Colin Van Ostern
Historical Details
Position on Issues
For| Read My Position
"I've been leading the effort in New Hampshire to push for getting passenger rail and commuter from Boston up to the central part of the state for years, and I'm glad we're making some progress, but we need to get it done now."
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
What was the best decision made by the Executive Council in the past two years?
"Re-starting the federal economic feasibility study of how to bring passenger rail from Boston to central New Hampshire."
Against| Read My Position
Both candidates have promised not to introduce a broad-based sales or income tax to raise revenue. But they have different ideas on where additional source of revenue will come from; Van Ostern identifies federal money coming to the state from expanded Medicaid as a financial boon, while Sununu argues that cutting business taxes further will bring more businesses and, therefore, more revenue into state coffers.
Other| Read My Position
Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2024
"It's way past time to cut interest rates, limit junk fees, and take on corporate price-gouging - and we can do it while slashing federal deficits too."
Against| Read My Position
"I don't think bringing casinos to New Hampshire is the solution to revenue challenges we face. They're building a $1.5 billion resort not too far over our border. I think what past proposals might have made sense at the time are just having less validity today, and so that's not what I'm going to be pushing as governor."
Other| Read My Position
"I think we should be very aggressive about replacing high-stakes standardized testing with localized project-based learning. There are a handful of school districts around New Hampshire that have done a pilot program in this area called PACE. We're actually the first state in the country to be able to break out of some of the rigid requirements around the yearly standardized testing, but right now we have a cap holding back the number of school districts that can do that. I think we should look at lifting that and making sure that education and curriculum are built at the local level."
For| Read My Position
"I think that possessing a small amount of marijuana for personal use should not disrupt your entire life and career. The other states in New England have made progress towards that in a way that New Hampshire should have and hasn't yet. In concept, I think decriminalization makes some sense. I think we need to do it in a way that's careful and takes law enforcement's opinions and those who are on the front lines of the opioid and fentanyl crisis into account in how it gets done. But I think we spend a lot of money in our state prison system that could be better routed to things like treatment and recovery and prevention."
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
What do you think of the dollar limit on the size of state contracts that must be reviewed by the Executive Council?
"New Hampshire's Executive Council moved this fall to cut government waste, improve efficiency, strengthen transparency and make it easier for local firms to do business with the state. Sometimes, the best change you can make is when you change yourself: that's why I voted to raise the threshold for which items come before the Executive Council. Up until this fall, the five of us on the Executive Council vote on essentially all state contracts of $10,000 or more and all personnel contracts of $2,500 or more (as well as key appointments by the governor and other matters). Last year, this added up to 1,431 contracts ranging from $2,500 to hundreds of millions of dollars apiece. I've spent most of my career in the private sector, and the idea that a multi-billion dollar organization would essentially require its board of directors to approve a $12,000 roof repair is frankly somewhat shocking to my business-minded colleagues outside government. But the truth is, government is not a business - we carry the public trust, and have higher standards of transparency and accountability. So it's worth looking at it through the lens of what's best for the public. And through that lens, the answer is clear. The extensive council review process for the hundreds of smaller contracts every year is costing New Hampshire taxpayers tremendously - both in terms of bureaucratic waste and in obscuring transparency. Leading the effort to raise the threshold all year has been our longest-serving councilor, Deb Pignatelli. I also spoke with three previous councilors before making up my mind - two Republican, one Democrat - who together represented my district for more than 32 years. Unprompted, all thought the threshold should be raised. Here's why: To improve efficiency and cut waste: Today, a typical contract of less than $25,000 consumes roughly 40 to 85 hours of personnel time and costs the state nearly $3,000 (as estimated by the Division of Purchase & Property Management). There are hundreds of contracts of this size (last year, 374 to be precise). Quite literally, we have dozens of state employees who spend hundreds or thousands of hours a year on paperwork on these contracts. It's not uncommon for an agency to receive an electronic document from a vendor, print it out and ship it to another agency that makes a dozen or more paper copies for processing, then scans one into a new electronic document. To be sure, any organization as large as the state will have some bureaucracy. And, the council is also discussing other much-needed reforms - like a project to bring more of the contracting process online, spearheaded by Councilor Christopher Sununu, and a new consent calendar spearheaded by Councilor Christopher Pappas and myself. But raising the limit is a concrete and immediately impactful step we can take now. We have a responsibility to taxpayers to be frugal with their tax dollars and tens of thousands of hours on paperwork is hardly frugal. To strengthen transparency and accountability: Today, contracts of less than $25,000 make up 26 percent of all contracts the council reviews - but they make up roughly 0.2 percent of all funding we oversee. And by the way, 100 percent of these contracts have passed in recent years. Effectively, these small contracts are the hay"in the proverbial haystack - lots of paper standing between citizens and the vastly more impactful 'needles' - that is the multimillion dollar contracts that often don't raise a single question from a single councilor before passing. There's no question that it is important for the public to see transactions big and small - which is why the state should publish quarterly reports listing even these smaller contracts for councilors and the public to review. But the best way to ensure both transparency and accountability is to ensure that the council review process focuses on projects that have a big impact on the state - and too often the smaller contracts are essentially shielding them from the full review they deserve. The Executive Council has been meeting for 334 years and it took until 2014 for a majority of the councilors to abandon the 10 000-page deep council packets each meeting in exchange for laptops and iPads. But New Hampshire is moving forward. Our court system has made great strides to electronic records this year and Gov. Maggie Hassan has ordered all state business forms to be available online within the year. Raising the council contract threshold can achieve better efficiency and more impactful transparency for New Hampshire citizens."
For| Read My Position
Candidate's Facebook Page, 2015
"We shouldn't be capping the full potential of our clean tech economy in New Hampshire -- we should be accelerating it. The time to end the NH solar cap is long overdue."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
What is your position on accepting federal grant money related to the online health insurance exchange?
"The Executive Council was right to accept federal money related to the online health insurance exchange."
For| Read My Position
Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2024
"When the Dobbs decision came down, it shocked my family and thousands across New Hampshire.
"It's unacceptable. In Congress, I'll work to protect reproductive freedom from IVF to abortion."
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
When approving a state purchase or contract, which is most important?
"The financial merits (or problems)"
Against| Read My Position
Van Ostern supports decriminalizing marijuana, but has stopped short of supporting outright legalization.
For| Read My Position
Supports expanded Medicaid eligibility.
For| Read My Position
Candidate's Facebook Page, 2024
"Proud to share this Bipartisan call for standing with Ukraine in this week's Hillsborough Messenger."
For| Read My Position
Van Ostern supports the Gateway to Work program passed by Gov. Maggie Hassan and opposes right-to-work legislation. His economic plan calls for keeping business taxes low and preventing a sales or income tax. He also supports establishing a state minimum wage, and he has said $12 an hour would be a good starting point.
Against| Read My Position
We need a governor who's going to stand up for the people. The reason Chris said he voted against solar projects was 'because they penalize the electric utility companies.' I'm worried about doing what's right for New Hampshire consumers."
"Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
When making an appointment, how much should the Executive Council consider a nominee's political beliefs?
"A nominee's knowledge and experience are more important than his/her political beliefs."
Against| Read My Position
Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2024
"There are real challenges we face as a country - from unleashing the spark of innovation to create good-paying jobs; to protecting Social Security and Medicare; to fixing the corruption in Washington; to affordable housing, and climate change, and living up to our promises to our veterans; to finally getting bipartisan immigration reform done that strengthens our borders and heals our communities; and to protecting democracy against authoritarianism and terrorism at home and overseas."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
Do you agree with the Executive Council's refusal to grant a pardon to Thomas Schoolcraft, a reformed burglar turned corrections officer?
"The Executive Council was right to deny the pardon."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014
What is your opinion on the state providing some funding for Planned Parenthood?
"The Executive Council was right to approve the contract with Planned Parenthood."
For| Read My Position
Candidate's Facebook Page, 2015
"Basic, common-sense gun safety laws are completely consistent with the 2nd amendment rights I respect and I exercise as a gun owner. But they will only happen if we call on our elected officials to listen to the people of our country and make positive change."
Against| Read My Position
Candidate's Twitter Feed, 2024
"It's way past time to cut interest rates, limit junk fees, and take on corporate price-gouging - and we can do it while slashing federal deficits too."
