LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CANDIDATES FORUM:

I have always looked forward to the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum as the single best opportunity to address the voters of North Kingstown during an election season. My opponent, whose only campaign statement thus far has been to criticize elected officials for failing to communicate with their constituents, was scheduled to attend and I was looking forward to a good debate. Try to imagine my disappointment last Wednesday evening when my opponent failed to show up at the forum without any notice or explanation. As a result of his absence, I was forced by the moderator to limit my remarks to only a few comments.
As part of my continuing efforts to communicate with my constituents I have asked the local papers to publish the full text of my prepared remarks as follows:

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I am State Representative Larry Ehrhardt from District 32 in North Kingstown.
I appreciate this valuable opportunity to speak to my constituents.

For those of you who are new to town, I am a retired business executive and navy veteran. My educational background includes degrees in economics and business administration. I live in Wickford with my wife and 96-year-old mother. To our regret, our children and grandchildren live out of state.

It has been my honor to serve as your representative for the past 4 years. This has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life - and I’ve had plenty of them. Although we have accomplished a lot, a tremendous amount of work lies ahead of us. I have proven what I can do and, with your support, am prepared to continue fighting for what is best for North Kingstown.

This year the General Assembly finally faced up to what you and I have known for years - they have been spending beyond our means. No more quick fixes were available, and increasing general taxes was an unacceptable solution. The only way out was through major cuts in spending and restructuring a number of government services. This is never an easy process and extensive effort was devoted to spreading the cuts as evenly as possible. After four months of hearings the House Finance Committee approved a budget that, on paper, went a long way to getting spending under control. People are being asked to give up things they have become accustomed to but we really have no choice.

That budget was overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate and signed by the governor.The challenge now is to make sure they follow through on plans to reform spending and avoid tax increases. It won’t be easy.

I played an active role in the process and am prepared to continue with the work.

My platform is simple:

I will continue

• To identify and oppose special deals for special interests
• To spend our tax money wisely
• To promote economic development
• To develop a rational energy policy
• To seek real property tax relief

Please phone or email me if you have any questions, my phone number is in the book.
You can also visit my web site larry4rep.com for more information
I want to thank you all for listening and I respectfully ask for your vote on November 4th.

October 15, 2008