Fighting Bears for Merrimack

I am the mother of six children, all of whom were raised in Merrimack. When you live in New Hampshire, you end up taking kids on hikes for entertainment and exercise.

A lot of hikes.

Once when my children were little and we were on such a hike, one son got nervous being deep in the woods.

“Mom,” he asked me “what would happen if we came across a bear?”

I looked at him a little surprised that he even asked. To me, the answer was obvious: “I would put myself between you and the bear, and I would fight the bear so that you and your brothers and sisters would be safe.”

My kids mean the world to me and I would do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe. Even if it meant fighting something that was bigger and stronger than I was. Because that’s what moms do.

That’s also what good people do. We fight bears to keep others safe.

It’s what I’ve been doing for Merrimack for decades. I have fought the bear that was Kinder Morgan when they tried to run a 36-inch pipeline through miles of our town. That pipeline would have run right by one of our elementary schools and would have put our elementary school children in harm’s way if there was a leak or explosion. Kinder Morgan was ready to take people’s private property under Eminent Domain laws. If they needed your land, they would have taken it, no ifs, ands, or buts - your right to your property would lose to corporate profit. And of course, the pipeline would have also disrupted our town’s public drinking water by digging right near our wells and contaminating our water.

Thankfully, the town of Merrimack won the battle when Kinder Morgan withdrew their application to build that pipeline.

But the fight for our town’s health, welfare and clean water isn’t over. I continue to fight the bear that is Saint Gobain, an industrial polluter that has contaminated our drinking water and environment. I continue to hold Saint Gobain accountable and helps to ensure our town has clean water, soil and air, and that the polluters are held financially responsible for the damage to our town.

Finally, as the Executive Director of The New Hampshire Challenge, an organization that advocates for New Hampshire’s disabled community, I fight the bear of discrimination and speak up for adequate funding for disability services for all Granite Staters who need them. I have helped to advocate for a fair state budget that would cover services for the disabled community and on a local level, I’ve also advocated for and helped local parents figure out how to work within the special education system.

This past summer, I fought the initial wave of the big grizzly bear that is COVID19 by organizing dozens of local volunteers to make and distribute 6,000 homemade fabric masks to protect the residents and local businesses of our town, at no cost to recipients.

Fighting bears is what I do; it’s in my blood. It’s what moms do, but it’s also what people who care about their community do.

Whether it’s taking on these fights to make sure our kids can get the education they need and deserve, disabled Granite Staters can access needed services, or our drinking water is clean and our air is safe to breath, I have been there fighting all along and I will continue to fight the bears in order to keep Merrimack residents safe if you elect me on April 13th.

Former State Rep. Wendy Thomas
Merrimack