By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
MANCHESTER – With recent polls showing more than 20 percent of likely voters have yet to decide on a candidate, three seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of New Hampshire debated Wednesday night about their positions on abortion, legalization of cannabis, housing and education.
And then there was the opioid crisis with two of the candidates clashing violently on their histories and responsibilities.
Less than a week remains before the Sept. 10 primary in this statewide primary election.
After almost eight years in office, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would not be seeking another term.
For Jon Kiper, 41, a Newmarket Town Councilor and restaurant owner https://www.votekiper.org/ it was the first time he got a chance to have a statewide audience in the debate sponsored by WMUR-TV in Manchester.
His campaign has focused on increasing affordable housing and legalizing cannabis along with innovation for the state’s economy.
Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, 57, https://joycecraig.org/ has been touting her accomplishments as the first female mayor of the Queen City which included attracting high tech jobs, fighting homelessness and the opioid crisis in the state’s largest city.
For Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, 66, of Concord https://www.cindewarmington.com/, an attorney the lone Democrat on the five-member council and former lobbyist, her campaign has touted her statewide experience fighting for abortion access, hopes of removing the state’s new, 24-week abortion ban, and has focused on housing affordability, opposition to the state’s Education Freedom Accounts, improving childcare and fighting the opioid crisis along with working toward progress on renewable energy.
The three got a chance to debate the issues in an hour-long debate format with the moderator, WMUR’s Adam Sexton.
Much of the exposure Democratic voters have had to the race has been television advertising campaigns which have been negative with opponents of Warmington citing her past as a lobbyist for the manufacturers of the opioid drug Oxycontin more than 20 years ago, and Craig’s past as the leader of Manchester the past six years, which in that time has suffered from increased homelessness and drug overdoses.
In the last three races for governor with Sununu as the running incumbent, there has been no contested Democratic primary. And some have said this is a particularly nasty contest the past month, mostly on the paid airwaves.
Mass shootings started off the questioning with Wednesday’s school shooting in Georgia, in which two teachers and two students were killed.
Craig was asked about measures she would propose to limit such gun violence but she began by talking about Kelly Ayotte, the Republican frontrunner for governor. Craig spoke about the Tuesday night debate and described the differences between her and the former U.S. Senator and former Attorney General who is running against Chuck Morse in the Republican primary for governor.
Craig said she has put forth a common sense plan for reducing gun violence including the creation of red flag laws, universal background checks and cited Ayotte’s refusal to support universal background checks after a national school shooting tragedy as Senator.
Warmington said one of the most heartbreaking things is to hear parents’ fears of letting their children go off to school with a worry that they will not come home.
New Hampshire needs reasonable limits on gun ownership and she said she would focus on the needs of the state and not special interests.
Kiper said his heart goes out to families in Georgia. He said the Democratic party needs to change the way they talk about guns.
“We need safe gun laws that protect our children, that is what I support,” Kiper said.
Warmington said if assault weapons were eliminated, she would consider a buy back program.
“We do not need military-style weapons on our streets,” Warmington said.
Craig said she too would support a buy back.
Cost of living was also discussed.
Craig said investing in renewable energy could bring new energy options to decrease utility costs.
Kiper said housing is the only way the state can address high costs.
Warmington said everywhere in the state she hears about the costs of housing, energy, health care and that differs from what the Republicans focus on, citing Ayotte’s corporate board participation that she said has hiked housing costs nationally.
Warmington said her focus as governor would be on costs for working families.
Lack of affordable rental housing was also a question.
Kiper said he has had to raise the price of food at his restaurant to pay for staff increases to allow them to pay for a place to live.
His plan is to legalize cannabis and put funding from that toward more housing development.
Warmington said small businesses cannot hire people because there are no places for their potential employees to live. She noted that on the Executive Council she worked to create guardrails for affordable housing in a $100 million INVEST NH ARPA program to develop new units.
“We are going to cut the red tape and make it easier to build in our state,” she said.
Craig touted over 2,000 new units she helped create in Manchester.
This hands-on experience, she said is critical to address the housing crisis and said she was the only candidate with such experience.
Craig said developers have told her there is a lot of red tape coming from the state and she said she would cut that.
Warmington said the state needs a governor who is focused on the middle class and talked about changing zoning ordinances, making available abandoned land and working with communities to help solve the housing crisis.
Craig said the state’s $7.35 minimum wage is not acceptable.
“We need a governor who can bring good jobs to our state,” she said, noting she helped bring in 7,000 new jobs to Manchester.
Kiper said it is not going to be soon for many to buy a house when the average cost is $500,000. He suggested increasing housing stock without massive developments by allowing cottages or unattached dwellings to be included in zoning.
Warmington and Craig then tangled about the opioid crisis. And Warmington said she was “disgusted” with Craig attacking her for work she did long before the wrongs of the company with oxycontin were known.
Craig said the facts are that Warmington was a lobbyist for Perdue Pharma and took money from bad actors for her campaigns.
“Cinde Warmington cannot stand behind her record,” Craig said and said it was “pathetic” that she was picking on Manchester “when we have made significant progress.”
Warmington said that was “bogus” and said Craig personally profited from the crisis.
“She lives in a glass house,” Warmington said.
“It is beyond the pale that Cinde Warmington is bringing family…into this,” said Craig.
Warmington said Craig signed a form under oath that she had a personal interest in her husband’s law firm, profiting off the traffic of drugs.
Craig said, “We are on the record. Our full records are on the ballot,” she said and Warmington was a lobbyist who worked for a “pill mill” in Dover.
Warmington said she worked years before Purdue Pharma’s lies were known.
Abortion was another issue discussed with a bit more agreement.
Kiper said he does not believe the government should be involved in any medical decisions.
He said as a man he thinks men need to stay out of this discussion.
Warmington said she trusts women to make their own health care decisions.
Cannabis was another matter.
Kiper said his plan is to implement cannabis at different levels: have a home grow permit, a farmer’s market permit, and then allow medicinal cannabis to become for-profit and allow the state to sell larger amounts in a separate market but similar to the liquor commission.
Craig said her plan would be to capture revenue toward public education and affordable housing. The model, she said, would be a small business with local control and encourage local growers.
“I would work with the legislature,” she said to make that happen.
Warmington said the people of the state have spoken by driving out of state to buy cannabis and she wished that the legislation this year had passed.
She said she would support a model to find a hybrid between franchise and free market and make sure that it is safe and young people cannot access it.
“This is a bipartisan issue and can bring jobs to our state,” she said.
The three agreed they would consider ways for electric vehicles to pay their share on road costs. The three opposed the death penalty and Warmington said she would support the idea of considering the commutation of the death penalty on the state’s only death row inmate, who killed a Manchester police officer, making the sentence life in prison without the chance of parole.
On education, the candidates were asked about proficiency and how to improve.
Warmington said there is an all-out assault on education by the Commissioner of Education. She said Craig likes to tell a story about Manchester education but it has some of the worst performing schools in the state.
Craig said there is improvement and it is critical that the state has a commissioner that supports public education.
She said her experience as chief executive “takes a long time to bear fruit.”
“The last thing this state needs is an executive who is pitting one community against another,” Craig said.
The former YDC abuse lawsuit was also discussed.
Warmington said it is a stain on state history and the state needs to compensate for the harm people have suffered.
Kiper said this is an example of the state being penny wise and pound foolish with a lack of proper supervision. And he said if his father’s name was on the building, which Gov. Chris Sununu’s father is named, he would be doing a lot more to deal with this problem.
Craig suggested child services be separated from state Health and Human Services so there is adequate staff and resources.
Homelessness was discussed.
Craig said in 2020 she worked with every mayor and each said the top issue was homelessness as it is today along with housing.
“As mayor, I made progress,” she said “with very little state support.”
Warmington said “no one should be sleeping on our streets.” The issue in Manchester has been a complete failure and people’s encampments being bulldozed. The businesses were harmed, she said, in addition to the humanitarian crisis that took place. And she said Craig is responsible.
Craig said there is a constitutional law that allows people to be on a sidewalk, and shelters were full. Warmington approved a decrease in funds, she charged.
Warmington said Craig is wrong and that she worked in every way she could and even reached out to Craig but Craig “failed the people of New Hampshire.”
Kiper said there should be state-sanctioned camping until the housing crisis is solved and the creation of tiny houses.
He asked the independents to turn out for him because he said Warmington will lose to Ayotte because of her work for Perdue Pharma and Craig will lose because of her actions in Manchester.
On Thursday night, WMUR will host two, half-hour debates featuring the Democratic candidates for the second congressional district and then at 8:30, the Republicans for that same seat.
On Friday night, Republicans hoping to unseat U.S. Representative Chris Pappas, a Democrat, will take the stage.
Pappas is running for re-election but there are no debate plans for that race.
Another series of debates is being hosted this week by New England College in Henniker.
On Thursday NEC hosts the Republican District 1 race at 5 p.m. and on Friday at 6 p.m. the Democratic gubernatorial debate.
