The State of the State

Last week, Governor Chris Sununu gave his State of the State Address. What he didn’t say was far more interesting than the predictable blather about no taxes and business, business, business.  

Governor Sununu didn’t mention his number one legislative priority and the very first bill he signed. It was the bill to eliminate the licensing requirement for a concealed pistol or revolver. He campaigned on that bill, which, by the way, was sponsored by Senator Jeb Bradley. Sununu signed the bill in a “private” ceremony, where he was surrounded by some of the leading gundamentalists in the NH House.

After the signing ceremony, the governor posed for photos with the two NRA representatives who were on hand for the private signing ceremony. John Hohenwarter is in charge of government relations at the NRA. His focus is working to eliminate local gun control laws. NRA director of state and local affairs, Lacey Biles was also on hand. His focus is hunting laws. The NRA is known for their generosity to their allies at campaign time, which means this will be a money trail worth following. 

Perhaps, given the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the governor decided it might be in poor taste to remind us all of his first legislative priority and triumph. Or perhaps, given the slaughter, he’d just as soon not remind us that of all the things he could have prioritized, he chose to make our gun laws weaker.

Instead, Sununu spoke mostly of economics. Old people were mentioned only as “contributing immensely to the economy.” That’s certainly an artful way of saying that a lot of old people can’t afford to retire because their property taxes are so high.

There was no mention of the arts or culture. No mention of tourism. No mention of our parks or mountains. No mention of the impact of climate change on our state, or the need to plan for the future of rising sea levels.

The most glaring omission in his speech was any mention of the North Country. What has Sununu done for the north? He pardoned some nuisance bears – and he’s been outspoken in his opposition to the decision made by the SEC regarding Northern Pass. Just as he knew better than Fish and Game about those bears, he knows better than the SEC about an issue he’s had no involvement in.

Whenever you ask someone where their favorite part of the state to visit is, they always say either the lakes region or the mountains. No one ever says they’re eager to vacation in Epping, yet everyone’s favorite part of the state is ignored by our state government. How many times has Sununu been to Coos since he was elected by busloads of people from Massachusetts? Don’t worry, Coos. He’ll be coming around looking for your votes and your money for his reelection soon enough. Just don’t expect any return on your investment.

Speaking of those busloads, Sununu made no mention of fauxter fraud or the ongoing attempt by the majority party to enact voter suppression legislation. 

The governor did give himself a big pat on the back for sending $30 million back to cities and towns for infrastructure projects. Surely that $1800 made a big dent in Hart’s Location’s infrastructure needs.   

Sununu made a big point of telling us that he’s a product of the public school system – a system he’s working hard to dismantle. Putting Frank Edelblut, a man with zero qualifications for the job in charge of the Dept. of Education was the first step. The majority party is working on a voucher program that would funnel tax dollars for public schools to private schools, religious schools, and home schools. In addition to taking money out of the schools, the accountability piece of the voucher bill is murky at best. Whenever taxpayer funds are spent, there must be accountability.

It was a disappointing speech. When we elect people who believe government is essentially a business, we get a government that is only interested in representing business interests – and only some business interests at that.  The businesses of the North Country would benefit from investment in our state parks, but that isn’t ever a consideration. If our state really were a business, no one would look twice at the peeling, unlit outside sign, never mind walk up the broken steps to knock on the unpainted front door.

The northern part of the state exists as a sort of Brigadoon, a place where Republicans can wax nostalgic about the Old Man, and Mel Thomson – and ignore the rest.

The lack of content wasn’t met with dismay. Governor Sununu is affable and always willing to jump in front of a camera. His informal style plays well with the media, who have little interest in holding him accountable. Hopefully voters will.  

Published as an op-ed in the February 23, 2018 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper