Cecil Abels

Cecil Abels earned a bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2006. His career experience includes working as a restaurateur.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a small business owner who was born in Okinawa, the son of two Navy veterans and raised in the seacoast area of New Hampshire. My parents bought an old farm on the slopes of Blue Job Mountain where we had a few horses and livestock, but mostly on a hobby level, character building I like to call it. I graduated from Coe-Brown Northwood Academy before earning an English Teaching degree from UNH. I’ve lived in Mississippi, where my dad is from, and was fortunate to travel across the country a bit, but New Hampshire is home, and after a decade on the seacoast I chose Rochester in 2021 to open my bbq business. We foster community over low-and-slow smoked meats and around music and the arts, support local farms, and we donate to community organizations and food-insecurity programs across the Seacoast. I'm also on the board of a local non-profit that works with the city to maintain our local disc golf course, I love playing guitar and singing, mountain biking, swimming in our beautiful lakes and spending time with my family, who all live in Rochester and Strafford. Needless to say, I'm heavily invested in this community and its future.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Property taxes are the bill that keeps folks in our district up at night — seniors on fixed incomes, young families trying to stay in the towns they grew up in. Too often that bill climbs not because your town overspent, but because Concord makes a decision and quietly leaves your community holding the cost. That's backwards. The decisions that drive up your tax bill should be made close to home, where you can look the people making them in the eye. I'll fight to keep both the decisions and the dollars local, so nobody in our towns gets taxed out of a home they've lived in for decades.Everything costs more right now — groceries, heating oil, electricity, the equipment I need just to keep my restaurant's doors open. I'm not reading about that squeeze in a report; I live it six days a week, and so does every family in this district. Affordability is the thread that ties it all together, from your grocery receipt to your utility bill to your property taxes. I'll bring a small business owner's eye to Concord — ask what a policy actually costs the folks paying for it, and fight for real relief for working families instead of adding to the pile they're already carrying.Strong public schools are the backbone of our small towns — and school funding is also the biggest driver of your property tax bill. When the state doesn't pay its fair share for our kids' education, that cost doesn't vanish; it shifts right onto your local property taxes. And when state dollars get diverted elsewhere, it's our public schools and our local taxpayers left to make up the difference. I studied to teach before I opened my restaurant, so this one's close to my heart. I'll push for the state to meet its obligation to our schools — good for our kids, and real relief for the folks paying the tax bill.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Honestly, what drives me is fairness — the sense that folks who work hard and do things right shouldn't keep getting squeezed by decisions made over their heads. I care about affordability because I watch good people, my own neighbors and customers, do everything right and still fall behind. I care about strong public schools because they gave me my shot and they're the heart of towns like ours. I also care deeply about our environment, it's where we And I care about local voice — the idea that the people closest to a problem usually understand it best. I'm not a career politician. I just think government should make life a little easier for the people paying for it, not harder.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My mother for her never ending commitment to service, whether as a Navy nurse, school nurse, matriarch or her devotion to the cleaning and preserving the environment for future generations.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, empathy, listening skills, ability communicate clearly and effectively.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Have a strong moral compass, listen to consituents, be honest with constituents and maintain clear lines of communication.

What legacy would you like to leave?

While legacy isn't something I think about much, I would like to be remembered for being a good person that cared about and fostered community and did their part to leave the planet in better shape than we found it.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I grew up on a farm so I was taking care of horses, goats and sheep, building fences, repairing barns, tapping maple trees from 5th grade through college. My first documented job was washing dishes at a local restaurant after school for several months.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Turning hard and

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

A collaborative one where we try and find best possible solutions to our State's issues and check them when we disagree.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Educating and changing the hearts and minds of Granite staters, combatting the extreme policies of the Free Staters and fighting to preserve our beautiful state and resources for future generations.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is both necessary and desirable in developing and forming policy that effects the people of New Hampshire. One caveat... there are lines in the sand where people are not operating in good faith and the ability to recognize that point is important.