By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org

Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais convened a Mayoral Summit Monday to discuss issues related to cities around the state, but no one from the press or public was allowed to attend.

A dozen mayors from around the state attended the summit at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Only Berlin Mayor Robert Cone didn’t attend, according to Ruais’s communication director Angela Leach.

“The Summit was closed to press and the public but the mayors hosted a press avail immediately following the summit,” Leach said in an email. “It was a meeting and they discussed what they talked about following the meeting at the press availability.”

Since Mayor Ruais was sworn in, the mayors have held very regular zoom meetings, she said. Monday’s was the second in-person meeting of the mayors, Leach said.

In a news release after the summit, Ruais said: “I was thrilled to convene a meeting today with 12 New Hampshire mayors for the first of our quarterly meetings.

“We covered a lot of great ground about how we can work together to collaborate, advocate and advance issues of mutual importance to our municipalities. We discussed a host of topics such as homelessness, bail reform, education and affordable housing among others. I look forward to continuing our discussions and relationship building while identifying solutions to the challenges we are all confronting.”

Last Thursday, Leach emailed a news release about the meeting to reporters. It didn’t specifically say that reporters and members of the public could not attend, but could ask questions after the meeting was over.

That release said: “What: Mayoral Summit followed by Press Availability
When: Monday, March 25th Summit from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Press availability will begin at 12:30 p.m.”

Rochester Mayor Paul Callaghan responded by email and said: “The press did come in at the end. There are times when Mayors need to put their heads together and hash out issues without worrying about sound bites.”