Here come the false/misleading mailers from New Hampshire Republicans attacking local Democrats. They appear in your mailbox about this time. Big headlines with false claims, with ‘facts’ about a candidate’s prior voting record. Because they come out late in the campaign, there’s little time for rebuttal. It’s a standard Republican ploy to confuse voters.

In this week’s mail, I got a flyer from the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, with a big bold headline: “Shannon Chandley will make Joe Biden’s war on families worse.” There are claims that Shannon will increase your costs, with four foot-noted ‘facts’ about Shannon’s record in both the New Hampshire House and New Hampshire Senate. The headline could not be any further from the truth. Shannon is all about reducing the cost of living, lowering energy costs, and lowering taxes.

That false headline – Joe Biden’s “war on American families” – what the heck are they talking about? Joe Biden advocated for, and Congress passed, the hugely successful American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021. The coronavirus pandemic and its concomitant recession created economic pain for millions of U.S. households under Trump. ARPA helped ease that pain, and its child tax credit (CTC) in particular, caused a dramatic reduction in poverty and hunger, and stabilized the middle-class. Further, the recent Inflation Reduction Act, passed by congressional Democrats without a single Republican vote, extends Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies by 3 years and caps drug costs. And now, you can buy over-the-counter hearing aids because Biden signed an Executive Order ordering the FDA to promulgate regulations allowing this, something the Trump administration sat on for th years.

Let’s look at a few of those supposed ‘facts’ on Shannon’s Concord voting record:

• Supported an income tax (SB1, 2/14/19) – Shannon was one of about 20 sponsors of this bill that would have offered paid family and medical leave insurance to New Hampshire families, but Sununu vetoed it.

• Supported 74 new or higher taxes & fees (HB1 & HB2, 6/24/09) – these ‘housekeeping bills’ were voted on by the majority of both the New Hampshire Senate and House, and routinely fund numerous New Hampshire departments. Do you register your car? – There’s a fee for that, to help fund DMV. It’s how New Hampshire pays for its government.

• Supported higher electricity rates (SB168, 3/28/19) – This common-sense bill required utilities to increase their share of solar power, but Sununu also vetoed it, allowing his EverSource pals to now charge some of the highest electric rates in the country.

My wife and I have known Shannon for over 10 years, and she’s always advocated for young families and those in need. Unlike her opponent, she successfully voted to eliminate the Merrimack tolls. Her opponent has cut taxes, but only for millionaires at the expense of hardworking Granite Staters.

So, don’t be misled by New Hampshire Republican dirty tricks – vote for Shannon Chandley on Nov. 8 – the one actually doing something to improve lower and middle class families’ lives.