With just about two weeks left until the election, it’s easy for some to lose sight of the bipartisan progress that our state has been making and instead launch misleading attacks in an attempt to score political points. This is exactly the route Senate President Chuck Morse and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley took in a recent op-ed (Monitor Forum, Oct. 22), recycling more false attacks against Gov. Maggie Hassan on behalf of Sen. Kelly Ayotte.
What the senators failed to acknowledge, however, is that Gov. Hassan’s approach to managing our state is delivering positive results for Granite Staters. Through her approach of working with members of both parties, the progress we are making is clear.
Under Gov. Hassan’s leadership, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate is now the lowest in the United States, and we have more people working than at any point in our state’s history. Just recently, a report from CNBC ranked the Granite State as the top state in the nation for business friendliness. And a U.S. Census Bureau report found that our state had the highest increase in median income growth in New England and among the highest in the country.
But instead of recognizing our bipartisan progress, Sens. Morse and Bradley would prefer to recycle their false talking points about last year’s budget process.
By standing up for fiscal responsibility, Gov. Hassan and Senate Democrats were able to put in place important safeguards in the final budget compromise that allowed us to cut taxes for small businesses while also ensuring long-term fiscal responsibility and protecting our ability to invest in critical priorities for years to come, including holding down the cost of college tuition and combating the heroin crisis.
As a result of our work together on two fiscally responsible, bipartisan budgets and Gov. Hassan’s leadership, we are seeing strong results. We more than doubled our Rainy Day Fund at the end of Fiscal Year 2015 to the highest level since Fiscal Year 2009, and it is estimated to reach more than $90 million by the end of this year, while we have also cut taxes for research and development and small businesses.
Following passage of the budget, the governor has worked with leaders in both parties in order to address critical challenges facing our state.
Her top priority has been working to combat the heroin and opioid crisis, which is ravaging far too many families across our state. In addition to securing $5 million in additional funding for treatment, prevention, recovery and supportive housing programs, the governor has also worked with the Legislature to establish a statewide drug court program and provide law enforcement on the front lines with more resources through operation Granite Hammer. And the Governor and Executive Council have approved more than $24 million in state contracts already this year to provide substance misuse services.
Gov. Hassan has fought to improve conditions for those living with developmental disabilities in our state, and state officials are working with local agencies to ensure that those with developmental disabilities have the support and care they need, with the state on track to serve the 415 people projected for the current biennium even though the average costs for these services is increasing and is higher than estimated in the current fiscal year budget.
And on the mental health crisis unit at the New Hampshire Hospital, the senators failed to recognize the progress made by Gov. Hassan and the Executive Council to increase pay and approve a new contract to get more nurses hired. As a result of this work, the new 10-bed crisis unit is now open and working to help citizens in need. And Gov. Hassan worked to increase rates for community mental health centers.
As a result of Gov. Hassan’s leadership in managing New Hampshire, we have been able to make important progress for our people and our small businesses. And her efforts to listen to all Granite Staters and work with anyone to get results is a stark difference from the gridlock and dysfunction we see in Washington. We need Gov. Hassan to take her approach to the United States Senate.
(Sen. Jeff Woodburn, a Dalton Democrat, represents District 1. Donna Soucy, a Manchester Democrat, represents District 18.)