MANCHESTER, NH — When Victoria Sullivan arrived at Murphy’s Taproom it was to sustained applause from a standing-room-only crowd of supporters.
She embraced her mother first before turning to address the crowd, tears falling down her face.
“I’m not crying because we lost, I’m crying because we love you guys,” she said. “You have been amazing.”
Sullivan talked about the donations that came into the campaign in amounts as small as $2, $5 and $10, a reflection of the campaign’s focus on the blue-collar class.
“To be honest, we were up against a freaking machine,” she said. “We were up against $400,000 in a city where that money would do so much good.”
She said she doesn’t have to be mayor to continue to do the work that needs to be done. “I will tell you I am not done in this city,” she said to loud applause.
‘When asked by Manchester Ink Link if she would run again, Sullivan said, “I’m not taking anything off the table. I’m not done with my work for this city.”
She said she was proud of her first city-wide campaigning having come within 13 percent of the incumbent.
John Burns, who lives in the area of Chestnut and Prospect streets in Ward 3, was an early Sullivan supporter and was disappointed at her loss. “I hope she runs again next time because it’s only going downhill for Manchester from now on,” he said.
Don Van Denberghe, who resides in Ward 12, also was disappointed.
“It was a well-run campaign,” he said. “Certainly a lot of energy went into it. We have all the problems in the city not being solved by the current mayor.”
Editor’s Note: The headline and content have been corrected to reflect that Sullivan used the word “freaking.” We strive for accuracy and appreciate corrections.