To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to thank everyone who is supporting my campaign for the New Hampshire state Senate and to introduce myself and my positions to those readers who don’t yet know me.

The most difficult question I have been asked in this campaign is “Why are you running?”

There are so many reasons not to run that it is difficult to answer at first.

But my answer turned out to be simple.

I believe that government is not some evil body of inept, unconcerned insiders, the fairytale we are so often told by many commentators and candidates. This is America, and our government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” as true now as it was in the days of Lincoln.

I heard Vicki Kennedy talk Sunday, and she said that one of Ted’s favorite quotations was from Oliver Wendell Holmes: “As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at the peril of being not to have lived.“

I am running to share my passions and the action of my time.

I am running to offer a progressive, honest and compassionate choice to voters. I promise to tell things as I see them, but pledge that I will always honor allies and opponents alike and always work to serve the common good.

I will work to develop policies based on our common values as Americans and New Hampshire citizens. Not an easy process in these times, but I believe this is the only way we can establish effective and enduring legislation to get us beyond this recession and into a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.

I stand for fiscal responsibility. We need to focus on the creation of good jobs – jobs that offer a living wage, jobs that offer dignity and self-esteem to workers. Jobs every one of us would proudly take. Our economy and our communities are dependent on such jobs, and both are in serious jeopardy if these jobs are not available. We must invest in our infrastructure and our people, and intelligently work our way through these difficult times. We cannot react out of fear. We must act out of hope.

Responsibility also means facing the fact that we should not, and must not, balance our budget on the backs of those most harmed by this recession, on the politically and economically weak. We live in a very special and privileged state. We have the highest standard of living, the second lowest tax burden, the lowest unemployment of all states. We have the resources to work our way out of this crisis. We lack only the courage and will to create an enduring solution.

I have worked long and constantly for the protection and preservation of our environment, the true New Hampshire Advantage, and our enduring legacy for the future. I will work to create a Green Energy economy in New Hampshire, and to restore the funding for our state parks and for LCHIP. I will work to establish a phased closure of the coal-fired plant in Bow and the transition to clean energy plants and jobs for all the workers there.

I am dedicated to quality education. Educated citizens are the backbone of our communities and essential to our democracy. The New Hampshire constitution got this issue right and should not be amended to avoid this clear responsibility.

I stand for affordable health care for all citizens. This is simple common sense, recognized and adopted throughout the world.

I will defend civil liberties and equal rights, marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose. These are basic principles of human freedom and dignity, which sadly have taken too many years, and too many lives, to establish in law.

Now as ever, as in the dream of our founders, in the courageous faith of Lincoln, this government is still we the people. I hope you will stand with me in this faith.

It is a great honor and a humbling experience to run for this office. I hope I can engage many of you to work with me in the effort to realize a better New Hampshire. To learn more about what I believe in, visit BobJonesNHStateSenate.com.

BOB JONES

Bedford