Foster's Daily Democrat - Kenney Expects a Win

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Foster's Daily Democrat - Kenney Expects a Win

Being governor of New Hampshire is 50 percent ceremonial, said Republican gubernatorial candidate Joseph D. Kenney who thinks that, when it comes to handling the numerous public appearances demanded by the position, both he and incumbent Democrat John Lynch are pretty well-matched.

But when it comes to the other 50 percent of the governor's job — leadership — Kenney, a three-term state senator from Wakefield, thinks he has a distinctive edge, even though he acknowledges that he is trailing Lynch in the polls by an almost three-to-one margin.

The sitting governor, Kinney said during an interview at The Citizen, is a nice guy who does not like to say "no," whereas Kenney, who has been a member of the U.S. Marine Corps since 1980 and rose from private to lieutenant colonel, has a lot of experience telling people not what they wanted, but what they needed to hear.

In that latter category, Kenney, who is a Marines special projects officer, said the state's current and future financial health is not good, with the state's revenue shortfalls standing at $50 million for the end of the current biennium and he projected that shortfall to be $500 million in the next.

Kenney, who serves on the Senate's Executive Departments and Administration and Health and Human Services committees, proposes an immediate, 10 percent, "across-the-board" reduction in state departmental budgets and an additional 20 percent reduction over the next two years to make up the deficits.

He faults Lynch for using "gimmicks" to cover up past budget problems and the Democratically controlled Legislature for going along with the governor.

In 2007, Kenney filed a spending-cap bill that he said the Democrats scuttled. He said the Democrats also killed another bill of his that would have made the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program self-funding.

While he personally supports LCHIP, Kenney said now is not the time to have taxpayers bankroll it.

Combining all of the above with overregulation of small businesses creates an atmosphere more akin to Massachusetts than the Live Free or Die state, said Kenney, whose campaign slogan is "Let's Keep New Hampshire, New Hampshire."

Ironically, both Kenney and Lynch were born in Massachusetts. Kenney was five when his family moved to New Hampshire; Lynch settled here after graduating from the University of New Hampshire, which is also Kenney's alma mater.

Kenney's New Hampshire is one of personal responsibility and of a limited government. He is pro-life and supported the now-repealed parental notification law. He would like to see a constitutional amendment to target school aid to cities and towns and would work as governor to actively recruit new businesses to locate in the Granite State.

Also a former four-term state representative, Kenney said he is open to the idea of expanding legalized gambling

In the short-term, Kenney said the state has to seek out any and all efficiencies in how it does its job. He wants to freeze the hiring of most consultants; to implement the stalled plan for a centralized purchasing system; to reduce the number of cars used by state employees; and to get rid of 50 percent of state-paid cell phones which, he noted, cost about $250 a month each. Kenney also would freeze non-essential projects.

Lynch has done or proposed few or none of those things, said Kenney.

"I don't think Gov. Lynch knows what's going on from top to bottom," he summed up, adding that Lynch has failed to adequately and effectively use the bully pulpit of his office.

"What good is political capital if at the end of the day you don't use it?" asked Kenney, adding that, if elected, one of the first things he would do is to cut the governor's staff by one-fifth to send "a shock signal that this guy's serious." Then, he'd do energy audits of all state buildings.

When the polls close on Nov. 4, Kenney expects to be governor and for Republicans to retake the state House of Representatives although he concedes that the Senate is a toss-up.

To those voters who think he doesn't stand a chance against Lynch, Kenney cited former Maine Gov. James Longley who faced an even more uphill climb than he does now in getting elected.

Longley, Kenney said, presented voters with a simple idea: "Think about it before you pull that lever."

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