On February 26th, Senator Chuck Morse, Senator from Salem, addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua regarding his run for Governor. Senator spoke of his perseverance and hard work growing up.
Senator Morse founded Fresh Water Farms with 50 employees. Commitment to the community. Town moderator and state senator. Longest serving state senate president. Worked to reduced taxes and create lowest poverty in the country and protect small business.
Proven conservative. Likes to talk about how NH is most livable state in the USA. Pro jobs, pro-growth is working for our state.
Father was a veteran. Dad was deaf. At 16 Morse served on executive board at church. Mom plucked turkeys in Methuen and worked at the IRS. Mother taught hard work. Went to Plymouth State. Met his wife in high school and married when both went to Plymouth State.
Knew and worked for Joe Delahunty a nursery owner. Wanted to be in nursery business. Joe sold the nursery after son was injured. An accountant bought the company. Produced report. Chuck bought a house at 23. Report said to fire him. Kept him. He started out his own business. When he married Susan. His wife had daughter. His wife left job at Digital to stay home and take care of daughter. Daughter worked in health care and then joined family business.
Served as governor for 2 days. Cut business taxes and to grow economy with small business. 2021 budget pass tax cuts.
Had $500 million that was sent back to property owners. Big difference how we act compared to Federal government.
Budgets done first. We don’t look to increase revenues.
As senate president and finance 2011 47th highest business taxes in the state. We had to get State back to model Governor John Sununu. 2017 Constitutional Model. We are the safest state in the country.
Abortion in first 6th months pregnancy could be terminated. It took 50 years to agree to pass something. Education freedom. Built charter schools that have become bipartisan support. Got parents involved. In 2021 to get house and senate together. Wanted to give lower income families a choice.
Chuck’s daughter decided what school she wanted to go to. She was a great athlete.
This was all passed in 2021. Debate today is do we allow all students to choose where they want to go to high school. Free-est, safest state in the country needs to be continued. I want daughter to make decisions for her family.
Was on the board of the Salem Boys and Girls Club. Ran for State Senate. Became Senate President.
Homelessness and drugs can only be solved collectively by state, town and cities and agencies. We all need to care. State sued in 2015 for mental health issues. Created budget with business tax. Under Morse State bought Hampstead Hospital for treating mental illness.
Rivier College teaches students about mental illness. Need more like this to solve mental health illness.
Questions for Senator Morse:
Mindy questioned about homeless. She is a 36 year now unemployed old and had $1300 a month rent increasing to $1600. She was making $60K year but could not afford increase to $1600. She looked at High Street apartment for 1 bedroom. Too expensive. Need 100K per year to afford high Street apartment. Mindy’s generation can’t afford housing.
Asked Morse what he did for housing? Morse replied your family taking you in is happening everywhere.
We started work with communities that wanted to work with us. Working with developers.
State should participate in infrastructure. Governor Sununu appointed me in charge of infrastructure. Water. We need to drive down cost of bringing water to housing. In Peterborough State paid 1/3 of project. Worked with Millipore to bring 500 jobs to Peterborough.
Can’t put responsibility on developer for solving housing problem. Housing. Developer won’t put up building if not profitable.
We’re doing that with workforce housing with 74 units in Salem.
Tuscan Village has 10% requirement for workforce housing.
Salem is close to Mass where taxes are so high so people from Mass come to NH putting more pressure on housing
Government getting involved to make sure that housing affordable can be achieved.
Morse straightened out homelessness, drugs, crime. Our main problems.
Tax revenues. Mindy asked about cannabis revenue to be used to help with housing issue. Massachusetts earned 250 million in cannabis sales taxes.
Why doesn’t NH legalize marijuana?
Morse responded:
Problems of substance abuse. Marijuana is a gateway drug to hard stuff. He heard this firsts hand from people recovering from drug abuse. Morse not in favor of legalization.
Cutting taxes, we create revenues. Running on revenues from marijuana to fund education is poor policy according to Morse. Marijuana sales legal in NH up to 2 ounces. They can go to Mass or Vermont.
Morse cited Rockingham Park and the social costs of gambling.
Next Question:
John Sullivan – Alderman – Burden of State Retirement fund. Money paid in from cities and towns does not come back to cities and towns. Makes it difficult to create budgets and creates deficits.
Long history lesson according to Morse. Today in 2011. Government took the state out of the retirement decisions. Used to contribute 75 million a year and paid average of last three years of your career. In 2011 when state was 800 million $ deficit the rates that would have need to be charged would have been prohibitive.
In 2021 budget property and business taxes went directly back to tax payers.
Morse said he wanted to take care of mental health and disabled children. It is a huge balancing act. First time as selectman in Salem he knew more than the budget committee. The towns, cities and state need to work together.
On immigration and illegals Morse wants to close our border.