O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
As Manchester’s Mayor, I am proud to support Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire’s next Governor.
We are fortunate to live in a state that seems to make a Top 10 list with each new survey that’s published. This is no coincidence. After 8 years of successes under Governor Chris Sununu, Kelly has pledged to continue to build upon this record of achievement and take New Hampshire to the next level. She has the background, the skills, and the ability to bring people together and do just that.
Since being sworn in this past January, I have worked closely with Governor Sununu on housing, homelessness, bail reform, public safety, and more. This relationship is important to our city’s success, and Kelly will be a great partner for us in Concord.
Here in Manchester, we have successfully implemented a number of common-sense proposals to address our challenges. We banned camping in our city and gave the police more funding to patrol our parks and streets to further reduce crime. We cracked down on the unregulated flow of needles into Manchester. With the help of community partners, we launched a Resource Fair at the Engagement Center which has resulted in over 500 provider connections in an effort to break the cycle of homelessness, leading to over 30 unhoused individuals getting placed in housing since July. Our initiative to effectively end veterans’ homelessness has already housed 7 of our heroes. We rewrote our city’s Overdose Prevention Strategy, while funding the Rapid Overdose Assessment and Response team to save lives. Ultimately, through our work with community partners, city officials, and the state, we have reduced overdoses by 21% and overdose fatalities by 20% this year over last. We sold off vacant city property to fund our affordable housing initiatives and are moving forward with the first rewrite of our zoning ordinance in over 20 years to bring more housing into the city. And we brought on Streetplus to enhance local public services and revitalize the downtown, a successful initiative which has already seen thousands of pounds of trash picked up, needles removed, and graffiti eliminated. The list goes on.
This is a team effort. These initiatives have all been undertaken with broad support, and a focus on bringing people together while being positive about our city’s future. We stand firm in the knowledge that Manchester is a city filled with abundant promise and potential.
This is an approach Kelly knows well.
As Senator, she was one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress helping to enact legislation that would benefit our state. Specifically, she worked with a Republican Congress and Democrat President to successfully pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, landmark legislation which fundamentally changed the way we address addiction in the United States. This is exactly the type of bipartisan leadership we need in Concord. As Attorney General, she worked with governors and legislators from both political parties as the state’s top cop to lock up criminals and put us on the path to become the safest state in the union.
These are but two examples modeling her leadership that can and will extend to every issue that comes before her desk as Governor. She knows how to govern, to solve problems, and get things done on behalf of Granite Staters.
Over the course of this campaign, she has crisscrossed the state in true New Hampshire fashion discussing her plans to address the biggest issues in our state, and specifically talked about how she will be a partner with us here in Manchester. She knows our city is a special place and recognizes the importance of the Queen City to New Hampshire’s future.
On affordable housing she has released a detailed plan to, among other items, streamline the state permitting process, and cut unnecessary red tape to make it easier to build the affordable units so many of our families, workers and people looking to relocate to New Hampshire need.
She has pledged to continue the important work of fixing our bail system to get criminals off our streets, and she will make necessary changes to the Group 2 Pension system to help recruit and retain our first responders. Coupled with her past work delivering results to provide resources for those struggling with addiction, she will also stop the flow of illicit drugs into our state by strengthening the penalties for those who sell heroin and fentanyl.
And on homelessness, she recognizes the need for a comprehensive approach that includes enforcement of our laws, while addressing the underlying drivers and the need for more affordable housing.
With New Hampshire continuing to be a model of good governance for the nation, this is no time to change direction in the corner office. I am confident Kelly Ayotte is ready to be Governor on Day One. She has the ability to lead in the same style as Governor Sununu with the same positive results for all Granite Staters.
She has my vote!