Has N.H. become an autocracy?
In my first term in office, Governor Sununu vetoed 79 bills. Prior to this session the most vetoes over a two-year period was 28 by then Governor Lynch and by contrast Governor Sununu vetoed 7 bills in his first term. The vast majority of these were not controversial. Many, such as the one creating an electronic database for animal healthcare records that came through my committee, Environment & Agriculture, were bipartisan. This bill was promoted by Shawn Jasper, former Republican Speaker of the House, now Director of the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food (DAMF). He was delighted when the democratically-controlled House passed it because when Republicans were in the majority, he could never get it through committee. This is something that DAMF has wanted for years since it will make the process more efficient and effective. At present these animal health certificates are thrown into a box. To obtain information, someone has to go through thousands of them by hand. Not only is this pennywise and pound foolish, having an electronic system would provide search capabilities to assist in tracking down puppy mills that cause so much harm to animals and families.
New Hampshire voters expect their elected officials to work across party lines to move our state forward. Like Governor Sununu, Governors Shaheen, Lynch, and Hassan all served with a legislature controlled by the other party. While Governors Shaheen, Lynch, and Hassan all worked across the aisle to implement the will of the voters, Governor Sununu has served only as a partisan roadblock by smashing veto records this term.
Well over half the bills that Governor Sununu rejected had bipartisan support in the legislature. Whether the issue was family and medical leave, a moderate minimum wage increase, expanding clean energy and public transportation, or ending partisan gerrymandering, Governor Sununu chose to stand in the way.
On September 16th, Veto Override Day, I will don my mask, go to the Whittemore Center, and sit for several hours where I expect that not 1 veto will be overridden. I believe in checks and balances and that the veto is part of that. But what Governor Sununu has done by his indiscriminate and, at times, petty use of the veto pen, and what his party has done to support it is nothing more than rule by autocracy. I don’t think that is what the people of NH voted for in 2018. For things to change, the electorate needs to education themselves to what is happening and then decide if they want another 2 years of the same. If not, they must vote for change.