LACONIA - The Laconia Democratic Party will be welcoming Arnie Arnesen as its guest speaker at this month's meeting to be held at Woodland Heights Elementary School at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 21.

"We're thrilled that Arnie has agreed to speak with us and with the community about issues that affect our families today and will confront us in the future," said Ron Tunning, chair of the Laconia Democratic Party.  "She is always a reliable advocate for policies that support Granite State families and reward the efforts of our hard working people."

According to Tunning, Arnesen will be focusing her discussion on jobs and the economy, particularly how the growing trend of outsourcing jobs and relying more heavily upon contract labor is impacting the traditional employee-employer role.  "Arnie questions how this rapidly evolving corporate model is going to impact our families and economy over the long term," Tunning explained.  "It really does represent a dramatic shift from  a responsibility shared by employers and employees to one that places all of the burden on employees."   

The meeting will be open to the public, "Unlike Republican meetings which tend to be held in secret," observed Tunning.  "We welcome people in the community to listen and to participate as we try to tackle the problems and issues confronting our families."

"The biggest problem facing families and their economic security is jobs," Arnesen said.  "That's what this upcoming election should be about."

Arnie Arnesen, former NH Gubernatorial candidate and current host of "Political Chowder".

Arnesen contends that all of the other issues being discussed pale by comparison.  "When you talk about energy, you should be talking about committing to finding new sources of energy and new efforts to conserve our resources," she said.  "We can create millions of jobs in this country by retro-fitting buildings to be more energy efficient, and by developing new power delivery systems tapping into wind and solar energy, that can't be outsourced to other countries."

Developing and repairing the nation's infrastructure also tops her agenda.  "We can't afford to continue to neglect our basic infrastructure," she insists.  "Instead of spending hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq we should be investing in our highways, rail systems, high-speed Internet networks, water and sewage plants, and other essential needs for a vibrant, growing economy."

Again, she reiterates that the hundreds of thousands of jobs that would result from such a commitment can't be outsourced.  "You're not going to get people in India building bridges in New Hampshire," she said.

Arnesen has always been willing to tackle controversial issues with what she considers a realistic and pragmatic approach, relying upon consensus building rather than dogma.  "We're all in this together so we'd all better work together to find answers," she says.

While John McCain was still trying to recover from having been embroiled in the Keating Five scandal, Arnesen was well on her way toward legitimately earning the title "maverick".

The first woman ever to be nominated by either major party for Governor of New Hampshire, Arnesen collected nearly 30,000 more votes in her unsuccessful 1992 run than Judd Gregg had received two-years earlier. Moreover, although defeated by Steve Merrill, Arnesen narrowly out-distanced the incumbent president George H.W. Bush by 3,800 votes, and came close to equaling Bill Clinton's vote tally that helped to propel him to the White House.

Ever a trailblazer, in 1996 she took on Republican Congressional incumbent Charlie Bass and fell short of winning by a mere 17,000 votes in a year that saw Jeanne Shaheen elected to her first term as governor.

"I have to credit Arnie for having helped to steer me to the Democratic Party," said Rep. Judie Reever (D-Laconia).  "Although I didn't change my party affiliation until eight years later, Arnie spoke to issues of fairness and responsibility that resonated with a large group of us in 1992 who formed a group of Republicans for Arnie."

Reever admitted that she was also inspired by the fact that Arnesen was a woman.  "She broke a lot of barriers," Reever said.  "Suddenly it was possible to believe that women could be included at the table."

Although Arnesen is not currently pursuing elected office she continues to influence political discourse in the Granite State and beyond.  Her weekly television program, "Political Chowder", is broadcast each Sunday at 11 a.m. on WZMY-TV out of Derry, which is carried locally on Channel 17 on Metrocast Cable, and at various times throughout the week on Lakes Region Public Access.  In addition, she can be heard each weekday morning on "Chowder in the Morning" from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on WCCM-1110AM out of Methuen, Mass. - a program that can be listened to live online at www.1110wccmam.com.