Election 2016

I had the honor of sitting down with State Representative John A Burt last week to discuss my positions. You can watch the show HERE. Here’s a breakdown, so feel free to skip to the parts you most care about:

2:26 – Why I am running
3:19 – Is Lou a "nice guy"?
5:13 – Government monopolies are bad
6:22 – A case for marijuana legalization
8:27 – Tax cuts and the beauty of the free market
12:59 – Commuter rail boondoggle
20:00 – School choice works
23:20 – Get out and vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8th
25:00 – My campaign ad
28:50 – John talks about who he is going to vote for

Please come out and vote on Tuesday, November 8th.

The Union Leader ran my hubby’s endorsement today.

To the Editor: My wife of 22 years, Carla Gericke, is running for the state Senate in Manchester and Goffstown. Carla is smart, funny, and, above all, principled. Also, she’s a fabulous cook. She will be an asset in the Senate.

I’m not just saying this because I love her. Our country has lost its way. Once the shining beacon of Liberty, it is now in the clutches of corruption, suffers under socialist programs, and fears its own shadow.

Small wonder that it’s been steadily falling in the rankings of economic freedom, number 17 now, and heading down. We are becoming poorer. 80 percent of us face poverty and unemployment.

Carla knows this trend can be reversed in New Hampshire. She wants to restore the balance in favor of personal responsibility, our local communities, and the freedom to create wealth. She has the courage, principles, and understanding needed to guide New Hampshire to a more prosperous future.

Carla’s been a lawyer, worked at several Fortune 500 firms like Apple and Logitech, and managed non-profit organizations. She knows how to work with other people to get things done, in all kinds of environments. She’ll get things done in the Senate, too.

Our choice is stark. Continue on the downward spiral by electing people with failed policies. Or, have the courage to admit failure, and blaze a new trail to prosperity. Away from this mess we’re in. That’s why I’m voting for Carla Gericke on Nov. 8, and hope you will, too.

LOUIS CALITZ
Manchester

Today’s Union Leader features my Op-Ed in which I discuss some of the issues that are important to me.

"As your senator, I will blaze a new trail to prosperity through free market principles with respect for individual and property rights, limited constitutional government, lower taxes, less regulation, and equal justice under the law. I will work to protect our state from growing federal overreach.

I believe in local control of education, lower energy costs, and affordable health care. The way we get this is by allowing more choice through market competition. When free marketeers warned that Obamacare would lead to significant price hikes, we were ignored. But we were right. More regulations and fewer choices are always bad for the economy."

Read more… The bottom line is we have an opportunity for real change in the state Senate. I won’t let you down! I humbly ask for your vote next Tuesday, November 8th.

"…there are several races where the Republican Senate candidate has taken more favorable positions on marijuana policy than his or her Democratic opponent… Carla Gericke (R-Manchester), strongly supports legalization." ~ Marijuana Policy Project

I support legalization because the war on drugs does more harm than good, and hurts non-violent people for the personal choices they make. I subscribe to the notion that vices are not crimes. Don’t like something? Don’t do it, but don’t force the weight of the state on your neighbors based on your views. In a free society, people can differ about how they lead their lives. I believe the government should stay out of your business as long as you are not harming someone else (or their property). I particularly disapprove of how the war on drugs has been used as an excuse to ramp up police militarization, increase SWAT raids, and normalize violations of our 4th Amendment rights against illegal searches and seizures.

Here’s the start of the article from Matt Simon at the Marijuana Policy Project:

"New Hampshire’s general election is right around the corner, and at this point only one thing is clear: many voters don’t even know who is running for state Senate.

Most of the state’s political oxygen has been sucked up by the presidential race, the race for U.S. Senate, and, to a lesser extent, the race for governor. However, the contests most likely to impact the future of New Hampshire laws and policies may be the 24 state Senate races, and the candidates seeking these offices have received little media coverage this summer and fall.

State Senate races are especially important for supporters of marijuana policy reform, who have watched the upper chamber kill seven House-approved decriminalization bills dating back to 2008. Fortunately for voters who are eager to see New Hampshire bring its marijuana laws out of the Dark Ages, the Marijuana Policy Project has published a voter guide that features detailed information on Senate candidates’ positions.

Read more at The Patch.

Free stater. Well done, GSP, well done. No really–slow clap–people would never have known I was a free stater unless, of course, they read my own bio right here on my Senate campaign website where it says I am the President Emeritus of this 501c3 educational nonprofit, or, I don’t know, maybe googled me, or say, visited Wikipedia.

Yes, I am a free stater, and I am damn proud of it.

I am proud to have chosen the best state in the country as my home. I am proud to be running for Senate in the "Live Free or Die" state. And I am going to be thrilled when I–a 44 year old woman–beat a nine term, 78 year old former football coach who is bought and paid for by monopoly gambling interests, who does not support marijuana legalization, and who is wildly out of touch with what taxpayers want. (Psst, it is to keep their hard earned money to spend as they see fit.)

In the almost decade I have lived in New Hampshire, I have worked tirelessly to promote liberty for us all, including winning a landmark First Circuit Court of Appeals case affirming the First Amendment right to film police encounters, and testifying in the legislature in favor of body cameras for local police, something you would think "progressives" would value considering Ferguson, Baltimore, et al, and, sadly, ad nauseam.

My many years of activism has helped our communities, for example, the Weare police department where I was arrested and charged with felony wiretapping, which carries a 7 year prison sentence, now uses body cams. And more NH police departments are considering the adoption of this technology. I have also fought against police militarization, against BEARCATS in our towns, against SWAT raids in our communities, and against government secrecy and surveillance. I guess "progressives" don’t like government transparency and accountability, or ending the war on drugs?

I oversaw historic successes during my five year tenure as president of the FSP. I have a track record most nonprofit executives would envy. Thousands of people moved to New Hampshire under my leadership, bringing families, new businesses, and investing more than $40 million in real estate.

Each year, the FSP hosts two internationally renowned educational conferences, bringing some of the greatest thinkers of our times to the Granite State. It took me three years to get NSA whistleblower and hero-of-the-people Edward Snowden to speak at Liberty Forum 2016. Don’t "progressives" support Snowden just like their Nixon whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg?

I share many views with "progressives." For example, I am antiwar (where did y’all go under Obama???), I support marijuana legalization, localism, food and farm freedom (I buy my raw milk and local meat from a farm stand in Hooksett every week). I also support the constitution. When did this become "extreme"?

Since the constitution is the law of the land, it would be more accurate to say "progressive" positions are extreme and immoral–that pesky "taking from Peter to pay for Paul" conundrum.

My life philosophy is to make sure every individual is free to pursue life, liberty and happiness as he or she sees fit. I believe government that governs least governs best. I believe in solving issues peacefully, through free markets and voluntary community engagement.

Keep in mind that even if every free stater who runs wins, lawmaking is still a slow and arduous process, which protects people from "extremism," like when a sitting NH Democrat called in 2013 to "pass measures [against free staters] that will restrict freedoms that they think they will find here.”

If you live in District 20 (Goffstown and Manchester Wards 3, 4, 10, 11) I ask for your vote next Tuesday, November 8th. Being a free stater is one of the best reasons to vote for me!

If you want to learn more about me and my positions, please watch this short campaign clip.

PS: Thanks for the free publicity, GSP. You missed some folks, and I found new people I didn’t know about. Keep up the great work!

Wow! My campaign video now has more than 7,000 views on Facebook. My message of constitutional, limited government must resonate with some folks. You can watch the short 3-ish minute long video on Facebook HERE or YouTube HERE.

Below is the transcript:

Hello Manchester and Goffstown!

My name is Carla Gericke. I am running for state senate in District 20, which is Goffstown and Manchester Wards 3, 4, 10 and Ward 11, where I own a home right here on the West Side with my husband of 22 years.

Since I am probably new to many of you, I wanted to tell you a little bit about myself:

I am 44 years old. I finished high school when I was 16 and law school when I was 21.

For almost a decade, I worked as an attorney in Silicon Valley at Fortune 500 companies like Logitech and Apple Computer.

After moving to NH in 2008, I worked at the New Hampshire Writers’ Project at Southern New Hampshire University. On top of my law degree, I have a Master in Fine Arts, and have been teaching a private writing workshop at my home for many years.

I stand for constitutional, limited government. I believe government that governs least, governs best.

I believe YOU know best how to spend your hard earned money.

As your senator, I will work to reduce taxes and regulations. We need to continue to cut business taxes to improve our business climate and create more high paying jobs.

Our millyards–which I like to call “sideways skyscrapers”–are developing into a tech hub, but there is more work to do.

I ask for the opportunity to show you that free market solutions work and create more prosperity for all.

I believe in local control of education, lower energy costs and affordable healthcare. The way we get this is by giving you more choices through competition. After all, we aren’t all the same, and we shouldn’t be treated as though we are–and we all know competition drives down costs, let’s call this the “Opposite of Obamacare,” where all our premiums are rising.

Like more than 60% of Granite Staters, I support marijuana reform.

I also believe in criminal justice reform, including ending on the war on drugs, ending policing for profit, and treating drug users with compassion, as patients not criminals.

I stand for government accountability and transparency, and will publicize every vote I make.

We have come to rely on the government for too much. Instead, we should be building community support for the things we want by using persuasion and discussion on a local level, rather than writing new laws that constrain everyone.

I have an A rating from the NRA, and am endorsed by the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project, and Goffstown’s state representative John Burt has endorsed me as well.

You can learn more about me and my positions at Carla 4 NHsenate.com. That’s Carla with a number four NH senate dot com.

I hope you will support me, and my fellow republicans down the ticket, on November 8th.

Your vote will allow me to represent YOU, the smallest minority, by implementing the solutions that will build a better future for all Granite Staters, young and old. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats!

Look forward to seeing you at the polls on November 8th!

I am pleased to announce I received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association, qualified as "AQ" which means a "pro-gun candidate whose rating is based solely on the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire and who does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues."

As your senator, I look forward to defending our Second Amendment rights, and will support Constitutional Carry legislation.

My opponent received an F.

The ink version of this Union Leader article has the headline: "Tense standoff ends peacefully."

Please study this photo from a street in Candia yesterday, and then ask yourself if this is the correct response to a woman who "clearly, based on our initial call she was distraught and in a tough emotional state."

Only in a police state would you expect to see this sort of over-aggressive, militarized response. This is a show of force, something we now see all too frequently, with military equipment, rifles at the ready, BEARCATS, SWAT teams, and dogs roaming our streets and neighborhoods.

Why could they not have sent a family member or a pastor to speak to this woman, who eventually did surrender without incident? I’ll tell you why: Because they have all this weaponized military gear and they are being equipped and trained by the federal government to regard us all as the enemy. This is not policing, this is an occupation, and it is happening with alarming frequency right here in NH!

Please understand, this would not have been a "standoff" at all, had they not rolled in with a standing army.

You have a choice to make on November 8th about what the future of this great state will look like. A vote for me is a vote to reduce and roll back the militarization of our police, and to institute real community policing with true accountability and transparency. Please vote for me, for freedom and peace.

The following LTE appeared in the Union Leader on October 11, 2016.

To the Editor: I am the Republican candidate for state Senate in District 20 (Goffstown and Manchester Wards 3, 4, 10 and 11). I ask for your vote on Nov. 8.

You should be free to spend your money as you see fit. You should be free to pursue your vocation without red tape. You should exercise personal responsibility in your own life, and let others be, except when keeping your representatives accountable and transparent. As your senator, I will publicize every vote I make.

We need fresh, rational voices in Concord who apply logic and facts, who are not swayed by propaganda and hysteria. As a former attorney, I have these analytical skills. As an activist, I have dedicated my life to liberty, winning a landmark First Amendment case and cautioning about police militarization.

The “NH Advantage” no longer exists. Even “Taxachusetts” has a better business climate. We must reverse this trend by pursuing free market policies, like the recent business tax cut that created 17,274 new jobs and a $100 million budget surplus.

We need to foster high tech. I worked in Silicon Valley for almost a decade. We need to embrace the inevitable “Uber Everything” future. Imagine if you only paid for what you use, your payment goes directly to your service providers, thereby eliminating government waste.

The GOP platform says: “We believe in free people, free markets and free enterprise.” In the Senate, I will vote to grow the economy for the benefit of young and old.

CARLA GERICKE

The time draws nigh with just a few weeks left to activate! There are lots of great ways to help out. Here are a few:

Volunteer to knock doors or hold signs. Complete this form and my volunteer coordinator, Rhonda Lambert, will be in touch.

Or, join us for a sign wave on Friday, October 14th, 6-7:30PM before the Monarch’s game at SNHU Arena in downtown Manchester. RSVP here so I know how much pizza and beer to get for the after-party.

Good friends have put together a fun way to help my campaign! Buy raffle tickets anywhere you see William K, Bill D, or BuMps–if you don’t know them yet, come to Murphy’s Taproom for any of the next 3 Tuesdays from 5-9PM. The raffle tickets are $5 each, or 5 for $20, and the prizes solicited from the greater New Hampshire liberty community are totally off the hook. (Seriously, click the link, you can win a private plane ride!)

In addition to being entered into the drawing on November 8th, you can redeem the other side for virtual range time at Tactical Tuesdays which will be hosted in the backroom at Murphy’s for the next three weeks. RSVP to today’s Tactical Tuesdays here.

I’ve done the virtual range a few times now, and can tell you from personal experience, it is RAD! Whether you are new to shooting or an experienced marksman, this is an incredibly FUN way to spend a few hours. And you get to improve your skills to boot. Hope to see some new faces there today!