Local Control
Wendy Larson for New Hampshire State Representative in Rockingham District 19, serving Kensington and Hampton Falls
Our towns, our decisions
In Kensington and Hampton Falls, neighbors still gather to decide things together every March. We vote on our own school budgets. We sit on our own planning boards. We know our roads, our wells, and our kids by name. Wendy Larson has been part of that tradition for more than 40 years, and she believes it is worth protecting.
Why it matters now
More and more, Concord is reaching into decisions that belong to us.
One recent bill would have capped school budgets statewide, even when local voters approved more. The House rejected it 346 to 9, but its supporters plan to try again.
Another would let students enroll in any district, with the home district required to send $15,000 to $30,000 per student along with them.
Others would have the state decide which books belong in a school library.
What Wendy will do
Stand against state caps on budgets that local voters have approved. If a town wants a cap, it can adopt one itself.
Keep enrollment policy in the hands of each district's voters.
Oppose state mandates on what teachers teach.
Vote no on any bill that hands towns a new duty without the money to pay for it.
Support town authority over where large facilities such as data centers can be built.
Hold regular office hours in both towns and report back after every session. Wendy intends to provide local residents with a weekly update email on the most important legislation discussed and how she and your District 36 rep voted. She also intends to spend two hours every Saturday at either the Hampton Falls or Kensington Library to answer voters' questions and help her constituents.
A simple test
Wendy asks one question of every bill: who is closest to this decision? Budgets, schools, and land use belong to the people who live with the results. The state's job is to protect everyone's rights and to look after what crosses town lines, like our aquifers and the electric grid.
What you will notice
When you vote at town meeting or school district meeting, your vote decides the matter. No surprise bills from Concord. A great example of a surprise bill was our current reps allowing our Police Chiefs to enter 287(g) agreements with ICE with no input from your Select Board or residents. Wendy would have been a “no” vote on this. She will be a representative who shows up, listens, and carries your decisions to the State House.
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