Don Bettencourt
Don Bettencourt (Republican Party) ran for election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives to represent Sullivan 8. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Bettencourt was born on January 1, 1950, in Concord, New Hampshire. He graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor's degree in 1972. He went on to obtain his master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1979. His professional experience includes working as the chief financial officer of two New Hampshire small businesses. He also has worked as an engineer, entrepreneur, and corporate strategic business planner.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 (2 seats)
Hope Damon and Jonathan Stone defeated Don Bettencourt and Robert Lovett Jr. in the general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Hope Damon (D) | 25.4 | 4,466 |
| ✔ |  | Jonathan Stone (R) | 25.4 | 4,457 |
 | Don Bettencourt (R) | 25.3 | 4,443 | |
 | Robert Lovett Jr. (D) | 23.8 | 4,179 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 6 | ||
| Total votes: 17,551 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 (2 seats)
Hope Damon and Robert Lovett Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 on September 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Hope Damon | 57.3 | 1,244 |
| ✔ | | Robert Lovett Jr. | 42.6 | 925 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 3 | ||
| Total votes: 2,172 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 (2 seats)
Jonathan Stone and Don Bettencourt advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 8 on September 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Stone | 51.1 | 1,394 |
| ✔ | | Don Bettencourt | 47.9 | 1,309 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 27 | ||
| Total votes: 2,730 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2020
See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2
Sue Gottling defeated Don Bettencourt in the general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sue Gottling (D) | 50.9 | 1,446 |
| Don Bettencourt (R) | 49.0 | 1,393 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2 | ||
| Total votes: 2,841 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2
Sue Gottling advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2 on September 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sue Gottling | 99.6 | 522 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 2 | ||
| Total votes: 524 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2
Don Bettencourt advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Sullivan 2 on September 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Don Bettencourt | 96.3 | 516 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.7 | 20 | ||
| Total votes: 536 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Bettencourt's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Don Bettencourt did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Don Bettencourt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bettencourt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I have deep roots in our Sunapee/Croydon district. I first skied Mt. Sunapee in the 1950's. I've been a Sunapee taxpayer since 1989 and a full time Sunapee resident since 2006. My Tufts University engineering degree help me earn a US Patent in the nuclear power industry but after earning a Masters in Management degree ("MBA") from Rensselaer, I've spent most of my career creating and operating small businesses. As entrepreneurs, my wife and I "bet the farm" in the mid-80's and built a community center with indoor swimming pools and preschool in our town of 10,000 people. All construction costs and operating costs were paid by those who used the facility - not a penny from taxpayers. It remains the pride of that community today. I believe in common sense solutions that are equally fair to all parties. As a small business owner I learned that fairness is the only way to establish long lasting mutually-rewarding relationships. NH is unique in it's large number of representatives (400) each representing an average of 3,400 citizens. I will listen to my constituents and take their wants and needs to the legislature.
- No New Taxes: I oppose a sales or income tax and will fight against any new tax or fee. The NH advantage starts with low taxation. Our post-pandemic economy will roar back to life if allowed to recover.
- Top Notch Education: Wealthy families have always had the ability to choose where their children attend school. Why shouldn't all families have School Choice? It's time to focus on improving student outcomes by providing more educational options for every student.
- Our Constitutional Rights: I will always fight to retain our first and second amendment rights to free speech, freedom of religion, and right to bear arms.
Dems claim that taxpayers aren't paying enough to provide an adequate education for NH public school students. They want NH to institute an income tax in order to spend even more on traditional public schools complete with expensive facilities, bloated administrative costs, and union demands for wages based on length of tenure rather than student outcomes. History tells us that 40 years of higher spending haven't produced even a hint of improvement in student performance.
Union-dominated public school compensation packages are generally based on seniority instead of on student outcomes yet the numbers show no cause and effect relationship between costs and student performance.
I mentioned earlier the Gallup poll rating members of Congress the second lowest of all professions. While 85% of respondents rated Nurses as very high (31%) or High (54%) in terms of Honesty and Ethics, only 12% (3% very+9% high) rated Members of Congress very high (3%) or high (9%) second lowest, outranking only car salespeople (9%,-1% + 8%). That suggests that the public has much higher expectations for those attributes in its elected officials. Without honesty and ethics, everything in the first paragraph above falls apart. How can I have empathy for, negotiate with, or even analyze a problem with someone who lacks honesty or ethics?
I'm a "pleaser". I've always tried to make people around me happy - whether it's helping them with a project, a problem, a purchase decision, a celebration, or something else.
I learned early on that setting goals and working hard will almost always lead to success. In 9th grade I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw - a 206 lb"husky" kid who played clarinet in the marching band, had tried out for Little League earlier but didn't make the cut, and in gym class, I was designated for "blue group". We were the least fit/athletic kids.
I wanted to change that. I began running 2 miles per day and lost an average of 2 lbs per week for the next 22 weeks. Two years later I was co-captain of my high school swim team and held several school records. In college I regularly set school records and swam in the NCAA national championship meet one year. I made the sports section of the Boston Globe when they reported on my workout routine - swimming up to 20,000 yards (11 miles) per day as extraordinary. Lesson learned: you control your own destiny and hard work pays off.
As an employee, I always worked hard to solve the problems my boss faced and I quickly climbed the corporate ladder. As an employer, I've always worked hard to find a way to reward those who contribute to my company's success. As a citizen, I've worked hard on various boards and committees over the years, helping municipalities, churches, and clubs like the Jaycees. As a negotiator, understanding what it takes to please the other side is essential to reaching common ground. When that common ground is acceptable to both parties, you have a deal.
My first paper route was an afternoon route and customers were directly billed. Later I switched to one that required collecting payment each week. I quickly learned about "pay for performance". My odds of receiving a tip from those customers who made a habit of tipping increased dramatically if I placed the paper inside their storm door, or in another location they preferred. I learned about mutually-beneficial "negotiations". If I delivered their paper on time and to a place where their dog couldn't eat it, they were happy and made my happy by adding a 10 cent tip to their weekly payment.
But quite often over the years, my favorite book is the one that I've read most recently. I tend to choose to read books that are most relevant to my current worldview. As a teen, that was probably pretty light fare at times. I recall paperback book "Hot Rod" by Henry Gregor Felsen sitting on my bookshelf as an early teenager that was no doubt extremely relevant to me as a young teen and probably spent a week or month or more as my favorite book, for example.
My current favorite book is "Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All" by Michael Schellenberger published in 2020. The author is a lifelong insider in the environmental movement, and a Democrat, but his book takes a fact-based, apolitical look at the reality vs. the rhetoric of Climate Change.
To the extent that state legislators share the same attributes as Members of Congress, in terms of lacking honesty and ethics, I'd say the less political experience the better. One reason for that low ranking I think, is that politicians all too often pretend to be experts on subjects in which they have little expertise.
I'd prefer experience related to the issues that we will face as legislators. Example: For in a recent on-line forum, I was told that polls show that 67% of NH residents are in favor requiring employers to offer Family and Medical Leave Act benefits to all employees. My opponent instantly took the poll numbers as an indication of universal approval of the concept. But if we think it through, the question becomes more one of, why didn't 100% approve? They were asked if they wanted to be able to stay home for six weeks with full pay and have their job waiting for them when they came back to work on week 7. Who wouldn't want that? A business owner for one. If a struggling business is forced to benefits that it can't afford, it may very well be forced out of business. Everybody loses in that case. The person getting the "free stuff" is out of luck. The business owner loses the investment made in the business, and a whole lot of people find themselves filing for unemployment benefits.
These Massachusetts immigrants won't be demanding higher taxes. They'll be demanding higher spending on things like expensive public school buildings, higher minimum wages, and benefits like the FMLA. They have a strong belief that the government can solve problems better than the private sector.
Take the minimum wage for example. Proponents seems to think that prosperity can be mandated by government and that one size fits all. Each worker should be paid $15 per hour they say, because they need to earn "a living wage". The problem is, an employer can't afford to pay an employee more than the value that employee brings to the business. Someone new to the workforce who has no experience in so much as showing up for work each day may or may not be worth even the current minimum wage of $7.15 per hour. But our private enterprise system is designed to provide strong incentives for both employees and companies to improve. The employee has an incentive to learn more skills to become more valuable to the company. The employer has an incentive to train the employee to have more valuable skills and will willingly pay a higher wage and benefits once the employee's value exceeds their wage.
Perhaps that's why the government is so less efficient than the private sector. Private sector Americans are generally risk takers but in government risk taking is more likely to result in penalties than rewards. If you take a risk and it doesn't pay off, i.e., it causes a problem of some sort, you are more likely to be forced to resign or will lose your reelection bid.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 26, 2020
