O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

I recently read an online article in CNHI, an American company that publishes news throughout the U.S. The article spoke about Governor Kelly Ayotte’s plans to focus on affordable housing, childcare, and public safety in 2026. Governor Ayotte said that New Hampshire was ranked as the “freest” state in the U.S. by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. The Josiah Bartlett Center is a libertarian organization whose chairman is James Sununu, brother of the previous governor Chris Sununu.

In the CNHI article Ayotte said there was considerable progress in some of her priority issues, like bail reform. She said the Republican controlled House and Senate passed policy measures to encourage housing. Ayotte noted that she would like to work on “tax credits for co-locating childcare at businesses and large work centers.” As for the issue of public safety, she is concerned about distracted driving and that legislation will be required.

Let us start with bail reform. There was a new law passed by the Republican legislature in 2025 and approved by Governor Ayotte. Governor Ayotte had said that the bail reform system that had existed since 2018 was a “failed social experiment.” She failed to mention that the bipartisan law that was passed in 2018 saved taxpayers money and drastically lowered crime rates every year for six years after it was passed. The new 2025 law gives judges more discretion to keep defendants in jail before their trial (whereas before they could be bailed out) and lengthens the timeline for an initial bail hearing. Therefore, people are now staying in jail longer without bail. The New Hampshire Community Bail Fund has worked for many years to raise money through donations to pay small pays ($100 to $500). Most of the people they bail out are unhoused, people who have a mental illness, and people of color. Since the new law has gone into effect, the Bail Fund has noticed a drop in the number of people they are able to bail out. Defendants are being kept in jail. Keeping them in jail costs money. The Governor and the legislature failed to save taxpayer money.

There is a significant housing shortage in New Hampshire. NH Housing reports that the state needs 60,000 more housing units between 2020 and 2030, and approximately 90,000 units between 2020 and 2040. The report also states that New Hampshire’s housing market is costlier than that of the U.S. overall and that income has failed to keep pace with housing cost increases. New Hampshire is in desperate need of affordable housing. Yet, the Republican legislature and Governor Ayotte approved HB60 in the 2025 legislative session. As of July 1, 2025, landlords can evict tenants at the end of their lease. The law prior to HB60 stated that tenants could not be legally evicted at the end of their lease without a good cause, such as failure to pay rent, damaging the property, endangering others, or not meeting rental terms. HB60 ends protection for tenants at a time in NH when there is a shortage of apartments and a growing population of unhoused people.

Governor Ayotte said that she and the legislature passed policies to “encourage” housing. The state’s dire housing situation needs more than encouragement. It would have helped if Governor Ayotte had put money in the Housing Trust Fund…but she did not.

There is a desperate need for affordable childcare in the U.S., and New Hampshire is no different. There are many independent funders and non-profits working on this issue in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, there is no coordination among them in the state. The coordination needs to come from the top at the state level. That has not happened. It is great for Governor Ayotte to attend a conference on childcare, Investing in Care, Investing in Growth. However, her idea to give this issue to businesses by using tax credits is shifting responsibility. Governor Ayotte and the state should be leading the initiative.

Governor Ayotte does not appear to be a leader. She follows the Republican legislature which has not done anything helpful for the New Hampshire taxpayer, possibly because the legislature is led by Free Staters. That is why New Hampshire is the “freest” state.

I have not been impressed with Governor Ayotte’s first term. If she continues to follow the legislature’s lead, I do not believe this second term will be any better. I wish her luck making the roads safer.

Ann Grossi lives in Bedford.

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