By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
PLYMOUTH – Three Democratic candidates for governor took the stage Monday evening to introduce themselves to Plymouth area voters and discuss their priorities if elected.
Much of the focus was on creating affordable housing, ensuring reproductive rights but there was also discussion on gerrymandering, climate change and voting rights.
The Grafton County Democrats Gubernatorial Forum was held at the Common Man Inn and included Jon Kiper, Cinde Warmington and Joyce Craig.
Kiper is a Newmarket businessman and parent who has a focus on improving workforce housing opportunities in the state and legalizing cannabis.
Craig is the former mayor of Manchester who has served the past six years.
Warmington is the current District 2 Executive Councilor from Concord.
The room was packed with an overflow crowd as the candidates were given three minutes to introduce themselves. They were given a set of questions by moderator Val Scarborough, vice chair of Plymouth Area Democrats, and offered a concluding statement in an hour-long format.
There are 56 days left before the primary on Sept. 10.
Craig said she wanted to recognize the political violence this weekend and said it has no place in the country and her thoughts were with the victims.
“We live in a state brimming with potential,” Craig said and it is her hope to advance that as governor.
Having been a chief executive, Craig said she has the experience of leadership and has focused on creating good paying jobs, “and I delivered.”
She said today, Manchester has one of the hottest job markets in the country.
It has over 2,000 housing units in development, decreased violent crime by more than 40 percent, strengthened schools, brought in renewable energy and worked to protect reproductive rights, Craig said.
Kiper said he is a lifelong resident of the state from Stratham, a graduate of Exeter High School and has traveled around the world. He started a restaurant and decided to get active politically.
“We are losing the backbone of the Democratic party,” he said because of a lack of affordable housing.
“People are just really struggling out there,” he said. “If we want to beat Kelly Ayotte in November we have to work on unaffiliated voters,” he said and he wants to work on recruiting those people.
Warmington said: “We need to give every individual the opportunity to thrive in the Granite State.”
Warmington said her dad worked at a shipyard and mother was a waitress. She was the first in her family to go to college. Her family went bankrupt when she was a teen and found herself financially independent at 17.
“When I tackle the education issue, I come at it… (as someone) who would not be standing here today without public education,” Warmington said.
Asked to elaborate on why they wanted to run, Craig said issues have driven her to do this despite the idea that she would have never considered it in the past.
She said it should not matter what ZIP code you live in to get a good education, doctors and patients should not have political interference on reproductive rights and said she has the experience of making a difference.
Kiper got a laugh when he said he has been looking for a house for a while and found that the job of governor comes with a house.
Warmington said from the Executive Council table she sees what’s going on in the state, including what is working and what is not. And what she has seen is a middle class living slipping away.
“Why? Because we have an administration that does not make decisions through that lens,” Warmington said.
She said she has seen them dismantle public education and reproductive freedom.
“I cannot sit at that table and allow Kelly Ayotte to run our state,” Warmington said.
She was referring to the former U.S. Senator who is running against former Senate President Chuck Morse for the Republican primary for governor. Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, is not running for reelection.
Warmington said this is an opportunity to allow every citizen to thrive.
Asked what the state could do to allow citizens to make more income?
She said the last thing any person or businesses need is an increase in costs and taxes.
Warmington said the next biennium budget has already begun and she is already looking at what a responsible budget should look like.
Kiper said he would like to see the legalization of cannabis and put revenue into housing. He said he would lean on out-of-state second-home owners and he said he has not taken the “Pledge” against a new income or sales tax “because it is stupid.”
As a restaurant owner, he knows that people pay rooms and meals tax.
Craig said she has experience putting forward budgets and priorities and she said her priorities would be education and housing. She said she thought the benefits of cannabis legalization could help those two priorities.
Investing in renewable energy will also reduce costs for businesses.
Craig said she would look at applying for “every grant possible” from the federal government.
Kiper said building tiny homes and eliminating EFA vouchers are ways he would help.
He said the state loses 50 percent of its high school graduates to colleges out of state because it is more affordable.
Warmington said she has gone head-to-head with Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut and said this has to stop. He is up for another term two months after she takes office, if elected.
“We need a commissioner of education who believes in public education, and he does not,” Warmington said, agreeing with Kiper that New Hampshire is “losing our kids,” to colleges and communities out of state.
Craig also agreed with the two and said she will ask for Edelblut’s resignation “on day one.”
Asked about gerrymandering in the state, Craig said elections have consequences. She said an independent council should be put together to make maps fair.
“What we have to do is everything we can to defeat Kelly Ayotte,” Craig said.
Kiper said algorithms could do a better job solving gerrymandering.
The next opportunity for new districts is in 2030.
Warmington said the state has an opportunity to win up and down the ballot.
Asked about a bill which is making its way to the governor’s desk which could potentially disenfranchise voters this fall, eliminating voter identification exceptions, the three agreed they did not support the measure.
Asked about climate change and its impacts on skiing and maple production, Warmington said we first need a governor who accepts that climate change exists.
She said she has put forth a climate change policy which would take advantage of job opportunities.
“We should be moving to net zero emissions by 2040,” she said. “We have the fewest EV charging stations of any state around us,” she said.
Kiper said when he is governor he will sue Exxon Mobile for denying climate change and help New Hampshire deal with flooding and extreme weather.
Craig said Manchester built the largest solar array in the state and cut carbon emissions by 60 percent.
“We need to get the money out for EV stations,” she said.
The general election is Nov. 5.