O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

We are proud of our service for the City of Manchester. We aren’t the same ages, we have varied backgrounds, and we have different priorities, but one thing unites us: We love Manchester and are proud to call it home.

Our love for the Queen City is why we are disgusted by the political ads from candidates for Governor Cinde Warmington and Kelly Ayotte. It is beyond frustrating to see our resilient and hardworking hometown smeared repeatedly by two millionaires clearly willing to say anything to get elected. They gleefully punch down at Manchester to try to distract from their records, which for both includes disturbingly cozy relationships with the opioid industry that has ravaged communities across our state for decades.

From a place of desperation, they want to blame Joyce Craig personally for the existence of substance abuse disorder, for people being unhoused, for every crime committed in our city, and for a host of other challenges that are shared with communities across our state and country.

We’ve had enough of the lies about Joyce and the heavily financed campaigns to smear our community for cheap political points. The truth is, Joyce Craig has always taken on the tough fights to make our community stronger. It’s what we love most about her.

Joyce tackled crime head-on since her first day in office, and she reduced violent crime by nearly 40%. She funded the largest complement in the history of the Manchester Police Department and put in place the city’s first gun violence reduction strategy. Joyce also put in place the city’s first harm reduction strategy, hired a director of overdose prevention, and oversaw a 20% reduction in opioid overdoses.

Joyce worked relentlessly to create opportunities for residents in our city and state. Under Mayor Craig, Manchester was the only city in the country to be awarded an Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Grant. This means $44 million is being invested in our state’s high tech industry based in our millyard. These funds will create over 7,000 jobs in Southern New Hampshire. Joyce also led an effort to designate southern New Hampshire as a federal tech hub. Named ReGen Valley, the tech hub was awarded another $40 million to bolster this emerging industry in New Hampshire.

As Mayor, Joyce worked with developers to see the creation of over 2,000 housing units in the city. Manchester is one of the hottest housing markets in the nation. It is a fact that people want to live and work in Manchester. These facts are in contrast to the false picture Warmington and Ayotte are trying to paint of Manchester. Maybe they need to spend some time outside of their bubbles to understand what it’s like to live and work in our state’s largest city. It’s a vibrant city with so much to offer our residents, businesses, and visitors.

Unlike her opponents, Joyce Craig has the executive experience to hit the ground running on day one as our next Governor. She never backs down from a fight and isn’t afraid to take on the big challenges. We were proud to have Joyce Craig, a hometown leader, as our Mayor and we know she will make Granite Staters proud as their Governor. Please join us in voting for Joyce Craig for Governor this Tuesday, September 10!

Signed,

• State Senator Lou D’Allesandro
• Former Mayor Sylvio Dupuis
• Former State Senator and Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh
• Representative Ben Baroody
• Representative Amy Bradley
• Representative Patty Cornell
• Representative Mary Freitas
• Representative Jessica Grill
• Representative Mary Heath
• Representative Nicole Leapley
• Representative and Alderman Pat Long
• Representative Linda DiSilvestro
• Representative Alissandra Rodriguez-Murray
• Representative David Preece
• Representative Christine Seibert
• Representative Julie Smith
• Representative Kathy Staub
• Representative Trinidad Tellez, M.D.
• Alderman Bill Barry
• Alderwoman Christine Fajardo
• Alderman Tony Sapienza
• School Board Member At-Large Peter Argeropoulos
• School Board Member At-Large Jim O’Connell
• School Board Member Dan Bergeron
• School Board Member Jason Bonilla
• School Board Member Gary Hamer
• School Board Member Sean Parr
• School Board Member Chris Potter
• School Board Member Julie Turner
• Planning Board Member Bryce Kaw-uh
• Honorable Diane Langley
• Honorable Tim Smith
• Honorable Ken Snow

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