NH Now: Andru Volinsky 6-24-20

Andru Volinsky Denies Charges of Racism by African American Candidates for State Positions–Ryan Terrell and Ed Edwards–and Claims That the Charges Are Being Spread by Republican Operatives across the State.

In an interview with WKXLā€™s Chris Ryan, Andru Volinsky, who is a member of the New Hampshire Executive Council and a Democratic Party candidate for governor, responds to charges of being a racist, discusses the ethics problems of accepting corporate campaign donations, defines the issues that he will use to defeat Governor Sununu, and describes ways that the healthcare system could be reformed.

Andru Volinsky, a member of the Executive Council of New Hampshire, and Dan Feltes, the majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate, are campaigning to be their partyā€™s choice to run against Governor Chris Sununu. The Democratic Party Primary will be held on Tuesday, September 8 and the General Election will be on Tuesday, November 3.

Ryan Terrell, an African American nominee to the New Hampshire State School Board, was rejected in a 3-2 vote by the Executive Council. Andru Volinsky voted with the majority and called Terrellā€™s nomination by Governor Sununu an example of tokenism. Ed Edwards, an African American, was rejected by the Executive Council to be the director of the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensing and Certification. Ryan Terrell and Ed Edwards have both made accusations that Andru Volinsky is a racist. In his response to the charges, Andru Volinsky vehemently denies the racism accusations and claims that he has tried to find ways to have a public hearing for the Edwards appointment despite a lack of cooperation from the Governor.
Andru Volinsky proudly announced that his campaign has a record number of contributorsā€” two times more than his Democratic opponent, Dan Feltes and four times more than Governor Sununu. He feels that he is not beholden to any special interests.

If he should win the Democratic Primary, Andru Volinsky would have two months to unseat Governor Sununu, who currently enjoys high approval ratings. Candidate Volinsky would find ways to increase revenues in order to pay for needed services. He is in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana. Unlike his opponents, Andru Volinsky has not taken the ā€œpledgeā€, so he would consider an income tax or sales tax to increase state revenues.
Andru Volinsky believes that the healthcare industry needs to be reformed. The future of telehealth, the puzzling practices of for-profit providers, and the problems caused by low Medicaid reimbursements in New Hampshire are discussed in the final segment of the interview.