Ayotte makes pitstop in Claremont

By VIRGINIA DRYE
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Former U.S Sen. Kelly Ayotte came to Sullivan County on Saturday, March 2, as a stop on her run for New Hampshire governor and stopped and spoke with the Eagle Times.

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, her time in public service started when she was a murder prosecutor at the Attorney General’s office in the early 2000s.

“I worked some challenging cases with the police for our state and prosecuted those cases,” she said.

Ayotte also briefly served as legal counsel to Gov. Craig Benson and went back to the Attorney General’s office where she was appointed the Deputy Attorney General and eventually appointed Attorney General. Ayotte is the first woman — and the only woman who served in that position.

In 2011, she represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to the end of 2016. Over the last six years, she spent time raising her two teenagers; Kate, a freshman at the Air Force Academy, and Jacob, a sophomore in high school and working in the private sector.

“For example, I chair the board for BAE Systems, our largest manufacturing employer. I’ve worked on some nonprofits, including veterans’ nonprofits, Veterans Count and Swim with a Mission,” Ayotte said.

Ayotte has three positions for her run for the corner office, which is to make sure that New Hampshire remains safe, prosperous and free.

“On the safety front, we have an issue right now and a challenge in recruiting and retaining good police officers, and I had the privilege of serving as Attorney general and working closely with the police. We’re down 65 troopers right now. Many of our local departments — I know this has been a challenge in Claremont, but also this is throughout the state — of retaining and keeping good officers and finding new ones.”

Ayotte suggested that there needs to be some changes to the retirement system to ensure it is competitive, to keep police officers and treat them well and keep police work here rather than going to other states to do that.

“We also need to elevate our police and our first responders and make sure that they understand we appreciate what they do every day … but as governor, I will certainly have their backs.

“I’m hearing from people throughout the state, and especially from law enforcement, is changes that were made to the bail law are causing dangerous criminals who should be held pending trial to be out on the streets, and other people are being harmed. I know the legislature is working on it, but it’s going to be a priority of mine as governor if it doesn’t get done before I get there,” she said.

On prosperity and freedom, Ayotte noted that New Hampshire has an economic advantage.

“No income tax, no sales tax, no estate taxes; very different from our neighbors, and so I want to preserve our economic advantage,” Ayotte said.

During her visit, Ayotte went to two gun shops in the area.

“The two places I stopped by — they obviously sell firearms, and of course, you have Sturm Ruger, so a lot of jobs in the community — want to make sure that New Hampshire remains a state where we respect people’s Second Amendment rights and that those jobs are protected and respected here in New Hampshire.

“In New Hampshire, we have that great state motto, “Live Free or Die,” but it means much more than words. In New Hampshire, we respect our constitutional rights. So as governor, I will respect people’s constitutional rights, all of them. I also think that education is an important area to have freedom,” she said.

Ayotte is a supporter of education freedom accounts and parental rights.

“I strongly believe in supporting the rights of parents and to know what’s happening and certainly would support, for example, a parents bill,” said Ayotte. “I also believe that every child learns differently, and I’ve seen it in my two children; giving parents the option of where the best place is for them to educate their child. I’m just a huge fan of teachers, and I’m going to elevate teachers and make sure that they feel supported.”

She continued, “I think Sullivan County is such a beautiful part of our state. It’s an important part of our state. I’m glad to be in the county today campaigning, meeting with people, hearing what’s on their minds. I plan to come back here a lot during this campaign.”