Jun. 16—CONCORD — Democratic candidate for governor Joyce Craig insisted Friday that her three terms as mayor of Manchester make her uniquely qualified and rebuffed Republican claims that she'll be unable to defend her record on fighting crime, homelessness and trying to improve the performance of test scores for students in city public schools.
"The record I have in Manchester stands, the work I have done has made a positive impact not only for the residents of Manchester but throughout our state," said Craig, surrounded by family and friends while she filed Friday morning.
Less than an hour later, Newmarket restaurant owner Jon Kiper formalized his Democratic primary bid and said what sets him apart from Craig and primary rival/Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of Concord was he has known the financial crunch that many families were facing.
"People are tired of career politicians. They are tired of voting for lobbyists, landlords and lawyers. People trust me because I am a working-class person. I'm frankly struggling with housing myself," Kiper said.
"We are struggling to find a house in New Hampshire that we can live in that is near the restaurant."
Kiper said his signature pursuit would be to legalize marijuana for recreational use and have it sold like liquor at state-run stores with all profits going to support affordable housing.
"The thing about liquor stores is Republicans love it because it keeps their taxes low, but the reality is, it's socialism, it's state-owned enterprise monopoly of an industry," Kiper said.
Craig said in 2020 she worked to get all mayors together to make progress on solving homelessness.
"But recently the mayors got back together, and you know what they said? The number one issue they are facing is housing and homelessness. We need a governor who can take action and work with our communities to get things done," Craig said.
Seven file to replace Sununu as GOP nominee
The Republican Governors Association (RGA_ said voters after reviewing Craig's record will reject her.
"The facts are clear — Joyce Craig failed Manchester families when she was mayor, and the entire Granite State would be worse off under her leadership — New Hampshire simply can't afford to have Joyce Craig as governor," said RGA Press Secretary Courtney Alexander.
Former Senate President Chuck Morse of Salem is the other major GOP candidate facing former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, but the ballot includes five other lesser known candidates, including Frank Staples of Manchester, an anti-vaccine mandate activist who was arrested for criminal trespass outside Gov. Chris Sununu's home in Newfields.
Staples appealed his conviction to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Most Democratic candidates for state Senate seats filed Friday, the final day to sign up.
Manchester School Board member Sean Parr, a two-term Democrat, is running to try and replace retiring Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, D-Manchester.
Rep. and Manchester Alderman Patrick T. Long had declared he was running and also officially signed up Friday.
"I'm sure this is going to be a very civil race about the issues. I have great respect for Pat. I thought quite a bit about this before deciding I would have the time to take this on if I'm fortunate enough to get elected," Parr said.
The winner will face off against Manchester Republican Brittany LeClear-Ping, a property management office manager who ran and lost bids for state rep in 2022 and school board in 2023.
Former state Rep. Casey Crane, R-Nashua, joined the crowded field of 10 GOP candidates in the 2nd Congressional District, a seat Democrat Annie Kuster will retire from at year's end.
"I'm the only major candidate who has been with Trump since day one in 2015," said Crane, who's backed by Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wolfeboro, and Jim Lawrence of Hudson, the 2016 GOP nominee for this seat.
Rep. Max Abramson, R-Seabrook, filed for the 1st Congressional District seat on a platform of replacing all federal taxes on income with a 12% compensation tax.
Michael Callis of Conway also filed again for the 2nd District race after finishing seventh in the 2022 GOP primary.
Callis tried but failed to get legal permission to run in both districts after having run in the 1st District in 2018 and 2020, finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
"My driveway is in Eaton in the 1st District and my house is in Conway, that's in the 2nd District so why couldn't I run for both?" Callis quipped.
Edmond Lapointe, a Richmond auto mechanic, clad in colonial period-looking garb, signed up to run as the Constitution Party candidate for governor.
In 2022, Laplante ran for U.S. senator as a Republican and finished in 10th.place.
He'll need to collect 3,000 signatures of registered voters to get his name on the general election ballot in November.
klandrigan@unionleader.com
