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MANCHESTER - As assistant commissioner of Safety and as Commissioner of Health and Human Services, John Stephen created or raised at least 162 fees, a review of state legislation and administrative rules show.
"On the first day of the general election campaign, John Stephen launched an attack on John Lynch regarding fees. This is another obvious attempt by John Stephen to try and mislead voters about his own record, and about Gov. Lynch's. The fact is that John Stephen created or raised fees at least 162 times as assistant commissioner of Safety and as Commissioner of Health and Human Services," said Pamela Walsh, campaign manager for New Hampshire for John Lynch.
"If Stephen wants to attack Gov. Lynch on fees, he should start by coming clean about the 162 fees he created and raised in his 20-year career as a government bureaucrat. And those are just the 162 that we know about," Walsh said.
While Stephen may have claimed to the Concord Monitor in April that he was not responsible for the Department of Safety budget, he testified in front of the legislature lobbying them to pass a bill increasing license plate fees by $1.50 and vehicle title fees by $5. (Associated Press, April 9, 2002)
There are a number of state government services that were created with the promise - and often the legal requirement - that they be funded by the users. As Governor, John Lynch has worked to ensure those services pay their costs, instead of shifting costs to the general taxpayers.
"It is the height of hypocrisy for John Stephen to attack Gov. Lynch on fees, giving his long record of creating and raising fees. Unfortunately, misleading attacks are all John Stephen has to offer."
A list of John Stephen's fee increases can be found here
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