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KURT WEBBER

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District 6  -  Gilford, Gilmanton, Laconia Ward 2

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Mr. Webber is a candidate for State Rep.

​​                  Recommended

 

Mr. Hildreth has our full support as his positions meet our standards of providing  reasonable and responsible governance.

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Learn more below.

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Mr. Webber ran as an independent in 2022, which, unfortunately for Gilford, limited his chances for winning despite how good a candidate he is.

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Mr. Webber highlights his qualifications below, but his performance in the 2022 Gilford candidate forum showed he had an outstanding command of the issues and was prepared to serve as a reasonable and responsible legislator.   He received our endorsement in 2022 and now again in 2024.  Gilford would be well served by electing him. 

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Here is some info about me:

  • West Point graduate, class of 1979

  • Retired Army officer with 23+ years of service. Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces (Green Beret) qualified who served in Infantry & Special Forces units and had 2 tours teaching at West Point

  • Volunteered to go back on active duty after 9/11 and served in Iraq in '05 advising the Iraqi Army

  • Professor at Lakes Region Community College and New Hampshire Technical Institute from '01 to '17 (with a "sabbatical" in '05 when I went to Iraq)

  • Eagle Scout with almost 25 years as an adult Scout leader (and still active as Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 243 in Gilford)

  • One of the founders and President of the Board of Directors of the Patriot Resilient Leader Institute, which runs the Camp Resilience program that has hosted 89 therapeutic retreats for military, veterans, first responders and their loved ones since 2014 that have served over 840 participants.

  • Served on the Gilford School Board from '06 to '15 to include 2 years as chair

  • Member of the Gilford Rotary since '02 and President in '12-'13

  • NH State Coordinator for West Point Admissions and supervise a network of West Point Admission Reps who assist candidates applying to West Point

  • Volunteer coach for the Gilford High School football team from '04 - '11

  • On the Gunstock Ski Patrol from '01 to '21

  • Married to Elisabeth for almost 37 years with 2 sons, also Eagle Scouts and West Point graduates

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I think the list above shows that I am dedicated to serving our nation and community and I can continue this by serving in the NH House. I am a moderate who believes in fiscal responsibility and that the most important things for any member of any legislature are integrity and a willingness to compromise. Without compromise, democracy doesn't work.

 

I know it sounds corny but I truly believe in and try to live up to the West Point motto of "Duty, Honor, Country", the ideals of Scouting and the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self". I also understand, and in many cases sympathize with, the valid concerns of folks at both ends of the political spectrum but don't agree with the more extreme positions on either side.

 

Unfortunately, politicians in both parties feel they must appeal to their respective party bases to win their primaries and thus we end up being represented by folks who advocate for much more extreme policies than I think the majority of the population agrees with. I also don't like either party because they are both focused on winning at all costs and are willing to cheat to win (e.g. gerrymandering) and demand complete loyalty to the party and its candidates regardless of any wrongdoing or corruption (e.g. Liz Cheney). This is why I am an Independent. I believe that integrity and doing what's best for the country/state/community is more important than loyalty to either party.

 

I am confident that I can be a very effective representative for District 6 in the State House because of my integrity, willingness to work with folks from both sides of the aisle, and ability to compromise.

 

Kurt

In his own words . . .

1. Why are you running, and what do you hope to achieve in the next legislative term? I am running because I think we need more moderates in the NH House and legislators who are willing to work with folks on both sides of the aisle to come to compromise and pass bipartisan legislation that addresses our problems.

 

2. Assess the recent performance of Gunstock. If elected, would you keep it in the same direction or change course, and how? Gunstock has been doing great the last few years with record business. Why try to fix what's not broken? We should continue in the same direction.

 

3. Given budget constraints for the Belknap County Nursing Home, how would you stretch county taxpayer dollars and still meet our high standards of care? We should look at all possible ways to increase the budget and listen to the recommendations of the nursing home staff.

 

4. As a member of the Belknap County Delegation, how would you improve county hiring practices to attract the highest quality candidates for our nursing home, public safety and administrative positions? Similarly to #3 above, we should look at all possible ways to increase the budget so that we can offer competitive salaries. We should also listen to the recommendations of the current staff in these positions.

 

5. Should Belknap County manage its own nursing home and county corrections departments, or privatize them? What about Gunstock Recreation Area/Gunstock Mountain Ski Area? As mentioned in #2 above, we shouldn't make any changes to how Gunstock is run since it is doing well. I'm not sure about the nursing home and corrections departments. I have my reservations about privatization since we have seen that it often doesn't work well. However, I would need to look at the pros and cons in more detail before making a final decision.

 

6. What are your ideas for the former 220-acre Laconia State School property? I read an article in the Laconia Daily Sun this morning and it looks like this may no longer be an issue if the Executive Council approves the offer from Pillbury Realty. The "Laconia Village" proposal sounds good in the article and it sounds like the state is getting a fair price. However, if this also falls through like previous proposals, I think it's important that the state gets a fair price and whatever is developed there is good for Laconia and maintains some green space and access to Ahearn State Park.

 

7. What would you do as a State Representative to improve the opioid and drug problem in the region? We should support the recovery/rehab centers in the county as much as possible, support drug courts and make Narcan easily available to reduce overdose deaths.

 

8. What do you think is the most important skill of being a good State Rep, and why? As it says on my website, Facebook page and rack card; I think that the most important things are integrity and a willingness to compromise

 

9. What do you see are the biggest needs of Belknap County, and what would you do to fill that need? A top priority is getting rid of the extremists currently serving in the Belknap County delegation or at least get enough reasonable & responsible members in place so that they extremists will be force to listen to reason. Two of my top issues are climate change & environment

 

10. What percentage of your campaign funding comes from outside the county? How much from out of New Hampshire? I have received a little over $2300 in donations so far. Almost half of this ($1000) came from a West Point classmate of mine. He ran for a U.S. House seat in MI but, unfortunately, lost in the democratic primary. I made a $1000 donation to his campaign so his donation was in reciprocation.

 

11. Do you think our current county government should be smaller, larger, or stay the same? I'm not sure. I am always in favor of as small a government as possible as long as it can efficiently meet the needs of it citizens. If I am elected, I will spend some time with the county government staff to learn more about their issues and what the Belknap County delegation can do to help.

 

12. What distinguishes you from the other candidates? My military service and my work serving military, veterans, first responders and their loved ones as the founder and board president of both Camp Resilience and the Lake Region Veterans Coalition.

 

13. What endorsements have you received? NEA

 

14. How long have you lived in Belknap County? 23 years

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