Additional commentary by Rep. Timothy Horrigan; September 9, 2014
Four days before the 2014 state primary, on Friday, September 5, 2014, I wrote a slightly overlong letter (a little over 500 words) to the editors of the two local newspapers which serve Durham and Madbury. The Portsmouth Herald ran it as is the very next day, on Saturday, September 6. The op-ed page editor of the Dover, NH Foster's Daily Democrat asked me to shorten it to "letter length," which I did. The Foster's ran the shorter version of the letter the day before the election, on Monday,September 8.
I like the long version better, although my mother said it was "too long."
Horrigan seeks seat in the House for another term
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September 06, 2014 2:00 AM Sept. 5 — To the Editor:
One last time before the Sept. 9 primary election, I am writing to ask the people of Durham and Madbury to vote for me. Serving the people of this wonderful community has been the greatest honor of my career. For two of my three terms, I have sat next to the same representative from Nashua on session days. Although she is about the same age as myself, she has been serving much longer than I have, and she has a much wiser and older soul than I do. She has given me many pieces of excellent advice, including these:
There are many people and groups — both inside and outside the legislature — who are eager to chastise legislators for voting the wrong way. We state representatives are subjected to numerous ratings from various special-interest groups. The only rating which matters at all is the attendance record. Even that doesn't matter much, because there are many good reasons why even the most diligent member will miss a day of work from time to time. I am proud to say that I have never missed a session day, I have missed only a handful of committee meetings and I have a 99.9 percent voting record, having missed just one vote in six years. Frustratingly, I was sitting in my seat when I missed that vote. We were still using an antiquated voting system (replaced in 2014) which broke down a lot, and I failed to check that the buttons on my voting station were lit up the way I intended. The reason I failed to check was because I made the mistake of responding in kind to an argumentative colleague to whom I owed nothing. The man sitting behind me in 2013 happened to be a leader of an ultraconservative sub-caucus within the Republican caucus, and he had the bad habit of chastising his Democratic neighbors for every vote — even the ones where we agreed with him. I was heartbroken that I missed that vote, and I have made every vote since then. I will not be spending much time celebrating my success or drowning my sorrows (as the case may be) on the night of Sept. 9. I have a meeting at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Sept.10 which I will be attending, and two more slightly later in the morning on Thursday. On Sept. 17, I plan to further improve my voting record by being there for every vote on "Veto Day." But before that, I look forward to seeing my neighbors at the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Rep. Timothy Horrigan Durham |
And, here is the shorter version:
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About Horrigan
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To the editor: For two of my three terms in the New Hampshire House, I have sat next to the same representative from Nashua. Although we are about the same age, she is much wiser than me. One of her many pieces of excellent advice is:
There are many groups, both inside and outside the legislature, who are eager to chastise legislators for voting the wrong way. We state reps are graded and rated by numerous special-interest groups. The only rating which matters at all is the attendance record. Even that doesn't matter much, because even the most diligent members miss a day of work occasionally. I am proud to say that I have never missed a session day, and I have a 99.9% voting record, having missed just one vote in six years. Frustratingly, I was sitting in my seat when I missed that vote, on March 20, 2013. We were still using an antiquated voting system which would be replaced in 2014. I failed to check that the buttons on my voting station were lit up the way I intended, after making the mistake of responding in kind to an argumentative colleague. He was an ultraconservative Republican who habitually chastised his Democratic colleagues for every vote — even the ones where we agreed with him. I was heartbroken that I missed that vote, and I have made every vote since then. I look forward to seeing my neighbors at the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 9. One last time, I am ask the people of Durham and Madbury to vote for me. Serving the people of this wonderful community has been the greatest honor of my career.
State Rep. Timothy Horrigan Durham |
See Also:
My October 22, 2014 Letter to the Editor of Foster's Daily Democrat, entitled "EBT Explained"
My August 14, 2014 Letter to the Editor of Foster's Daily Democrat, entitled "For Re-Election"
My June 19, 2014 Letter to the Editor of Foster's Daily Democrat, also entitled "For Re-Election"