Guinta: 'I'm hearing...great frustration' - Republican congressional candidate makes a stop in Mount Washington Valley

Guinta: 'I'm hearing...great frustration'

Republican congressional candidate makes a stop in Mount Washington Valley

By Lloyd Jones
Editor
Lloyd@conwaydailysun.com

CONWAY — Frank Guinta’s “Let’s Talk Frank About…Tour" rolled through the Mount Washington Valley this week with the former mayor of Manchester spending three days and two nights in the area meeting people, listening to their concerns and stating his case as a candidate for U.S. Congress in the First District. It was his sixth visit to the area since announcing his candidacy last fall. "I love it up here," Guinta said during a 30-minute visit at The Conway Daily Sun. "I am really enjoying myself on the tour.  I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of new people already and listen to their concerns and interests, and that is what is most important to me.  People are tired of  a Congress that is not listening to them on critical issues such as health care, jobs and the economy.”

Guinta served two terms as mayor of Manchester from 2005 to 2009. Prior to that he was a city alderman and a former N.H. state representative. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., and a Masters Degree in Intellectual Property from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord. He is running against Peter Bearse, of Danville; Bob Bestani, of Newmarket; and Mike Castaldo, of Dover, in the Republican primary, which will be decided in September.
Democrat Carol Shea-Porter currently holds the seat and is seeking reelection. "This trip has really been about having the opportunity to listen to what people have to say; to talk about how the policies of the federal government are affecting the local economy and the lives of everyday people," Guinta said at the Sun. "I can tell you I'm hearing there's great frustration. I've heard people aren't so focused on party, they want to hear solutions; they want to hear new ideas; they do want to hear less government; they don't want the evasiveness and the intrusiveness that I think people are feeling and have felt for the past year; they want the president and this congress to focus on jobs. I heard that quite a bit."
 

Tuesday night he and Kelly Ayotte, who is running for U.S. Senate, spoke at the Federation of Republican Women meeting at the Red Fox Bar and Grille in Jackson before a good-sized crowd.
After spending the night in the area, Guinta was on the campaign trail early Wednesday with an 8 a.m. stop at Patch's Market where he enjoyed breakfast and met customers. That was followed by a tour of Tee Enterprises with the business owner Carl Thibodeau on Hobbs Street in Conway Village. "Small business owners across the region are suffering from the burdens Washington is placing on them, and they are somewhat fearful about what new burdens may come next," Guinta said. "They are looking for relief and a new direction that recognizes their role as job creators." Guinta said Thibodeau talked about having 36 employees 10 months ago, but due to tax-and-spend lawmakers in Congress, he had to reduce his staff (down to 22) and the benefit packages for those employees who remain. "(Thibodeau) had to lay people off, he didn't want to do it," Guinta said. "It's the last thing that anyone wants to do. What (Thibodeau) wants to do is a more conducive environment to bring those people back. They're a trained, skilled workforce that are looking for employment, that want to put money back into the local economy and he can't do it until three things probably happen. No. 1 is health care costs are reduced. And they're not going to happen by government taking over spending a trillion of dollars and then trying to tell you that's beneficial for you. Secondly, he would like to see reductions in his taxes because that's harmful to the growth of his business. Thirdly, he'd like to see some depreciation ability for equipment that he can purchase so he can then put that money back into his company and then hire people back. That has worked in the 1980s, it has worked in the '90s, and it can work again and I hope this Congress starts to work on things that will improve local economies."
 

Guinta also toured the Technology Village Business Center, meeting with Mount Washington Valley Economic Council director Jac Cuddy. He made additional stops at the Conway Town Hall, Priscilla's, Bea's Cafe, Badger Realty and The Conway Daily Sun before heading to the Conway Cafe that evening for a town hall meeting and to view the president's State of the Union Address. Health care, spending and taxes were hot topics during the 90-minute question-and-answer session, attended primarily by Republican supporters. "One thing I want people to know, and first of all to get a good feel about me and a comfort level," Guinta said, "is I want them to know that I feel strongly about being connected to your representative. I ran for the last four years and served as mayor trying to be someone who is very close to the people that I represent. You may not always agree with every decision I make but you're going to have every opportunity to voice your opinion; to have your considerations be reviewed by me and contemplated by me as the mayor; and even if you maybe not agree with me with what I've done, I hope you walk away saying 'I felt like I had an opportunity to have my voice heard.' I don't think we're getting that and I don't think people feel like they're getting that from Congress today."
 

Guinta and his wife, Morgan live in Manchester with their two children, Colby and Jack. Guinta wrapped up his three-day swing through the Mount Washington Valley on Thursday at 7 a.m. by attending the Mount Washington Valley Rotary meeting at the Up Country Family Restaurant on Route 16 in North Conway where he spoke briefly and then took questions.

To read the full article at the Conway Daily Sun online, please click here:  www.infinews2.com/1002/cgi/cdsstory.pl