Results tagged “John Stephen” from Belknap County Republican Committee

The Barnstead-Alton Republican Committee (BARC) will sponsor a Gubernatorial “Meet the Candidates” forum at J.J. Goodwin’s restaurant in Center Barnstead at 6 p.m. on July 13.

The second in a series of special events, the meeting will feature all of the declared GOP candidates for Governor — Frank Emiro, Jack Kimball, John Stephen, and Karen Testerman.

Charlie Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, an independent, non-partisan, public policy research and educational organization, will serve as guest moderator. Arlinghaus is well known in political and educational circles for his quick thinking and off-the-cuff wit.

All interested Republicans and Unaffiliated/Independents are invited to attend. For more information, go to the BARC website at www.BARC-NewHampshire.com or send an e-mail to Barnstead.Alton.RepubComm@gmail.com, or call 364-9780.

I am looking for an opportunity to share with all of you my vision for the State of New Hampshire. This is a very important election coming up and I know you will want to be a part of it. I look forward to meeting you on the docks near the grilling area. If it rains, we’ll be under the pavilion near the pool. There’s plenty of free parking.

Date:        01/13/10 (Wednesday)

Time:       5:30pm   Buffet Dinner ($14)
                6:30pm   Meeting

Place:      Shanghai Restaurant
                331 South Main Street
                Laconia, NH
                (603) 524-4100
                (see map below)

Agenda:

John Stephen

Former NH DHHS Secretary

John Stephen is a Partner at Lucas Group Partners and works in the firm's Government practice. In addition to experience consulting with state agencies, John provides the benefit of heading a state agency through a period of major change.

Prior to joining the Lucas Group, John served from 2003 to 2007 as Commissioner of New Hampshire's largest Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and was in charge of a $1.8 billion dollar annual budget. During his tenure, John led the Department through a period of major innovation, including improving Medicaid operations and engaging families on assistance in work activities. He developed and implemented GraniteCare, a nationally recognized Medicaid reform program that focused Medicaid on prevention, wellness and rebalancing long term care. John initiated disease management and care coordination programs that transitioned New Hampshire Medicaid away from treating the sick to keeping people healthy. Through John's efforts, Medicaid long term care home and community placements increased 23%, replacing more expensive nursing home placements, which dropped 11%. Moreover, during each of the four years John was Commissioner, New Hampshire ranked first nationally in the Kids Count survey. During that same period, the enrollment of low income, uninsured children into the State's Medicaid and SCHIP program increased by 7500. John led efforts to transform welfare in New Hampshire, reducing the rolls by 20% and dramatically increasing work participation rates by bringing accountability to TANF.

In the area of job placement, job training and workforce development, John led efforts to transform the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to one that has received national recognition for a 72% improvement in engagement of TANF recipients in job participation and placement. John brought a number of efficiencies to the TANF program and re-engineered the Department's efforts at the district offices and one-stop work centers to successfully focus on helping individuals find sustainable employment. John also led efforts to change the culture of TANF to make participation in work program orientation a condition of eligibility, help individuals return to the workforce promptly, and establish innovative job training programs and other employer-based incentives so as to increase employment opportunities. 

John also increased cooperation and collaboration between HHS and other state and federal agencies. Prior to heading the $1.8 billion annual budget at HHS, John served as Assistant Commissioner of Safety, where he served as the state's first Homeland Security Coordinator. John organized New Hampshire to be the first in the US to conduct a statewide Avian Flu pandemic planning exercise, testing all aspects of its emergency management response.

John was a prosecutor for 10 years, taking him from the county level to an Assistant Attorney General. In the process, he prosecuted crimes from misdemeanors up through homicide cases. A respected author, he has written or co-authored eight books on various legal matters.

John holds a JD from the Detroit College of Law and Michigan State University (1987) and a B.S. in Administration from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire (1984).

Map to the Shang-hai restaurant:
    (map)

Boston Globe: 1st CD: N.H. candidates tackle questions on economy
By Kathy McCormack
Associated Press Writer / August 10, 2008

CONCORD, N.H.—The way to ease the pain of high prices at the pump, the grocery store and winter heating contracts is to invest in renewable energy sources and expand oil drilling at home, most of the candidates in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District agree.

But Congress can take some steps in the short-term to stabilize prices or possibly reverse the trend of higher prices, said Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, responding to an Associated Press questionnaire on economic issues.

"Removing speculators from our oil market is one way, releasing a small amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is another," she wrote. She said long-term answers also are required.

"I agree with T. Boone Pickens, a well-known oil man, that this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of," Shea-Porter said. "We must encourage responsible drilling here at home, we must invest heavily in renewable energy sources and we must conserve energy where we can."

Last month, Shea-Porter voted against lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling.

Shea-Porter, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination, will face one of four Republican challengers following the Sept. 9 primary.

"We should move quickly to remove restriction on oil exploration in Alaska, oil and gas exploration offshore, oil shale in the Rockies, tar sands in Utah and for other opportunities to increase our energy supply," said John Stephen of Manchester, former commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Congress also needs to extend tax credits for renewable energy and otherwise promote energy independence "by giving businesses and individuals the financial incentive to put renewable energy strategies to work," Stephen said.

Jeb Bradley, who represented the district for two terms before losing to Shea-Porter in 2006, said domestic supplies of oil and natural gas must be increased by allowing exploration in previously off-limits areas such as coastal regions and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"We should proceed with new nuclear generating plants and resolve the waste disposal issue," Bradley said. "Clean coal technology offers promising opportunities."

Among the renewable and energy-efficient technologies Bradley advocates are wind, solar, tidal and geothermal, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid autos. "A New Hampshire power plant in the Seacoast burns wood, not coal, due to legislation I wrote when serving in the New Hampshire Legislature," he said.

Union Leader: Stephen in the 1st: Finally, a fiscal conservative

In the 1st Congressional District, there is one clear choice for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who want a representative in Washington they can trust to vote for lower spending, lower taxes, sound economic policy and a strong defense. His name is John Stephen.

Everyone likes former 1st District Rep. Jeb Bradley, who was beaten in 2006 by newcomer Carol Shea-Porter. We like Bradley, too. But two years after his defeat by a fringe liberal, Bradley still doesn't understand why he lost. He thinks it was only because of Iraq. It was because of spending, too.

During his four years in Washington, Bradley had four opportunities to vote for alternative, fiscally conservative budgets offered by conservative Republican backbenchers who were fed up with their party's embrace of big government. He voted against all of them.

John Stephen offers Republicans the chance to send a true fiscal conservative to Washington. If you want to see John Stephen get excited, ask him about wasteful government spending. He hates it the way most Red Sox fans hate the Yankees -- with a genuine passion. He is the type of Republican who goes out of his way to criticize Republican leaders in Washington, not just Democrats, for their irresponsible use of our tax dollars.

That's the kind of voice the 1st District needs in Congress.

As secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, Stephen showed his commitment to responsible spending. He consistently sought to do more with less, and he succeeded. He actually returned money legislators tried to give him, saying he would find ways to spend less. How many government department heads have you ever heard of who asked that their budget be cut, not increased? Stephen did that.

Stephen also supports a multi-faceted energy plan that includes drilling in currently restricted areas offshore; winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; increasing border security; reforming runaway entitlement programs; and cutting taxes.

In John Stephen, supporters of low taxes and limited government have a candidate they can whole-heartedly support. If they want to send a message to Washington that the Republican Party needs to return to Ronald Reagan conservatism, they should vote for John Stephen in the Republican primary Sept. 9.

PolitickerNH: By Brian Lawson

A UNH poll contains good news for U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes (D-Concord) but show trouble for U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester).

According to The Granite State Poll, Shea-Porter is losing to former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) 46 percent to 40 percent. However, the same poll has Shea-Porter beating Bradley's primary rival, former Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen 42 percent to 36 percent.

Bradley enjoys a 48 percent favorable rating, while 62 percent of voters say they do not know enough about Stephen. Shea-Porter is viewed favorably by 35 percent of voters and 32 percent view her has unfavorable.

In the 2nd Congressional District Hodes holds substantial leads over state Sen. Bob Clegg (R-Hudson) and Jennifer Horn (R-Nashua).

Hodes leads Clegg 44 percent to 25 percent and beats Horn 43 percent to 23 percent.

Both Clegg and Horn remain unknown to most voters. 62 percent of voters do not know enough about Clegg and 77 percent say the same about Horn.

The poll did not match Hodes up against either Jim Steiner (R-Concord) or Grant Bosse (R-Hillsboro).

(Charts over at GraniteGrok)

We will be putting up local / significant events as we are appraised of them (and time permitting!).  This one is for John Stephen, candidate US Congress in NH Congressional District 1.

Date	Wednesday June 25, 2008
Time	5:00PM  - 7:00PM
Contact	Alyssa Pockell alyssa@stephenforcongress.com
Description	Please join our host committee: Tom Boucher, Marc Bourgeois, Hon. Ray Burton, Luke Freudenberg, Judy Krahulec, Hon. David Lawton, Scott Ouelette, Steve Whalley and Niel Young at: Cactus Jacks 1182 Union Avenue Laconia, NH suggested donation: $25 per person RSVP to 206-1223 or info@stephenforcongress.com

Nashua Telegraph

Former state Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen filed for the 1st congressional district’s Republican primary. He promised to work to cut wasteful government spending, saying America’s credit card is maxed out.

John Stephen for Congress


Good afternoon.  It’s important to get the chance to speak here today because it is so critical that we get Republicans back to fighting for Republican principles, and we need to start now.  When Republicans act and vote like Democrats, we lose.  When we got away from the values that made us a majority party in Washington, the voters told us loud and clear that we no longer deserved to be in the majority. 

2006 was a humbling time for Republicans, but no one should have been surprised.  We didn’t lose the majority in Congress, we squandered it away.  With massive deficit spending, huge new programs and cumbersome regulations, our own representatives gave up the high ground on fiscal responsibility, limited government and personal freedom. 

Today, more Americans trust the Democrats on the economy than Republicans, and the Democrats have already told us they want to raise taxes in the middle of an economic downturn!  The voters are trying to send us a message- unfortunately, it’s not getting through to our party.

Just this week, a more than half of Republicans in the House in Congress voted in favor of a bloated, pork-filled farm bill that raises the cost of food for Americans and spent billions of taxpayer dollars to do it.  When are we going to learn the lessons of 2006?  Thankfully, Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu voted against this disastrous bill.  They understand that Republicans need to stand for something.

We saw this Congressional seat change from Republican to Democrat because the incumbent forgot what made Republicans a majority by voting for massive federal spending every year and sponsoring legislation like Real ID and Medicare Part D, which already has a greater unfunded liability than Social Security.  Voters may not have been able to tell who the Republican was.

Now, when the top issue for most Americans is the cost of gasoline, you would be hard pressed to find a difference between Jeb Bradley and Carol Shea-Porter on energy.  Both consistently voted to stop new energy exploration here in the United States by banning drilling in Alaska, off our shores and in the Rockies.  I thought Republicans supported new energy exploration to keep costs down and to protect our national security.  At a time when gas costs $3.75 and gallon and diesel is $4.50, voters need to know that there is a difference on this critical issue, but there hasn’t been one in this district for the past six years.

As a party, we need to change.  If Republicans are going to become the majority party again, it will be because we regained the trust of the people that we will return the core values that brought us to power- low taxes, limited government, less regulation and more freedom.  These are the very reason I am running for the 1st District seat.

Acting like Democrats is what cost us control of Congress.  Acting like Republicans, and convincing the public that we are serious this time, is the only way we will win.  It’s time to get back to the message that made our party strong.  It’s time to send people to Washington who have a track record of supporting Republican values.  It’s time to win again.

I ask you for your support and your vote.  Thank you, God Bless you and God Bless America!

Join John on his announcement tour
Please RSVP to info@johnstephen.com

State GOP candidates want tax code overhaul
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN, Telegraph Staff

CONCORD – Both major Republican candidates opposing Democratic congresswoman Carol-Shea Porter support replacing the current tax code with simplified tax rates.

John Stephen, R-Manchester, and Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, insist a tax overhaul is needed so the country can return to a time when most citizens filed their own tax returns.

"A great nation deserves a better tax code than what we have today," Stephen said.

"Our current tax system is smothering small businesses and stifling economic growth, while it confuses individuals and leaves many feeling that the process is unfair.''

Stephen said if elected he would propose legislation to give all citizens a choice between the existing system and a "simple, flat tax.''

"My guess is that the current system doesn't stand much of a chance,'' Stephen said.

Stephen, a former health and human services commissioner, unveiled his proposal on Monday, the day before the deadline for all Americans to file their 2007 taxes.

Bradley, a former congressman and state legislator, proposed two months ago a rewrite that would replace the current code with three tax rates of 10, 15 and 30 percent.

The Bradley proposal would exempt the first $40,000 of income from the tax, to insulate the working class.

"We would also preserve the favorable tax treatment of home ownership and charitable giving, both important components of the fabric of American life. What is most important is that cumbersome and complex 60,000-page morass is altered to be simple, comprehensible and fair,'' Bradley explained.

While in Congress, Bradley voted for the Bush tax cut of 2003 and vowed to preserve those that will retire in 2010 if Congress fails to act.

"The Democrats like to portray this political handiwork as nothing more than tax increases on the wealthy,'' Bradley said.

"It makes for great political spin but there is one problem: it's wrong.''

Bradley claimed the average American family making $40,000 a year got a tax cut worth $2,000.

Stephen said the group that benefits most from the current system are tax lobbyists who spend millions to preserve or carve out new tax breaks for their clients.

Notice that both Republicans are not for the status quo - they want REAL CHANGE!

Meanwhile, over in the Democratic camp...

While in Congress, Shea-Porter has voted to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the 1 percent most wealthy in the U.S. and voted to give tax relief to middle-class families facing an increase under the Alternative Minimum Tax.

The bill Shea-Porter supported paid for that tax cut by closing a loophole that allows offshore companies to reduce U.S. tax liability.

...nothing than the same thing, over and over again.  Change?  No change at all - only moving backwards....

This past Wednesday was the monthly meeting of the Belknap County Republicans.  Below, you can see the video of the meeting.  Click on the links to watch!

Intro and Reports

Jim Steiner, candidate for Congress - NH Congressional District 2

John Stephen, candidate for Congress - NH Congressional District 1

Short Q & A

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In addition, John Stephen penned an Op-Ed in the Union Leader yesterday.  In it, he reemphasized the US need for energy independence and how he would go about doing so.

SINCE THE Industrial Revolution made America the world's strongest economy over a century ago, our nation has depended on affordable and reliable energy to make our country go. We count on the fact that when we flip the switch, the lights will go on, and that our energy costs will not force our businesses and households to go dark.

Today, this very idea is increasingly under assault.

With the per-gallon price of gas and heating oil above $3 and diesel over $4, our lack of energy independence isn't merely an inconvenience, it's a threat to our economic prosperity. The fact that Congress and the federal government have not only added massive regulatory burdens that cut into domestic energy supply, but actually passed laws specifically to stop production, is an outrage that is now hitting us directly in the wallet.

It's time for a different plan. We need change, and fast.

America needs a strategy that addresses both short and long-term energy needs and does so in a way that does not interfere with our economy. Americans have made clear that we won't tolerate blackouts like in California in 2001 or the gas shortages of 1973.

We also need an energy strategy that restores our commitment to independence from foreign sources, a number of whom are hostile to America. We cannot let our energy policy drive our foreign policy as we see it does today.

Sadly, Congress has worked against bringing energy independence to the American people, and we see the consequences every time we fill up our oil tanks or go to the gas station. Skyrocketing prices are a result of our inability to increase our domestic oil supply.

Congress has repeatedly voted against allowing energy exploration both offshore and in Alaska. Then it went on to stop the use of oil shale resources in the Rockies. A Department of Interior study found that we have oil shale supplies amounting to three times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, yet we can't access this energy because of misguided federal law.

Unfortunately, over the past six years, our members of Congress from the 1st District have repeatedly voted against expanding the domestic energy supply, forcing us to buy more foreign oil and driving up prices for Americans. Thankfully, both Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu recognized the need for energy independence and supported new exploration. They deserve credit.

It's time we demanded an energy independence strategy from Washington. That means more exploration, more refineries and a lot less regulation. We need to repeal the laws and rules that are getting in the way. Right now the energy industry is among the most heavily regulated in the country, and that red tape is bogging down production and slowing innovation. Companies want to expand domestic capacity, if only Congress would let them. It's time to remove the roadblocks.

While increasing the domestic supply of oil and gas is an important solution, it's only a short-term fix. Our economy's energy needs are growing at a rapid pace and we need to keep up with it. Concurrently, countries like China and India are rapidly industrializing, sucking up huge portions of the world's energy resources. We need to begin now to identify how we will meet future energy demands, or our economy will suffer.

There are many possibilities for the energy needs of tomorrow. We need to look at using advanced nuclear and hydrogen cell technology while also maximizing renewable sources like geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind power to meet the future energy requirements for our economy's growth.

Most likely though, is that the solution to future energy needs is something that we have not considered. America's great strength has always been innovation, but we have to remove the obstacles to advancements. We have to let the innovators pioneer new ideas in an environment that is unshackled from the regulatory minefields that currently exist.

In some lab, or even a garage or basement, someone is figuring out how to create an inexpensive and dependable energy source. It could be a new way to make energy, a major improvement in efficiency or maybe the next super-battery. It could be the solution to making our economy thrive for the next century, while cleaning the environment for our children and grandchildren.

Until that next technology comes along, we need to stand up to get Congress moving on an energy strategy. Congress has been content to dither for too long. Will gas have to be $8 a gallon before it acts?

John Stephen of Manchester is running for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 1st District.