"Hey, Phoebe...." You're Questions. My Answers
About Me and This Race
Who is Phoebe VanScoy-Giessler?
I'm a Democrat running for the New Hampshire House in Carroll County District 6, which is Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro. I've lived in the district since 2001 and in Mirror Lake (Tuftonboro) since 2005. My husband Scott teaches and directs theater at Kingswood Regional High School, and we have three kids: Tommy, Elliott and Gabriel.
I spent eleven years as a public school educator, and I'm currently a substitute teacher at Tuftonboro Central School, where my connection to this community started as a teaching assistant. I also work in nonprofit fundraising and communications, including five years as Development and Communications Director at Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center in Laconia. My degree is in broadcast journalism and politics from Ithaca College. You may know me from the Village Players or from running the roads and trails around here.
Why are you running?
Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do what you can with what you have where you are.” I can't fix everything that worries me about the world. I can work on the laws that shape life in Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro: our schools, our property taxes, our housing and our lakes. I've lived here for 25 years and raised my family here, and I want my neighbors' kids to be able to build their lives here too.
I filed my candidacy on June 5 by running to the Tuftonboro Town House. It seemed like the right way to start.
What are your top priorities?
Three, plus one that matters to everyone who lives on or near the water:
- Fully funded public schools. Public dollars for PUBLIC education.
- Common sense property tax reform. No homeowner should be forced out of their home because of property taxes.
- Affordable housing that attracts young families and lets seniors stay in the communities they built.
- Protecting our lakes, woods and water.
What does a state representative do?
The New Hampshire House has 400 members, each elected to a two-year term. Representatives vote on bills, the state budget and tax policy, which is why decisions in Concord show up on your local tax bill. The job pays $100 a year. District 6 has two seats, so Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro send two people to Concord.
Who is on my ballot in District 6, and can I vote for more than one?
There are two seats, and you can vote for up to two candidates. The four candidates are Democrats Deirdre McEachern and me, and Republicans John MacDonald (the current representative) and Tim Bauman. You can pick any two.
Why should I vote for you instead of John MacDonald or Tim Bauman?
John MacDonald has represented Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro since 2018, and I respect his service. For me this comes down to direction. My favorite way to think about an election is a public bus: what direction do you want the bus to take us? If it's the direction I'm headed, I'm asking for your vote.
Here is where I would steer differently, using his votes instead of adjectives. He voted for HB 1300, the bill that put the school tax cap question on your ballot. And he voted to repeal Housing Champions (HB 1196), a state program that rewards towns for making room for new homes. You can check both votes on the New Hampshire General Court website and on his Citizens Count profile
Tim Bauman is a first-time candidate, so there is no voting record to compare. He moved to New Hampshire from Wisconsin as part of the Free State Movement. I'd encourage you to read his own materials and ask him your questions at a forum. Then choose the candidates who are headed where you want to go.
Schools and "Question 2"
What is the school tax cap question on my ballot?
Every ballot in New Hampshire will carry a school tax cap question this November. The Legislature required it when it passed HB 1300 without Democratic support. Here is how it works:- If at least 60 percent of voters in your school district say yes, a two-year cap takes effect. The 60 percent is counted across the whole district, not town by town.- For those two years, the district's property tax levy can't grow beyond last year's amount plus inflation and new construction, and central office (SAU) spending is limited to 6 percent of the district's budget. Bonded capital costs are excluded.- The law doesn't appear to give voters a way to undo a cap early. The question comes back on the 2028 ballot either way.- Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro are part of the Governor Wentworth Regional School District, along with Brookfield, Effingham, New Durham and Ossipee. All six towns' votes are added together, so Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro could vote no and still end up under a cap, or vote yes and watch it fall short.- The New Hampshire Supreme Court declined to remove the question from the ballot in late September.
How will you vote on it?
I'll vote no, and I'm asking you to think hard about it too.A cap ties school budgets to inflation, but the costs that drive those budgets, like special education, busing, utilities and health insurance, don't follow the inflation rate. When those costs can't be cut, schools cut what they can: sports, electives and the arts. A cap also doesn't lower anyone's tax bill. It only slows the growth.I understand why people support it. Property taxes are too high, and a cap feels like finally doing something. I want the same result. I think the fix starts in Concord, with a state that pays more of what it owes our schools.
Doesn't the ballot question say the cap won't touch classroom instruction?
The ballot wording does include language like that, and courts allowed it to stay on the ballot, so you will see it. Parents who sued argued it was misleading, because a budget held under a fixed line while costs keep climbing has to give somewhere. That's my worry too. Before you vote, ask your school board what they would cut first.
A cap gives voters a say, doesn't it?
Voters already have that say. Since 2011, a school district can adopt a cap by putting it on the warrant at its annual meeting, where people can ask questions and amend the budget. HB 1300 is different: it's a question written in Concord and placed on every ballot, with no hearing required. I'd rather decisions about our schools be made by the people who sit in the room and look at the budget.
What's wrong with how New Hampshire pays for public schools?
What do you think of Education Freedom Accounts (vouchers)?
I believe in public dollars for PUBLIC education. The program sends state education money to private and homeschool expenses. It started as a way to help lower-income families, and now there is no income cap. The money comes out of the state's Education Trust Fund, which leaves local schools and taxpayers to make up the difference, and oversight has been thin. I oppose the program as it is written today, and I would restructure it with real oversight.
Property taxes
How would you lower property taxes?
Property taxes are high because the state has pushed costs down onto towns. I support closing that gap with a mix of fixes, so we aren't leaning on property owners alone:
- Reinstate the interest and dividends tax. New Hampshire had it for more than 100 years and ended it in 2025. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024, it brought in $184.1 million.
- Pause new optional programs that have no funding source, and fund the things the state is constitutionally required to pay for first.
- Legalize marijuana and share in the revenue, through state-run stores or taxes at private dispensaries.
- Tax very large trusts invested in New Hampshire.
I also support more property tax relief for seniors and for low- and moderate-income homeowners.
Will you support an income tax or a sales tax?
I'm not proposing an income tax, and I'm not proposing a sales tax. I'm proposing that the state stop downshifting school costs onto your property tax bill.
I also won't sign a pledge that ties the hands of future lawmakers in the middle of a funding crisis. A broad-based income tax is not where I would start, and it is not my plan.
Why bring back the interest and dividends tax?
Because when the state stopped collecting it, that revenue had to come from somewhere, and a good part of it landed on local property taxpayers. The tax fell on people with substantial investment income, not on wages. Restoring it is one of the fairest ways I know to take pressure off your property tax bill.
What can older homeowners do right now to get property tax relief?
Help already exists, and a lot of people never apply. The state's Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program is managed through Granite Tax Connect, and you can read the details on the Department of Revenue Administration page. Your town may also offer an elderly exemption, so call your assessor's office. A bill in 2025 (HB 101) would have let towns add a new exemption for homeowners 72 and older. It didn't pass, and I'd like to see that idea come back.
HOUSING
What would you do about housing costs?
The state is expected to be about 60,000 homes short by 2030. I see it in my own family: a recent college graduate with a full-time job can't afford a one-bedroom or studio near work, and a starter home is out of reach. And seniors who want to stay in the towns where they built their lives often can't find anything to downsize into.
I'd keep the decisions local and give towns more help to act on them:
- Zoning and planning support. Expand programs like Housing Opportunity Planning grants so towns can update master plans, revisit minimum lot sizes and streamline approvals for accessory dwelling units.
- Infrastructure grants. Programs like InvestNH help pay for the roads, water and sewer lines that stall construction.
- Reuse what we already have. Turn vacant commercial space and empty upper floors downtown into homes.
OUr lakes and land
What will you do to protect Lake Winnipesaukee?
Our lakes are why we live here and why visitors come. A report released September 24 by the Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance found that water clarity has dropped by more than eight feet since the 1980s and that harmful algae blooms have grown fast over the past seven years. Here is what I would work on:
- Keep phosphorus out of the lake with state funding and technical help for stormwater upgrades and failing septic systems, so local taxpayers aren't left with the whole bill.
- Use road salt more wisely, with training and incentives for towns, plowing contractors and property owners, without giving up winter safety.
- Enforce the protections we already have. Shoreline and wetland laws only work when they're enforced.
- Lower energy costs with local clean power. I support raising the net metering cap from 1 to 5 megawatts. On nuclear power, including small modular reactors, I'm undecided and want to hear from engineers, ratepayers and neighbors first.
- Get more kids outside through outdoor and environmental education as part of fully funding our schools.
More on the environment · Read: What is happening to Lake Winnipesaukee?
VOTING
When and where do I vote?
Tuesday, November 3. In Tuftonboro, voting is at Tuftonboro Central School, 205 Middle Road, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. In Wolfeboro, voting is at the Town Hall Great Hall, 84 South Main Street; check the town website for hours. You can look up your polling place and see your sample ballot on the Secretary of State’s site (https://app.sos.nh.gov/pollingplacesampleballot).
Can I register on Election Day?
Yes. New Hampshire allows same-day registration at your polling place. It takes longer, and the documents you need have changed in recent years, so check the Secretary of State’s registration page (https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/register-vote) or call your town clerk before you go. The Tuftonboro clerk's office is 603-569-4539.
Can I vote absentee?
New Hampshire allows absentee voting for specific reasons, such as being away on Election Day, a disability or a religious observance. Ask your town clerk for an application as early as you can, because the deadlines are tight. The state's absentee ballot page (https://www.sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/absentee-ballots/request-absentee-ballot) has the details.
The campaign
Who has endorsed you?
American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire, NEA-New Hampshire, the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, Congressman Ro Khanna (CA), and the New Hampshire Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Is it true you run ultramarathons?
I train and race on the roads and trails around here, from 5Ks to ultramarathons. Running is where I think, where I meet neighbors, and, as it turns out, how I got to the Town House to file. If you see me out there, say hi. Or join me. I've been filming “Run with me through Carroll County District 6” videos on the campaign blog (https://www.forwardwithphoebe.com/blog).
How can I help?
Talk to your neighbors. The most powerful thing you can do is tell people why you're voting.
- Write a letter to the editor. Published letters are on the Letters to the Editor page (https://www.forwardwithphoebe.com/blank).
- Donate through ActBlue (https://secure.actblue.com/donate/phoebe-vanscoy-giessler-1).
- Ask for a yard sign or volunteer by emailing info@forwardwithphoebe.com or calling 603-677-6818.
What if my question isn't here?
Send it to info@forwardwithphoebe.com or call 603-677-6818. I read every message, and I add the questions I get most often to this page. You can also find me in the “Hey, Phoebe” video series on the campaign blog (https://www.forwardwithphoebe.com/blog).