Timothy Smith
Running forState Representative Hillsborough 17 (Ward 10)
in 2020
Running as Democrat
At age40
NH State Representative, 2012-current
Civil Air Patrol
American Economic Association
Time lived in NH30 years
Bachelor's Degree
Best way to contact candidateemail, checked daily
Websitehttp://www.timsmithnh.com
If elected or re-elected, please describe legislation you expect to sponsor or co-sponsor.
Most of the legislation I work on focuses on institutional reform (reforms to the structure of the legislature), reducing the influence of lobbyists, cracking down on white-collar crime, legislative ethics, and anti-corruption measures. One of my accomplishments this term was passing a change to the House Rules which requires that regular people to be allowed to speak at hearings *before* all the lobbyists – I expect I will have to fight to keep that rule in place next term, as major reforms like this always get hold-out opposition for the first few years they are phased in.
What are the most important concerns facing you’ve heard from Manchester residents and how can you address those concerns if elected or re-elected?
This could be a multi-page answer, but the most immediate concern I’ve been hearing are the impacts of the coronavirus. What we do about it is going to largely depend on the effectiveness of current measures, and how things look a few months from now when we have the chance to work on legislation for next year (there is only a brief window to file bills).
New Hampshire legislators are citizen legislators and being a legislator is a significant time commitment. How much time per week can you spend on legislative duties while the Senate/House is in session?
It varies week to week, but I am one of the few legislators who manages to balance the legislative workload with a “day job” workload. This question also hints at a serious issue, where it is difficult for regular people to serve in the legislature unless they are independently wealthy – which dramatically reduces the diversity of viewpoints in Concord.
In your view, describe the atmosphere within the legislature over the past two years. Do you believe this atmosphere will continue and how would that affect how you approach this position if elected or re-elected?
The atmosphere this term has been dramatically different from previous terms. From the very first day we were sworn in, the Republican leadership publicly announced that their number one job was to obstruct and derail anything the Democrats wanted to do. They had never been so open about that in previous terms, and they held true to their word – they have absolutely refused to work with us on ANYTHING, even when invited. This has built up a very partisan atmosphere, and I’m sad to say I suspect they’re going to do more of the same next term regardless of how the elections turn out. As recently as 2017, we had a level of cooperation and coordination between the two parties on a lot of areas. That just isn’t the case now.
What is the most significant issue facing Manchester at the municipal level and how can you, as a legislator aid the city government on that issue?
Providing an adequate education to our children is always a very significant challenge. We’ve had an education funding crisis in NH for several decades, and it’s gotten so bad that the state has been sued .. multiple times .. for its failure to adequately fund education. I’ve advocated strongly for increased education funding (including higher ed), and I’ve also been pleased that Mayor Craig communicates with the legislature more than previous Mayors have and gives us detailed feedback about how legislation might impact city hall.
With the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 in the future, do you support the legislature meeting remotely?
I work in information technology as my “day job” career, and feel that conducting legislative business remotely could be done if we were careful about it. Right now, constitutionally, we are not empowered to hold regular legislative sessions remotely – I supported a constitutional amendment to allow this during times of crisis or emergency, but unfortunately it was blocked by the Republicans (one of the things I alluded to in my answer to question 4 above).
In your opinion, what were the five most significant pieces of legislation introduced in the New Hampshire General Court over the last two years? Please explain what made them significant.
This is another question that could have a multi-page answer, but trying to keep it short: Paid family medical leave, an independent redistricting commission, reducing the cost of insulin and epi-pens, authorizing pharmacists to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available, and toxic PFAS chemical remediation. Several pages could be written about each of these topics. It’s worth noting that some of these bills were vetoed.