Governor Kelly Ayotte stood in front of the legislature last Thursday morning, declaring that “the state of the state is strong, that our shared prospects for tomorrow are bright and proud that our work is making New Hampshire even stronger, even safer and more prosperous than ever before.”
The prosperity she touts, however, is not real for the vast majority of Granite Staters. Costs of living continue to spiral out of control, and the Governor’s actions do nothing to address those challenges. The comments she shared, the victories she celebrates, ring hollow even the most basic review.
Ayotte highlighted that “We expanded education freedom accounts, so that every family can choose the best learning environment for their kids.” Yes, the voucher program expanded. Well beyond the allocated budget, in a manner that bleeds the state budget dry and leads directly to skyrocketing local property taxes.
When faced with a Supreme Court ruling that New Hampshire’s public schools are underfunded by the state, Ayotte shrugged her shoulders while supporting a legislature-led effort to strip powers from the judiciary, challenging the integrity of our government. Moreover, the expanded voucher access primarily benefits those already in private schools; it does not expand access to those who seek that alternative.
That education misspending trickles down to municipalities, who are forced to close the gap created by the State. Ayotte chided local governments, arguing they must “get serious about fiscal responsibility” and “take a hard look at spending and what they are doing rather than increasing local taxes.” Rather than accepting responsibility for her role, Ayotte has downshifted both the cost and the blame.
Ayotte brags that “We funded one of the strongest Medicaid programs in the country, despite a difficult budget environment.” That funding, however, was not provided by the State. Instead, the burden of the costs falls on the shoulders of the covered families, with new premiums implemented and prescription costs increased. Those shifted costs just started, but the expectation is that many will drop off the rolls, forced to choose between putting food on the table or paying rent and their healthcare coverage.
Ayotte praised the termination of the bail reform effort, just weeks after it took effect, as key to “supporting those affected by domestic violence.” But under her leadership the State refuses to enact common sense legislation such as red flag laws which would remove firearms from environments where they are most likely to be used to inflict that violence.
Utility bills continue to rise, yet the Public Utilities Commission under her leadership simply rubber stamps rate hikes, boosting profits for corporations. While she eventually moved to replace the PUC chair, the damage remains.
And rather than pursuing timely construction of new power generation solutions that can economically address this challenge while also being friendly to our environment, Ayotte chose to kick the can down the road. We will, under her guidance, “build pathways to foster the next generation of nuclear power,” at some indeterminable point in the future, not address the real challenge to Granite Staters today.
Ayotte rightfully celebrated progress on housing construction. New construction starts are up, thanks to well-crafted, bipartisan legislation. But the wins she celebrates were championed and funded by prior administrations and are being gutted under her watch.
She started her speech reminding the legislature that the success of New Hampshire “depends on those who serve their neighbors, their communities and our state,” while remaining silent as the “Community Heros” program that helped 185 of them afford homes in New Hampshire last year sees its funding stripped. The Housing Champions program, which helps municipalities kick-start infrastructure projects to support the new homes, is being similarly dismantled, counter to her claims of support.
New Hampshire has much to celebrate. We have spectacular potential and opportunities to grow our economy, meet the housing and healthcare needs of our residents, and drive down the cost of living, particularly for our most vulnerable. Ayotte’s policies, however, are not the way to deliver that triumph. We must reject the continued cuts from the top and downshifting of costs to municipalities. That is the only way we can deliver a fair chance for success to every Granite Stater.