NHPR has reached out to voters to gather their questions for candidates who are on the ballot this November.
Election Day is just around the corner, and NHPR’s Rick Ganley is sitting down with the candidates to ask them those questions from listeners. Here’s a transcript from his interview with Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kelly Halldorson.
Transcript
Rick Ganley: I want to ask you first what you would prioritize were you to come to office. What's the first issue you would want to tackle?
Kelly Halldorson: I would prioritize cannabis legalization, so I would ask the Legislature to get a bill that I could sign. I also simultaneously would like to merge - There are currently two commissions, two governor's commissions, one for mental health and one for addiction, and they don't work together. So I think that's one thing that's also really important is to have those two working together and that we can work toward harm reduction for New Hampshire residents.
Rick Ganley: Many of our listeners have expressed concern over the state of democracy in the country. Is there a specific action that you believe could be taken here in New Hampshire to strengthen the public's faith in democracy?
Kelly Halldorson: I think that for a state here that really values representation -- I mean, we have one of the largest Legislatures in the entire world. That's a pretty big deal. I think that it's really difficult for third parties or additional parties to get on the ballot. Ballot access was the biggest thing and the most difficult. I don't think people are aware of how complicated it is.
Rick Ganley: You're hoping to see more people on the ballot in general?
Kelly Halldorson: Right. Well, I think overall, I'm not happy with representation in New Hampshire. But specifically for this election, and why I chose to run, is I was not happy at all with the Libertarian candidates that were chosen or chose to run, right? I think that there has been a decidedly alt right leaning, and it's not something that I think is true Libertarianism. And I have a lot of wonderful, amazing Free Stater friends. And there's something happening that's definitely taking it to this alt right turn, and it's not something I support at all. I grew up here. I'm from New Hampshire. I love liberty. I always have. And it's a compassionate philosophy, period.
Rick Ganley: Energy prices continue to rise as the weather cools, as you know. Many Granite Staters are worried about the cost of heating their homes this winter. Are there specific actions you would like to see where you'd be elected to help lower energy costs for consumers?
Kelly Halldorson: I definitely think this is a big issue, myself. We heat with wood in my home. So my biggest thing is to make sure that there are available options. I've heard other people that don't support burning wood, which I can understand for environmental impacts, but I also think that it's important to have a diversity of options available to people.
Rick Ganley: Although the U.S. has increasingly become more polarized, New Hampshire is still a purple state. I think you might say [there are] many independent voters. We've heard a version of this question from many of our listeners over the weeks: How would you work with members of all parties, of everybody in the Legislature, the Senate, how would you work with everyone to do what's best for the state?
Kelly Halldorson: Oh, I think this one, I've got hands down because I am a Libertarian, right? So I already have worked with people of all stripes, right? It's something that is really core to who I am and to be able to understand and listen to people talk about what is important to them, and what is needed and to come up with different real solutions. I also look at problems instead of like, how can we add on things, right? I think that's what we do a lot of times is just as humans, right? We look at a problem, we go, "Oh, we need to fix this, we need to add this, we need to do this thing." And I saw a great example of that was an article I read once about these little bikes, right? And trying to teach kids how to ride bikes, right? We add these big cumbersome training wheels, right? But one gentleman said, "You know what? I don't know that that's the best way." And he decided instead to take away the pedals. So there's these things called balance bikes where kids learn to ride. So it's streamlining. What are we doing that doesn't necessarily need to be done? Like how can we not make it more difficult? And that's like a first step to seeing what options are available to improve things.
