Above, protesters are pictured at the corner of West Main Street and Route 16 in Conway on Friday. PAULA TRACY photo

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONWAY – About 50 Mount Washington Valley residents concerned about the impacts of expected federal Medicaid cuts on their neighbors, made signs and bundled up against a cold wind to let their concerns be known, as Gov. Kelly Ayotte came through town to meet with mental health care providers to discuss budget cuts.

Their presence for two hours at the corner of West Main Street and Route 16 during the lunch hour engaged passersby on the heavily traveled road, eliciting honks of support and revving of truck engines and shouts of “MAGA!” and “TRUMP WON!”

Gabrielle Watson of Tamworth held a sign reading “We The People” and another at her feet reading “Protect Our Public Servants,” while she waved at vehicles and joined with others who chanted in favor of retaining Medicaid funding.

She said by far a majority of the engagement from the public was positive.

But one man, who would not identify himself, shouted, “Do you people give a (expletive) about where our (expletive) tax dollars go?”

He said they should be ashamed of themselves.

The protesters did not engage with him.

Knute Ogren of Effingham stood in shorts and LL Bean boots and held a sign that he could flip. One side read “Let’s Save” and the other side read “Democracy.”

He said he is dismayed and disappointed with Republican leadership in Concord and Washington would like to see more of a concern for those less fortunate now that they have the power to do something about it.

He said it seems like they are “attempting to devalue our neighbors, our kids and our old people who are screwed.”

Ogren said he is a Lutheran and what they are called to do is think and wonder and discern and then do something about it. 

“Some might say that my holding a sign on the side of the road isn’t doing much. And they may be right. But I am with other people. I am participating in something that a community of people are caring about and the thing that is going to get us out of this mess – I don’t know if it will be next year or the next decade – is our relationships and building community.”

He said if his holding this sign and turning it helps in growing that community spirit “I’ll do it. There are so many people wasting their time on all sorts of stupid stuff. I am very, very lucky that I have a little bit of freedom in my life that I can make time to do this. So many would be here but they can’t be here because they are working a third job…” he said.

Ogren said he was disappointed in former Gov. Chris Sununu for changing his stance on Trump, when he once said the man was crazy. He said he spoke out about former President Joe Biden who “wasn’t my favorite” and is looking now to the new Gov. Kelly Ayotte to have “some integrity” and concern for the state’s most vulnerable as the state and nation face cuts in services.

Watson said Ayotte was going to be arriving at a building not far from the protest to meet with health care officials from the North Country.

She said Ayotte would probably be talking with mental health care providers about her proposed budget and how it looks to retain services for the needy while also facing federal cuts. 

Watson said there are things about Ayotte’s proposal which are laudable, listing Ayotte’s focus on homelessness, but said she is cutting the funding for any renewable energy projects and opening the door to school vouchers which she charged is “eroding schools.”

She said in her town, about 50 percent of the children in the school are eligible for free and reduced lunch and the real estate tax continues to be a challenge for many in the face of all the political uncertainty.

Town meeting this year was peaceful and charitable, and she said there was a lot of support for the poor, elderly and service needs.

Ayotte left the closed-door meeting without stopping to engage and Megan Chapman of Albany, an event organizer, said it would have meant a lot to everyone and that it was a missed opportunity.

“Certainly she saw us,” Chapman said.

On Tuesday, March 4 about 300 area residents came out to join a similar rally at the “Four corners” near the Conway public library.

“This is a very unprecedented time for our country,” she said and noted that “it feels good to just come out and come together.”

Correction: Comments by Gabrielle Watson in this story were incorrectly attributed to Nancy Sheridan in a previous version. We regret the error.