Governor Sununu on President Trump: “I’m a Republican. I Support the President. . . I Don’t Support Everything the President Has Done. I’m Sure That He Doesn’t Support Everything That I’ve Done.”
Governor Chris Sununu is kicking off his run for a third term. The Governor is running against Dan Feltes, the Democratic majority leader of the New Hampshire Senate. The General Election will be on November 3.
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu lays out the following reasons for running for a third term: 1) He wants to make sure that New Hampshire’s economy bounces back from the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown; 2) He wants to fix the budget shortfall without raising new taxes; 3) He wants to promote the safety of our communities and to stifle the “defund the police movement”; 4) As his foremost reason, he wants to see New Hampshire through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The availability and distribution of a Coronavirus Vaccine was discussed. According to Governor Sununu, the public should have faith in a vaccine which has been tested and approved by the FDA-Food and Drug Administration. Information which he has received from the White House and other federal sources have told the Governor that a vaccine will be available by late 2020-early 2021. Governor Sununu has established an Ethics Committee to determine which groups will be given priority to receive the vaccines when it first becomes available. The elderly, people with underlying health conditions, and frontline workers will probably be the first to have access to the vaccine. A tiered system based on susceptibility to the disease will be established. A distribution system has been set up by the Public Health Network when the vaccine becomes available. Immunization from the Coronavirus will require two shots—the initial vaccination and a second injection about a month later.
Dan Feltes, the Governor’s Democratic opponent, has frequently described Chris Sununu as a Trump guy through and through. Governor Sununu dismissed the charge in the following way, “I’m a Republican. I support the President. The issues of 2021 are going to be about jobs, the economy, safety in our cities across the country, security for our families. That’s something that he and his administration have done a very good job nationally, and that’s why I’m supporting that leadership going forward.” The Governor went on to say that he has frequently objected to comments and tweets by President Trump.
Governor Sununu was asked about how New Hampshire could position itself as a destination for people and businesses which are considering relocating from the Boston or Hartford areas. He pointed out that $15 million had been allocated to improve the availability of broadband throughout the state. The state has increased advertising to entice people to move to the Granite State. The Governor predicts serious problems with commercial real estate in urban areas across the country in the next few years. He feels that New Hampshire should be fairly insulated from this imminent real estate collapse. The $500 million spent during the pandemic by the Main Street Fund will help many small businesses in the towns and cities of New Hampshire to keep going.
The conclusion of the interview dealt with the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Sununu praised Lori Shibinette, the State Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, for her quick and effective actions to stem the outbreaks of the Coronavirus in long term care facilities. Governor Sununu is pleased with how schools have reopened across the state. Most districts are either doing either completely direct learning or a hybrid combination of remote and direct learning. About 8 or 9 districts are doing only remote learning. He hopes that once they see how other districts are safely able to open with at least some direct learning, that they might see the benefits of getting the kids back in school. The Governor feels that providing schools with health and safety guidelines and giving parents, teachers, and administrators the freedom to choose the best way to reopen the schools was a good decision. There have been some flair ups or cases of COVID on the local and university level, but Governor Sununu is confident that a management system is in place.
