Mayor Craig delivers final State of the City Address

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. – On Thursday, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig delivered her 2023 State of the City Address as she heads into her final months as mayor of New Hampshire’s largest city.

After serving as a Board of School Committee Member and Alderman from Ward 1, Craig recently said she would not seek another term, having held the position since 2017.

Hosted by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Scott Spradling, Craig said she would miss her team, interacting with Manchester’s young people and the unique finger on the pulse of the city that one obtains by being mayor. Still, she had a long list of accomplishments during her speech and subsequent conversation with Spradling.

“As a fourth-generation resident, serving as the Mayor of Manchester has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Craig. “I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished and I’m excited for the future of our city.”

At the forefront of these accomplishments was the $44 million federal Build Back Better grant, which is expected to create 7,000 new jobs over the next seven years and Craig believes will make Manchester’s Millyard a leader in the emerging field of biofabrication, which seeks to create artificial organs on demand.

People understand that we’re building a brand new industry and the excitement around that is wonderful,” she said.

Craig also spoke on Manchester’s selection as one of five cities participating in the National League of Cities “Cities of Opportunity Action Cohort,” which will provide technical assistance in expanding health equity, as well as other federal funding such as U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE Grants that seek to create various new infrastructure improvements near the south Elm Street area.

She also gave praise to various city officials on their efforts such as Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Director Ted Kitchens, Manchester Police Department Lieutenant Matt Barter, Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Gillis and others.

With Kitchens, Craig praised his efforts refinancing the airport’s debt, allowing it to lower costs in a manner that has attracted Spirit and Avelo to the city. Craig highlighted Barter’s data expertise has been at the center of the city’s analytical approach in addressing gun violence. And Craig applauded the creation of a standardized curriculum over the city’s schools in recent years by Gillis.

Beyond the city, Craig also praised New Hampshire House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester) for his efforts in passing a bipartisan budget through the New Hampshire House of Representatives earlier in the day that increases educational funding and provides funding for affordable housing.

She also applauded efforts related to the Beech Street Winter Emergency Shelter, which she says has built relationships with homeless individuals that eventually will help lead them off the streets.

Despite the accomplishments, she acknowledged that the city still faces challenges and expressed frustration with the city’s tax cap making it difficult to address the city’s challenges.

Manchester remains without adequate housing, despite over 2,000 units are currently under development, with 500 of which qualifying as affordable housing. Later this month, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen are expected to hear about efforts to address this item by relaxing rules on accessory dwelling units, while also noting other initiatives such as the process of transforming the Pearl and Hartnett Street Parking Lots into mixed-use housing and parking facilities.

Building on the topic of the relationships built at the Beech Street shelter, she said she regrets more work has not in creating supportive housing, an approach that helps homeless individuals better acclimate to being housed by integrating communal living that helps the unhoused transition into living in a housed environment.

She also urged individuals seeking to renovate Manchester’s schools to provide public feedback in the school district’s facilities plan, such as through the listening sessions earlier this week.

Finally, she urged whoever becomes Manchester’s next mayor to be a good listener and noted that politics at the local level is different than the partisan animosity that one sees at the state and federal levels.

“Our elections are non-partisan. While people do know what party you are affiliated with, you are living in the community that you are serving, so you have to make a difference. There’s compromise in almost everything that I do, because we need to serve the needs of our community,” she said. “I will see people at the grocery store or walking down Elm Street and they will mention an issue like trash pick up or a pothole and I don’t ask what their party affiliation is, I ask for more details so I can call the appropriate person to help them address the issue. And for me, that’s how it should be.”