I was dismayed to read my colleague Joe Sweeney’s op-ed over the weekend attacking Gov. Maggie Hassan’s record of leadership of New Hampshire. I would hope that elected leaders would join with Gov. Hassan and work together to solve the problems faced by Granite Staters rather than launching inaccurate and transparently political attacks.
As someone who works with children, I know firsthand that Gov. Hassan has been an outspoken advocate for children’s welfare her entire career. As governor, she has fought tirelessly to improve outcomes for at-risk families and children, especially under the care of our state agencies. She knows that the safety and well-being of our children is our government’s most important responsibility.
In the wake of the tragic deaths of Sadie Willott and Brielle Gage, the governor called for an outside review of the Division of Children, Youth and Families to determine what measures can be taken to prevent similar tragedies in the future. And the governor also made clear that this outside review must not interfere with the needs of law enforcement who are investigating criminal wrongdoing in those particular cases.
The governor is working to ensure that we improve outcomes for at-risk children in the state’s care and holding state agencies accountable – and she should be commended for doing so.
Rep. Sweeney also highlighted the importance of the new 10-bed crisis unit at New Hampshire Hospital. Members of both parties agree that this is a critical priority for our state. That’s why Gov. Hassan took action to increase nurse pay and fill the vacant nursing positions there that had prevented the facility from opening.
I was particularly dismayed to see Rep. Sweeney’s political attacks on the governor’s record on responding to our state’s addiction crisis. This issue is one that is too important to be politicized like that, and he ought to be ashamed for trying to use such an urgent issue as a political football to cast blame on Gov. Hassan, who has been a bold leader and advocate for a robust and well-resourced response to the crisis.
Gov. Hassan led the fight to expand Medicaid to more than 50,000 Granite Staters, a vital tool in our battle against opioid and heroin abuse and addiction. That’s 50,000 people who now, thanks to Gov. Hassan’s leadership, have access to substance abuse treatment and recovery services. Its recent bipartisan reauthorization provides treatment providers with the certainty they need to expand their services and access to care and will allow those struggling to seek and maintain recovery.
Here in the Granite State, we’ve made great strides during the Hassan administration. Our unemployment rate is now the lowest it has been in 15 years, among the lowest in the nation. And for the third year in a row, New Hampshire has been ranked the best state in the nation by averaging a variety of metrics from health care to education to crime.
Not only that, but under Gov. Hassan’s leadership and careful fiscal management, we more than doubled our Rainy Day Fund and ended the latest fiscal year with a $62 million surplus.
It’s no wonder that recent polling shows that two-thirds of Granite Staters believe New Hampshire is heading in the right direction.
On issue after issue, Rep. Sweeney’s political attacks just don’t hold water. Gov. Hassan has been an exceptional leader for the Granite State, and it’s clear her opponents are just trying to change the subject and distract from her record of accomplishments on behalf of the people she serves. Her hard work and ability to bring people from across the political spectrum together to get things done has served us well.
I call on Rep. Sweeney and my other Republican colleagues to stop with the reckless and misleading political attacks and to join with Gov. Hassan and Democrats to work together to solve our pressing problems and move New Hampshire forward.
(Mary Jane Wallner, a Democrat, is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. She lives in Concord.