Concord Monitor - Lynch, Kenney Argue Money

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Concord Monitor - Lynch, Kenney Argue Money

Daniel Barrick

In their first face-to-face meeting as candidates, Democratic Gov. John Lynch and Republican state Sen. Joe Kenney agreed on several points yesterday.

Both promised to oppose a statewide sales or income tax; both said they would not raise taxes on businesses; both said they were not inclined to support expanded gambling.

But Lynch and Kenney, speaking at a forum at St. Anselm College in Goffstown and sponsored by the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, found plenty to disagree on, including health care reform, the size of the most recent state budget increase and the best way to attract new business to the state.

Lynch defended the current two-year state budget as responsible and prudent. He dismissed criticisms that state spending had increased excessively at 17 percent, saying much of that increase came from nondiscretionary spending, such as retirement costs for state employees. Without those items, Lynch said, the budget increase ended up at 3 percent.

"You have to look at the overall budget increase," Lynch said.

Kenney, of Wakefield, said he would make spending cuts a priority as governor, calling for across-the-board cuts of 5 to 10 percent. Asked for specific areas of state government he would trim, Kenney offered only the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, which helps preserve open space and properties of historical significance.

The forum's moderator, Laura Knoy of New Hampshire Public Radio, told Kenney the program uses about $6 million in state money.

"That's not very much when you're talking about the state deficit we may be facing," Knoy said. State revenue numbers for September, released yesterday, were $46 million below estimates. The budget could be short $100 million by the summer.

"Well, you have to start somewhere," Kenney said.

Pushed for more examples of what he considered wasteful state spending, Kenney said he had been told the Department of Transportation was renting a broken lawnmower.

"That's wasted money," Kenney said.

The men also differed on the best strategies for attracting new business to the state. Lynch touted a research-and-development tax credit and tax incentives aimed at companies that move to Coos County.

"It's an important marketing tool for us, to lure new businesses to the region," Lynch said.

Kenney dismissed the tax credit as a "drop in the bucket" and a Coos County tax incentive as a "token for that part of the state." He said he would establish a development authority for the North Country that would invest in infrastructure for the region.

On the topic of education, both men said they favored targeting extra state money to poorer school districts, a practice repeatedly struck down by the courts. But they differed sharply on the question of whether the state spent enough money on public higher education.

Neither man called for increased funding for state universities and community colleges. Lynch, who served as chairman of the board of trustees for the University System of New Hampshire before being elected governor in 2004, said the state spends an "appropriate" amount of money.

Kenney said he would trim spending for higher education, mostly by going after what he called excessive salaries for professors and administrators.

"You have a lot of high-priced people" at the University of New Hampshire, he said.

Kenney faces a steep challenge in his bid to unseat Lynch. He has struggled to raise money and is not widely known among the public, according to recent surveys. Lynch, meanwhile, enjoys high public approval ratings and has won praise from many Republicans, due in part to his nonconfrontational governing style.

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