We are All Connected

NH is a state with a long history of amazing public schools. Everyone in each town and city pitches in through local property taxes to provide the best education possible to the children in their communities. Now those schools are under threat by voucher programs and inequitable funding.

The Manchester Public School District is a perfect example.

Hampered by a lack of federal and state funding for English Language Learners, students in poverty, and students with disabilities, and constrained by a tax-cap, Manchester schools are struggling to provide a high quality education for all students. Now, Donald Trump wants to take New Hampshire's voucher scheme nationwide, pulling more money out of our public schools. Carleigh will go to D.C. to fight back against his efforts to dismantle public education and ensure our public schools across NH and the United States are fully funded, including by finally fully funding the federal commitment to educate students with disabilities through the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)!

Almost every single day since Carleigh launched this campaign in June she has heard the same thing from families with young kids, college students and recent grads, and older people: “We love this state, but we’re not sure we can afford to stay.” Even if this is not your story, the housing crisis hurts all of us. As someone hoping to be your next representative in Congress, she wants you to know not only how we got to this point—but exactly what she’ll fight for in order to turn things around.

Solving the housing crisis means standing up to corporate greed and outdated rules—and standing up for the people who make our communities strong. Including:

• Empowering New Hampshire's local builders and investing in our communities: she’’ll support new federal loan programs and accessible financing so small builders can compete and help communities build necessary infrastructure like sewer systems and roads.

• Cracking down on corporate speculation: she’ll work to end tax breaks and close loopholes for hedge funds and private equity firms snapping up single-family homes and support caps on institutional ownership to protect opportunities for ordinary buyers and renters.

• Break down barriers to affordable housing: she’ll push for incentives and support for NH communities that modernize zoning so we can build the many different kinds of housing we need without sacrificing community character

• Using federal policy to discourage land hoarding: she'll ensure that housing isn’t being kept off the market for speculation so more homes are available and affordable for people, not just for profit.

Carleigh knows first hand how tough the fight to secure dignity and fair pay can be. In 2016, she helped form the first graduate student workers union in Harvard’s history. She sat across the table for their first contract negotiations, and when the university refused to bargain in good faith, she joked with them on strike. 

Wherever working people are organizing for fair pay, safe working conditions, and the dignity of work, she’ll always stand with them.

In New Hampshire, the minimum wage is tethered to the federal minimum wage of just $7.25. In Congress, she will fight for raising the minimum wage to a livable wage.

Across NH, the cost of childcare has exploded. The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute found that NH families lost over $177 million dollars in wages as a result of a lack of access to affordable childcare. The average cost of sending two children to daycare is $32,000 a year!

Like so many parents, Carleigh has experienced firsthand how childcare has become inaccessible and unaffordable. She and Eric sent both their children to a daycare and pre-k that they loved, and they want all parents to be able to do the same if that's what's best for their family. That is why one of the first bills Carleigh will propose in Congress is legislation to cap the cost of childcare at seven percent of a family's income and fight for all childcare workers to be paid a living wage. 

In communities across the district, people are losing millions of dollars to internet scammers. Carleigh is partnering with local government leaders like US Army Veteran and forensic accountant Aleks Ring to educate people, especially seniors, about how to protect themselves from online fraudsters.

Tackling Climate Change is going to take a non-partisan, whole-of-government approach that holds corporate polluters accountable, supports people in making sustainable choices, and talks about the environment in a way that brings people together to take action. Research shows that the strongest motivator for people to take action and support policies that will slow down the overheating of our planet is the love for the next generation - a desire to protect the planet for our children and all those who come after us.