ROCHESTER — Incumbent Libertarian state Rep. Brandon Phinney is competing with Democrat Jeremiah "Jerry" Minihan and Republican Mona Perreault for one seat in the New Hampshire House representing Rochester in Strafford County District 24 in the Nov. 6 election.

Mona Perreault did not provide respond to Foster's Daily Democrat's questionnaire.

Here are the responses from Brandon Phinney and Jeremiah "Jerry" Minihan:

Brandon Phinney

Address: 2B Chestnut St., Rochester

Age: 30

Occupation: HVAC controls technician/National Guardsman

Civic/political experience: 2016-2018 First-term state representative for Rochester wards 4 and 5; 2009-present Army National Guard with one deployment to United Arab Emirates in 2015.

1. If elected, what will be your top 3 priorities?

Repealing erroneous and unenforceable regulations, criminal justice reform, fiscal transparency.

2. Do you support giving a sum of public tax dollars to parents to use for homeschooling their children or sending them to public or religious schools?

School districts should support the education of students, but should not force parents to send their children to public schools if the school does not provide what the child needs. If a parent wishes to home-school or send their child to another school that better suits them, the tax money they would otherwise pay should follow them. It is actually unconstitutional for the state to pay for religious-based schooling.

3. What can the state do to attract and retain young professionals and families so vital to our workforce?

The state should not be picking winners and losers in the job market by erecting prohibitive restrictions on obtaining employment in the workforce. This happens through excessive occupational licensing requirements that are burdensome for a lot of people.

For example, an individual getting into the cosmetology trade needs to complete 1,500 hours of schooling or 2,000 hours of apprenticeship experience, getting into about $20,000 in debt before graduation and then have to pay for the state license. This criteria is stricter than training to become a police officer, where your training is paid for by the hiring police department and you are only required to complete 14 weeks of the police academy before becoming certified. We need reforms in this area.

4. Do you support legalizing marijuana for recreational use?

I absolutely support the complete legalization of marijuana for recreational use, without taxation of it imposed. Part of the criminal justice reform that I want to focus on in my second term is repealing all incarceration of cannabis-based offenses. New Hampshire has already decriminalized cannabis, but we continue to be an island of prohibition in New England for not legalizing for recreational use. Peaceful individuals should not be prosecuted by the state for possessing or consuming a plant based substance. There are many benefits to using cannabis as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. Prohibition did not work in the 1920s; it still doesn't work in 2018.

5. Are New Hampshire gun laws sufficient? If not, what changes would you support and why?

The natural right of self-defense is one of the most paramount rights we have as free individuals aside from free speech. No person has the right to violate the bodily autonomy of others or their property. Constitutional carry is the law in New Hampshire and rightly so. The state does not have the right to unnecessarily restrict the right to bear arms. I will not support any bills that would do so in my next term.

6. Do you support raising the state minimum wage for the current federal default level of $7.25 an hour? If yes, what should it be?

The minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage. I do not support minimum wage laws as I believe consumer-driven economics makes the market more competitive by companies hiring qualified and experienced people to make their business successful. There are many opportunities afforded to individuals to be competitive in the job market by gaining useful experience, getting an apprenticeship, receiving higher education, etc.

7. Do you think the state should implement a paid family-medical leave insurance program?

I do not believe it is the role of the state to mandate private companies offer certain benefits. If a company wants to offer paid family-medical leave insurance, they are free to do so. The legislature tried passing a bill to implement this program, disguised as an income tax, but it was thankfully defeated. The hard workers of the state should not be forced to pay a new tax or a tax increase for paid family-medical leave insurance.

8. How can the state better address the opioid crisis?

As part of criminal justice reform, we have to stop incarcerating addicts who have not committed a real crime. Addiction is a behavioral issue, not a criminal issue and our county jails and state prisons are not rehabilitation centers. By reforming the way we address drug laws and the drug war, we can give more options to our courts to allow someone entry into a treatment program, in lieu of incarceration. The opioid crisis can be traced to the over-proscription of narcotics. We should completely legalize cannabis to allow people a better pain management alternative. I also support the cessation of Operation Granite Shield.

9. Do you think the state’s business profits and business enterprise taxes should be raised, lowered or left where they are? Explain your reasoning.

Not only should we be cutting all taxes, but we should be cutting spending as well. I believe that in order to allow the consumer driven market to flourish, we need the state to stop hindering startups and small businesses with unnecessary financial burdens, like high business taxes. In all reality, only large businesses and corporations can afford to pay the high taxes. State regulations on businesses stifles growth and competition in the market.

10. What is the biggest issue(s) facing your community/district and what would you do to address it?

A couple of the biggest issues I've come across on the campaign trail is health care and education. I certainly support making access to health care easier, but I do not believe that the state has all the answers. For example, I would support an interstate insurance purchase ability for Granite Staters. New Hampshire should not own the insurance market and individuals should be able to purchase out of state policies, if they provide the best coverage at a reasonable cost. Expanding Medicaid is a financial detriment to the state because federal programs are not solvent and the cost will always be downshifted to taxpayers. This raises rates for premiums for mediocre coverage. We must do better.

With education, it is one of our biggest issues in the state, not just Rochester. Over half of income from property taxes in Rochester is spent on the public school system. Even with property tax income, the Rochester City Council still voted to override the tax cap to give additional money to the schools. I believe this sets a bad precedence for the future because it will only increase costs, spending more money does not increase the quality of education the students receive and residents will leave the city.

Jeremiah Minihan

Address: 38 Lois St., Rochester

Age: 70

Occupation: Retired

Civic/political experience: Previously served on the Rochester Library Board of Trustees with a term as chair of that board.

1. If elected, what will be your top 3 priorities?

My top three priorities would lead be to continue to aggressively address the opioid crisis, to strengthen and improve our schools, and to support broad healthcare options for our citizens.

2. Do you support giving a sum of public tax dollars to parents to use for homeschooling their children or sending them to public or religious schools.

No. Public funds should be reserved for public schools. I support improving public schools, and I think that taking away these funds will hurt the schools which are responsible to admitting and educating all children.

3. What can the state do to attract and retain young professionals and families so vital to our workforce?

We can attract and keep young families in the state by enacting appropriate family-medical leave legislation, continuing to support the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion and by providing the means for a good education through adequate school funding. We should not alienate potential residents with voter suppression tactics such as the recent domicile legislation.

4. Do you support legalizing marijuana for recreational use?

Yes. Any legalization should proceed cautiously. We have to be aware that other neighboring states are moving in this direction, and legalization could provided another badly needed source of revenue.

5. Are New Hampshire gun laws sufficient? If not, what changes would you support and why?

I support the Second Amendment and I am a gun owner. But some commonsense regulations also are important. I'm not sure every citizen needs to have every military-style weapon. We should look at bump stocks and assault weapons.

6. Do you support raising the state minimum wage for the current federal default level of $7.25 an hour? If yes, what should it be?

Yes, but it should be raised to the federal level gradually.

7. Do you think the state should implement a paid family-medical leave insurance program?

We should pass a family-medical leave bill. This would help not only help our young families but also help those who care for and are responsible for elderly relatives.

8. How can the state better address the opioid crisis?

For the opioid crisis, we need a combination of law enforcement and health care support. New Hampshire needs to aggressively push for and manage federal funds. State support of the Affordable Care Act and other treatment options need to be enhanced.

9. Do you think the state’s business profits and business enterprise taxes should be raised, lowered or left where they are? Explain your reasoning.

I think that both the business profits and business enterprise taxes should be raised .One way to start doing this would be to eliminate the planned reductions in both. To take the pressure off property taxes. It seems to me that these taxes might fill the void in our tight budget demands.

10. What is the biggest issue(s) facing your community/district and what would you do to address it?

I think the biggest issue is that Rochester needs and issues are forcefully pursued. Our legislators need to make sure that bills which help our city are passed and supported. That means not only being in Concord for votes and meetings but also listening to our residents. We should avoid unfunded mandates, passing bills with negatively impact our cities and towns. Rochester is on the move and our legislators should attend to the city's needs — in attracting businesses, improving schools, and helping our residents with health care.