Governor Campaign Makes Front Page :: Freeman Rated “A” by NH Firearms Coalition

Two Democrats are challenging Gov. Maggie Hassan in her bid for re-election, and one of them, a Keene man, isn’t holding back about how his views differ from the incumbent’s on topics ranging from the legalization of marijuana to the state’s secession from the U.S.

 

Hassan, the Exeter Democrat and former state senator, is up against Ian B. Freeman of Keene and Clecia D. Terrio of Manchester.

 

Freeman is a libertarian radio talk show host, blogger for Free Keene, and a co-chairman of the New Hampshire Liberty Party. He belongs to a loosely organized group of residents who protest so-called victimless crimes, such as seat belt and helmet laws, open container violations and drug possession.

 

Freeman said in a recent interview that he supports legalizing recreational marijuana, and believes that people prescribed medical marijuana should be able to grow their own plants at home.

 

One of the biggest issues for Freeman is New Hampshire’s right to secession from the union, and it’s a right he believes should be acted upon.

 

“The U.S. government is nothing more than a ball and chain around New Hampshire,” he said. “It’s time New Hampshire stands up for itself and declare its independence.”

 

A lesser-known candidate trying to capture the Democratic nomination is Terrio, a native of Brazil who is a translator/interpreter and a justice of the peace.

 

Terrio lost her 2012 bid for a seat in the N.H. House. Two years later, little has been written about her campaign for governor. She could not be reached for comment.

 

Terrio recently told the Nashua Democratic City Committee that she is strongly pro-life and respectfully disagrees with the current governor on the issue of abortion. She said she wants to be an alternative that fellow Democrats with the same view can vote for with a “good conscience.”

 

In the 2012 election, Hassan succeeded retiring Democratic incumbent John Lynch as the state’s 81st governor. Her victory came against Republican Ovide Lamontagne.

 

Two years later, Hassan said she’s making it a priority to further expand opportunities for the middle class, and that includes working with innovative businesses to create jobs.

 

“We must continue working to help businesses and families succeed by improving access to middle-class jobs, making health care and higher education more affordable and accessible, reducing the cost of energy for families and businesses, and investing in the priorities that will keep our economy moving in the right direction,” she said in an email from her campaign press secretary, Aaron Jacobs.

 

To accomplish those goals, New Hampshire’s political representatives must be willing to work across party lines, Hassan says.

 

That’s something state government has done successfully to balance the budget with no sales or income tax, to freeze in-state tuition, to develop a plan to fix the state’s ailing roads and bridges and to expand health care coverage, she said.

 

New Hampshire voters will decide whether Hassan gets two more years to continue the initiatives she began in her first term, or if they believe the state should go in a new direction.