In this election, we have an opportunity to bring about real change and get out of this mess in a way that works for working people and working families. Not slogans. Not talking points. Not press conferences or photo ops. Just hard work based on that fundamental belief that to move New Hampshire forward, we cannot leave anyone behind. We must move forward in a way that works for working families. I would veto an income or sales tax if it reached my desk because it hurts the working families who need our help the most. This election is about folks who never asked for a thing, but need someone in their corner now more than ever.

This election is about people like my parents. Unlike the current governor, I didn’t come from a family of politicians, my dad worked in a furniture factory for 45 years, doing roughly the same job every day. My mom worked the night shift while raising four kids. The values they instilled in me led me to a career of service. Right out of law school I had a choice, take a job as a corporate attorney, or take a job as a legal aid attorney with New Hampshire Legal Assistance, helping low-to-middle income families, seniors, and veterans.

This election is about the people I’ve fought for as a legal aid attorney and in the state senate. People like Kurt, whose wife went to a routine doctor’s appointment after she was suffering from headaches and was told she had just months to live. Kurt didn’t have access to paid family and medical leave so instead of spending every waking moment with her, he had to return to work while the hospital bills piled up. That’s why in the state senate I sponsored paid family and medical leave insurance so people like Kurt could spend the final moments with a loved one, and that’s why I’ve taken on the health insurance industry every step of the way for working families, both as a legal aid attorney and in the state senate.

In the state senate, we’ve gotten bipartisan results for working families. We passed legislation to lower prescription drug prices, we expanded health care to over 50,000 Granite Staters, protected people with pre-existing conditions, expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, advanced clean energy and clean water, and we delivered the biggest public school funding in state history by closing tax loopholes for big corporations, but all too often, on bipartisan initiatives, we ran into the same roadblock to progress: Chris Sununu.

Chris Sununu began his political career over 10 years ago based on his fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That included recently celebrating Trump’s repeal effort in 2017, voting against even setting up the health insurance exchange here in New Hampshire in 2012, and saying he supports Donald Trump because Trump would finally repeal “horrible programs like Obamacare.” Chris Sununu has worked to defund Planned Parenthood, vetoed legislation requiring insurance companies to cover reproductive health care, and supported justices who would work to make abortion illegal. Chris Sununu has consistently given tax breaks to big, out-of-state corporations and his family’s ski resort while our property taxes have gone up. And Sununu vetoed an increase in the minimum wage while taking a $31,000 pay raise for himself.

Real leadership requires honesty, not back-patting. It requires treating your employees with respect. And it requires putting forward real plans to move us all forward. I’m proud to have the support of the New Hampshire State Troopers and State Employees in this campaign. A true measure of leadership is what the people you manage think of you, and they are not supporting Chris Sununu’s re-election. I’ll ensure those on the frontlines of this public health crisis, are paid adequate wages and benefits.

Now is the time to create a future that works for everyone, not just those at the top. Now is the time for real plans solving real problems, not just press conferences. Now is the time to reject the tired arguments of the past and to reject the “income tax” lies spread by dark money groups. Now is the time to make government truly work for the people. I respectfully ask for your vote for governor on Tuesday, November 3rd. With your help, I am confident we can and we will move New Hampshire forward, together.

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