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Sparky Von Plinsky
Sparky Von Plinsky (Democratic Party) was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Cheshire 7. He assumed office on December 5, 2018. He left office on December 7, 2022.
Von Plinsky (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives to represent Cheshire 7. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Von Plinsky was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Von Plinsky was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
Sparky Von Plinsky did not file to run for re-election.
2020
See also: New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7
Incumbent Sparky Von Plinsky defeated Robert Call in the general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sparky Von Plinsky (D) | 64.4 | 1,693 |
| Robert Call (R) | 35.6 | 934 | ||
| Total votes: 2,627 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7
Incumbent Sparky Von Plinsky advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 on September 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sparky Von Plinsky | 99.5 | 660 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 3 | ||
| Total votes: 663 | |||
| = 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 Cheshire 7
Robert Call advanced from the Republican primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 on September 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Robert Call | 98.7 | 223 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 3 | ||
| Total votes: 226 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7
Sparky Von Plinsky defeated Robert Call in the general election for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sparky Von Plinsky (D) | 84.9 | 1,398 |
| Robert Call (L) | 14.8 | 244 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 5 | ||
| Total votes: 1,647 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7
Sparky Von Plinsky advanced from the Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 on September 11, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sparky Von Plinsky | 100.0 | 489 |
| Total votes: 489 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sparky Von Plinsky did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Sparky Von Plinsky participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on September 23, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Sparky Von Plinsky's responses follow below.[1]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1. Environmental Protection (Combatting Climate Change & Supporting Conservation) 2. Revenue Collection Reform |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | I am personally passionate about Environmental Policy in general and Land Conservation specifically. I fundamentally disagree with the notion that the Earth is a resource to be developed for our benefit. I believe that the Earth is our home and that we are stewards of the land not masters of it.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[3]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Sparky Von Plinsky answered the following:
What legacy would you like to leave?
| “ | If I live to the full extent of my life expectancy I will probably kick the bucket around the year 2050. It is my goal that by that time the next couple of generations of Granite Staters will be able to map out their future successes not battle through the ramifications of their grandparents greed and cowardice. More succinctly, I hope that those who look back on my legacy will have the luxury to do so from a world that is 100% free of fossil fuels; where climate change is being dealt with and not denied; and where half of the Earth (or at least half of New Hampshire) is permanently preserved for the future inhabitants of this planet, regardless of species.[3] | ” |
| “ | My favorite thing in my home is my home. All my life I have dreamed of living in an old house in New England. Now I do and I treasure every moment of it. I love that a marble dropped in my kitchen will probably, somehow roll to a rest in my map room half an hour later. As a veteran and the son of a veteran, I have been moving all of my life. No more. I have found my home and it is my goal to care for it and enjoy it to its fullest.[3] | ” |
| “ | New Hampshire's greatest challenge (like the rest of the planet) is climate change. If we continue to do nothing about this catastrophe of our own making the New Hampshire of tomorrow will be unrecognizable. Already we are losing our winters and much of our wildlife. If we continue to do essentially nothing we will lose much, much more.[3] | ” |
| “ | Absolutely! The look at it like this: I cannot possibly be an expert at everything but if I build a deep and wide network of legislators then collectively I will have access to all the expertise that I need. Additionally, there are so many ways that different legislative passions can be accomplished together so building relationships with my colleagues only makes sense.[3] | ” |
| “ | I favor a redistricting process that is as free of political meddling as is possible. If that means that an algorithm does most of the heavy lifting, so be it. While I understand the urge to gerrymander I find the practice an insulting act of cowardice. If a group feels that their ideas are so weak that they must cheat to enact them then they have no business leading our state or our nation.[3] | ” |
| “ | In case it wasn't obvious from my prior responses, I would most like to serve on the Environmental and Agricultural Committee, it would best allow me to put my passion and expertise to use. If that appointment is not possible, the Science, Technology and Energy committee would be a nice runners up prize.[3] | ” |
| “ | Dear friends of mine live near me in a house they have owned for more than 30 years. Even though they are both well into their 70s and in poor health they still stress about their property taxes. He basically works all summer to afford to live in a house they have long since paid off. This is despicable. Our senior citizens should be focused on living out their days in happiness and fulfillment not lying awake at night dreading their tax bill. We can and must come up with a more equitable way to raise revenue as a state.[3] | ” |
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Hampshire scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 5 to May 26.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes and if they align with the organization's values.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored based on if they voted with the Republican Party.
- Legislators are scored by the organization "on pro-liberty and anti-liberty roll call votes."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on policies related to reproductive health issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 6 to June 24.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the New Hampshire State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 30. The session was suspended from March 14 to June 11.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the New Hampshire General Court was in session from January 2 through June 30.
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Sparky Von Plinsky's responses," September 23, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gladys Johnsen (D) |
New Hampshire House of Representatives Cheshire 7 2018-2022 |
Succeeded by Shaun Filiault |
