, gardening and taking motorcycle trips with her husband on his Harley.
She has served on committees in Farmington including the Budget Committee, The Capital Improvement Plan Committee and is a current member of the Economic Development Committee. She is on the Board of Directors of CHANCES (Children’s Alternatives and Non-Court Solutions) organization. She is the President of the Farmington Woman’s Club and a member of the Farmington Historical Society.
Sylvia is concerned with our current economy, the crisis in our schools and the lack of affordable health insurance.
She is a go-getter, finishes tasks that she starts and listens. She is what we need for a State Representative, someone who will listen and respond.
Bob Perry
Bob graduated from high school in 1964 and married Carol Cusick in 1967, he has two children and three grandchildren. Bob has lived in Strafford for 36 years and was an Official Superior Court Reporter, State of NH Superior Court from 1972 to 2002. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Rochester Opera House. Bob was elected to the NH House of Representatives in 2006.
Bob Perry is committed to ...
1. Defending our Constitutional right to vote in honest elections, the foundation of our democracy;
2. Universal Health Care;
3. Creating/enhancing incentives for alternative energy research and development here in NH to promote thousands of green jobs, while mitigating the consequences of changes in the world's climate;
4. Assuring New Hampshire's drinking water remains in the public trust, and resisting the privatization of same.
Accomplishments as your state representative:
Co-authored HB. 285, entitled Electronic Ballot Counting Device Advisory Committee, whose primary duty is to facilitate the design of an electronic ballot-counting device that cannot be hacked. Signed by Governor Lynch on June 4, 2008. Thereafter appointed by Secretary of State William Gardner to the 10-person committee formed by HB 285. First meeting was held Wednesday, August 6, 2008;
Co-authored HCR 3, a house concurrent resolution urging that New Hampshire members and veterans of the armed forces and national guard and their dependents receive health screening for depleted uranium exposure they may have received in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Balkens. Approved May 7, 2007.
Voted in support of HB. 794, an act establishing a commission to study the feasibility of public funding of state election campaigns, similar to successful clean elections programs in Maine, Connecticut and Arizona. Signed by Governor Lynch on May 16, 2008;
Voted in support of SB 75, an act relative to establishing a New Hampshire rail transit authority whose responsibility is to encourage the development of commuter rail and related public rail transportation services in New Hampshire. Signed by Governor Lynch on July 17, 2007;
Voted in support of H.B. 267, capping interest rates on payday and car-title loans to the federal rate of 36 percent from as high as 700 percent! Signed by Governor Lynch July 2, 2008;
Voted for a state budget that rose a mere 5.4 percent per year, less than the rate of inflation, that despite a retreating economy, declining federal cost-sharing; and underfunded federal mandates. This was the first fully transparent budget in a decade;
Voters, please remember: Vote from the bottom up! The 2007 session of the NH legislature repealed straight-ticket voting, in part, because voter errors resulted in overcounts and rejected ballots. Please vote from the bottom of the ballot and work your way to the top so you will be voting for all candidates of your choice in all categories. Take your time. You are allowed to bring a sample ballot with you into the voting booth. A copy of the 2008 ballot is currently posted in the Strafford town hall. May I have your vote Tuesday November 4th? Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the NH legislature.
Susan Price
Susan and her partner of 15 years, Betsy Staber, have lived in Barrington since 1998 and plan to retire in the community. Susan currently serves on the Barrington Advisory Budget Committee, as well as the Barrington Water and Sewer Committee. She is a long time member of the Dover Community Pool and the Rochester Country Club, an avid bicyclist (watch for her pedaling on the campaign trail), and enjoys organic gardening. To learn more about Susan visit her website, www.susanprice2008.com.
Rachel Burke
Rachel Burke, a Democrat, has been proud to represent District 3 in the New Hampshire State Legislature for the past two years. She is a resident of Farmington. As one of our current State Representatives, she has served on the Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs committees. Rachel is retired from the shoe industry.
Rachel’s legislative priorities include:
Worker's rights: Rachel understands firsthand the concerns of working people and is a strong advocate for workers rights. You can count on her to look out for the interests of working people and the issues that affect their lives.
Education: Rachel understands the value of a quality education that prepares our young people and teaches them the life skills they need to succeed.
Health care: Improving access to health care is another key issue for Rachel. Doctors should be making medical decisions -- not insurance companies.
Vote for Rachel Burke, State Representative, on November 4! She’ll look out for you!