Lessons from An Old Adversary
How Mark Hounsell Helped Me Become a Radical Centrist
As I sit down to write this column I have just finished a long walk along the banks of the Ammonoosuc River and found myself reflecting on a friendship that I have shared with Mark HounselI, who held the Senate Seat in District 2 prior to me; He the Republican Senator and I being a Democrat.
Though I haven’t spoken with Mark in many years, I still fondly refer to him as my friend in conversation with others.
Often, this elicits expressions of confusion from some folks, especially those who found themselves on the other side of the political fight with Mark, on his side; or who worked on my campaign during the one election when Mark and I were opponents. Mark was a very persuasive and effective adversary. It was a tough fight and to this day I admire the way my worthy opponent fought for what he believed.
I truly don’t recall which of us made the first overture to one another in the months after our general election fight in 1990. The voters of Senate District 2 had re-elected me to a second term in the New Hampshire State Senate, one of the great privileges of my life. I only remember we met for breakfast at a small restaurant in Plymouth.
For my part, the only item on my agenda was to express my regret over one particular attack we had made on Mark that I was still feeling badly about. The subject is unimportant, it was technically fair game, but I recall that I delivered it in a debate before the Littleton Rotary Club, with all the discomfort I felt about delivering what I felt was a low blow.
Partisans on my campaign congratulated me for being “tough” at the time, but my own feeling was more akin to regret. I have never forgotten that.
We, of course, discussed it at that breakfast, but Mark was already beyond it. The voters had made their decision, and he believed, first and foremost, in the democratic process.
Looking back now, I am sanguine about the campaign, but I wish that I had the sense of perspective then that I now have. Perhaps we would have had a campaign where we had a civil debate over our differences, seeking to define both areas of common agreement as well as differentiating ourselves where it mattered. How much better that would have been for the people of New Hampshire.
Four years later I would be the Democratic nominee for Governor in a race where then-Governor Steve Merrill would refuse to even debate. Fred Bramante, the Independent candidate for Governor that year, and I would become fast friends in that process, not because we agreed on everything but because we engaged with one another and came to respect one another in the process.
Recently, to my delight, Mark Hounsell has teamed up with another formidable former Senator, Peter Burling, to challenge the lack of transparency and honesty of NH House leadership around a controversy over State Representative Troy Merner of Lancaster who continued to serve as a State Representative after he had moved out of his House District, allegedly casting what may have been a deciding vote on several heavily contested issues before the legislature.
In conversations after Mark and Peter came forward to challenge what had transpired, some folks expressed surprise about Mark’s position. I was not surprised in the least. Mark Hounsell had given me a life lesson in humility and commitment to the democratic process. I was determined to honor that.
It wasn’t the only time that I had been hit by that two by four. I had a similar experience with former US Senator Gordon Humphrey, when I came to his defense against what I thought was an unfair attack on him during a campaign; but for me, the lesson from Mark was more compelling and I have carried it with me for all the days since.
I deeply admired Senator Susan McLane who would fight like a superhero for the rights of women, the place of our feathered brothers and sisters, healthcare, death with dignity . . . well, a list too long to include here. She was effective and beloved.
Susan's favorite phrase - one she reserved for adversaries with whom she had engaged and then found common ground - was “My new best friend (insert a name here)” It was so disarming and engaging at the same time because it summoned forth our common humanity despite our occasional disagreements. Susan, like Mark, was a happy warrior who cared deeply about our common humanity.
We could use a lot more of that these days.
Susan is no longer with us, but her lessons remain. If you run across Mark in your daily ramblings, tell him thanks. . . for me and from you.
Notes & Links
About Wayne D. King: Author, podcaster, artist, activist, social entrepreneur and recovering politician. A three-term State Senator, 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor. His art (WayneDKing.com) is exhibited nationally in galleries and he has published five books of his images, most recently, "New Hampshire - a Love Story”. His novel "Sacred Trust" a vicarious, high-voltage adventure to stop a private powerline as well as the photographic books are available at most local bookstores or on Amazon. He lives on the “Narrows” in Bath, NH at the confluence of the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc Rivers and proudly flies the American, Iroquois and Abenaki Flags. His publishing website is: Anamaki.com.
Produced at Anamaki Studios in Bath, NH.
This land lies in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Sokoki, Koasek, Pemigewasset, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude those who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.
Geese Over Tamarack
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First Grand March
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Leaves Like Poems, Poems Like Leaves - An homage to Donald Hall
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Gazing at the Newfound Moon
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Newfound Rendezvous Impressions
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The Monarch
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Storm Over Mt Pemigewasset
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