CANDIDATE LETTER: Muns for State Rep.

[Editor's note: Hampton-North Hampton Patch will post letters from candidates running for election this fall. The letters aren't edited by Patch, nor do they reflect the opinions of or an endorsement from Patch. If you are a candidate and would like to submit a letter of candidacy, e-mail Kyle.Stucker@Patch.com.]

My name is Chris Muns. I am running for one of the four seats in District 21 representing Hampton in the N.H. State House of Representatives.

I have lived and worked on the Seacoast off and on for the past 30 years and have lived in Hampton fulltime for the past 15 years and am currently a member of the Winnacunnet School Board. My wife is the former Melanie Tebbetts of Hampton Falls, and she, along with our children Jennifer and Ben, are proud graduates of Winnacunnet High School.

I have a BA in economics from Bowdoin College and an MBA from Dartmouth College. I began work as a financial analyst, financial controller and regional controller for Wheelabrator Technologies located right here in Hampton. For most of the past 24 years I have worked in the field of human resources services, for companies such as Raytheon, Fidelity Investments, Fisher Scientific, and Comverse, an international telecommunication software provider.

I have lived and worked on the Seacoast off and on for the past 30 years and have lived in Hampton fulltime for the past 15 years and am currently a member of the Winnacunnet School Board. My wife is the former Melanie Tebbetts of Hampton Falls, and she, along with our children Jennifer and Ben, are proud graduates of Winnacunnet High School.

I have a BA in economics from Bowdoin College and an MBA from Dartmouth College. I began work as a financial analyst, financial controller and regional controller for Wheelabrator Technologies located right here in Hampton. For most of the past 24 years I have worked in the field of human resources services, for companies such as Raytheon, Fidelity Investments, Fisher Scientific, and Comverse, an international telecommunication software provider.

I am running for state representative because I feel that the challenges we are facing are too great to remain on the sidelines, and because the path our state legislature - particularly the state house of representatives - has taken these past two years has set us back and made it even more difficult for us to address these challenges together.

We CAN do better and I am asking the voters of Hampton to join with me to:

• Preserve the REAL New Hampshire Advantage — our people, our strong sense of community and our common purpose. We need to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and has an equal opportunity to excel and apply the same "Live Free or Die" commitment to community and common purpose that has been a trademark of our state throughout its history.
• Restore decency and dialogue to our political discourse in Concord . Every elected representative should be treated fairly and with dignity and respect. In addition, no one man — or party — has all the answers. The key to good governance is an effective dialogue between all branches of government and among the parties — Democratic, Republican and Independent.
• Continue to be good stewards of the public's money. The public has the right to expect that when our elected representatives make an expenditure, the need for and purpose of that expenditure will have been well defined, funding for it will have been raised in a fair and equitable manner, and the spending of those funds and the results obtained will be closely monitored.
• Provide a solid foundation for long term sustainable growth by investing in our K-12 public schools and our 2 and 4 year colleges and universities. The jobs of the future will go to those who not only have good technical skills and understanding, but also are creative and innovative thinkers. The best way for us to attract those jobs is to prepare our kids for that new reality right here in their hometowns. Without this investment now, we will not only lose the jobs of the future, but a large share of our young population as well.
• Support development that benefits all of Hampton. The state cannot do it all, but there are resources and programs available at the state level that Hampton can utilize and with your help I want to help our local officials take advantage of them.

I am a good listener, fair and open-minded, energetic, innovative and forward thinking. I have been able to bring people together behind a common purpose and I will work with anyone who joins me in my commitment to Hampton and to moving New Hampshire forward. I also hope to bring some new and positive "Can Do" energy to the state house, working with the other members of our local delegation in a collaborative and productive manner.

I hope that the voters of Hampton will join with me on November 6, 2012 to restore common sense and a renewed sense of community and common purpose to our state. For additional information please go to www.facebook.com/ChrisMunsforStateRep.