Politics & Government

Dowdell Says 2012 Election Is About 'Class Warfare'

Democratic First Congressional District candidate wants to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta to help New Hampshire's middle class families.

When Joanne Dowdell talks about why she is running for the First Congressional District in 2012, she says it is all about "class warfare."

The Portsmouth resident and Democratic candidate says the future of middle class families hangs in the balance as Republican lawmakers in Congress continue their assault on labor, healthcare, and try to shift more of the tax burden onto their shoulders.

She also believes voters who helped create a Republican revolution spurred by the national Tea Party movement in November 2010 will swing back to Democratic candidates in 2012.

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"This country is not about breaking promises, it's about keeping promises," said Dowdell during a recent interview at Kaffee Vonsolln in downtown Portsmouth.

Dowdell, 53, knows she has her work cut out for her to challenge Guinta and former New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, who Guinta defeated in November. But she believes voters are ready to go with someone new to represent the First Congressional District.

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"I am the strongest candidate at this point in time," she said. "New Hampshire is looking for a fresh face and new leadership."

Dowdell said her previous business experience as a senior executive with Citizens Advisors in Portsmouth, a firm that specialized in socially-responsible investments, make her a very qualified candidate to take on the number one issue of the campaign "that is jobs, jobs, jobs."

If elected, Dowdell said she would strive to get more direct working capital into the hands of small businesses who cannot hire more workers or grow without it. She would also put a premium on strengthening the public school and college systems.

"The Middle Class is under attack," Dowdell said. "Fairness is critical. You don't always get what you want, but you have to approve things in a fair manner."

She believes that fairness has been lacking in Congress and Washington when it comes to the middle class and she wants to make sure the interests of working families are not ignored or minimized by federal lawmakers.

"The Congress of today in no way resembles the Congress of 10 or 15 years ago," Dowdell said. "We have people who don't know where their next meal is coming from or whether to buy food or a gallon of gas."

Dowdell believes the Democrats nationwide have an real chance to take back a lot of the seats they lost in the U.S. House of Representatives and in Concord in the next election.

As a candidate, Dowdell recently passed an important test when her campaign raised $105,000 at the end of the first quarter. She is attending as many state Democratic Party and local Democratic Party events around the First Congressional District as she can to build her name recognition.

The political pendulum that swung in favor of the Republican Party in 2010 could swing in favor of the Democratic Party in 2012 and Dowdell is banking on that.

"We have a really good shot at taking the seat back in the First C.D."


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