DOVER — A 91-year-old freshman state representative has angered a Dover Community Partners staffer for his comments he doesn't support state funding for "the crazy people" who should be sent to "Siberia."

DOVER — A 91-year-old freshman state representative has angered a Dover Community Partners staffer for his comments he doesn't support state funding for "the crazy people" who should be sent to "Siberia."



Martin Harty of Barrington made the comments to Sharon Omand, a program manager at Community Partners, which provides behavioral health and developmental services for Strafford County. Omand had called Harty and other legislators to discuss measures in the proposed House Republican state budget that would make significant cuts to mental health services.



Omand told Foster's that Harty told her he disagreed with her about the need for funds for mental health services and he believed in eugenics.



"The world population has gotten too big and the world is being inherited by too many defective people," he told her.



Omand said she asked him to clarify if he meant mentally ill and developmentally disabled and he responded, "I mean all the defective people, the drug addicts, mentally ill, the retarded — all of them."



"I asked what we should do with them," Omand said, and Harty said, "I believe if we had a Siberia we should send them to this and they would all freeze and die and we will be rid of them."



Harty confirmed his comments in an interview with Foster's Daily Democrat late Thursday afternoon.



Explaining his thoughts, Harty said one of his main concerns is population explosion, and he is wary of funding a social issue that can't really be helped.



"The population keeps doubling," he said. "It's not hitting us too hard yet; we're not running out of food and we're not running out of drinkable water. But we're getting damn close. The homeless people that every state has their share of are mostly mentally ill. You can't really help those people. You can keep them alive, but there's only so much you can do for those people."



Harty referenced science fiction writer Isaac Asimov and his stories about a pending population explosion as someone whose messages he is "in tune with."



Omand said she was also angered by the comment Harty made to her about his believing in eugenics, a biosocial movement that advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population.



Harty told Foster's he had been "kidding around" with Omand and had obviously riled her up, but she had continued pushing her point of "getting more money for the crazy people."



He said Omand called him Adolf Hitler and hung up on him. He says he never mentioned Hitler.



He said he talks about eugenics frequently but also believes mental health funding should be studied.



"There are people you can only help so much, and throwing more money at the problem isn't going to do it," he said. "It needs to be studied some more and get more people and try to do it in a slightly different way."