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State House Roundup Sue Ford

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Dear Friend,

Over the weekend, the New Hampshire Republican Party held their convention that was closed to the press. While there, the few people that showed up voted down a proposed platform change that would have supported marriage equality. Instead the Republican Party has decided to keep their anti-equality position in their 2018 platform.

It’s hard to believe that three years after marriage equality became legalized throughout the country, Governor Sununu’s party is still working to move us backwards, promoting their hateful and discriminatory opinions in their party platform.

For years, Democrats have fought for marriage equality and have welcomed everybody and anybody into our party. With this vote, Republicans have, once again, gone out of their way to show why they are the party of the past and we are the party of the future.

Please continue to use this regular newsletter as a tool for your local committee meetings or as a supplement to your own regular newsletter.  

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have.

Best,

Sue Ford                                                                  Sarah Guggenheimer
NHDP Grassroots Chair                                          Deputy Communications Director,
Fmr. House Democratic Floor Leader                     NHDP
sueford06@gmail.com                                            sguggenheimer@nhdp.org

Nick Taylor                                                              Erin Turmelle
Director, House and Senate Democrats                 Political Director, NHDP
ntaylor@nhdp.org                                                   eturmelle@nhdp.org

Table of Contents

Action Alerts

Protest Betsy DeVos in New Hampshire

Governor Chris Sununu is in lockstep with the Trump Administration’s attacks on public education. The latest evidence: Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is coming to New Hampshire on Monday night for a closed-door New Hampshire GOP fundraiser.

With the Republican’s last minute decision to close the event to the press, our partners put together planned demonstrations to object to this lack of transparency. We hope you can join us, supporting this cause and taking a visible stand to protect our schools and our children. Please protest DeVos’s visit by heading to Atkinson Country Club from 4:30 to 6:00 pm TODAY. Bring your own sign or use one of ours. RSVP to let us know you are coming. Thank you!

Pizza & Politics: Urge the Governor to Veto HB 1264 and HB 372

Last week, the House voted on party lines to send the voter suppression bill, HB 1264 to the Governor at the same time as its twin, HB 372 heads to Committee of Conference. Before the Governor has a chance to sign either bill into law, join our partners and jump on the phones to urge Sununu to veto HB 1264 and its twin HB 372.

These twin pieces of legislation are designed by the GOP to disenfranchise young eligible voters. While initially saying he “hates” HB 372, Sununu has refused to commit to veto either piece of legislation. Let’s keep up the pressure and tell Sununu to do the right thing!

The phone bank will take place on Tuesday5pm-7pm, at 8 Carpenter St in Manchester. Please bring your own laptop and headphones.

RSVP HERE.

Committees of Conference

The State House has finished voting on new legislation this Session. House and Senate members will now meet in Committees of Conference to resolve discrepancies between House and Senate versions of the same bill. They will then have a final vote on May 23rd. Committees will not be accepting testimonials.

Restricting Voting Rights

Tuesday, May 14th / Committee of Conference

HB 372making it harder for eligible young voters by establishing a modern-day poll tax

Why this matters: HB 1264 and HB 372, are twin bills that are designed to disenfranchise young eligible voters by instituting a modern-day poll tax. Last week, the House voted to send HB 1264 to the Governor’s desk. He has continued to refuse to take a concrete position on this bill. In the meantime, HB 372 will now head to Committee of Conference.

Take Action: Call Governor Sununu (603) 271-2121 and urge him to commit to veto both HB 372 and its twin HB 1264.

Commuter Rail

Monday, May 14th/ Committee of Conference

HB 2018relative to the state 10-year transportation improvement program

Why this matters: After Democrats worked steadily to include commuter rail in New Hampshire’s 10-year transportation program, Senate Republicans employed anti-Democratic tricks to remove rail once more from the plan. This Committee of Conference is the last chance for rail to be added to the program this session. Governor Sununu’s has flipped, flopped, flipped, flopped, and flipped on rail over the past few years even though it has overwhelming public approval.

Legislative Review

On Thursday, House Democrats defeated Governor Sununu’s top legislative priority when they were joined by several Republican State Representatives to non-concur and kill HB 1636, the zombie school voucher program that Sununu and the Republican-led Senate snuck into an unrelated bill at the last minute. The program, originally titled SB 193, was rejected twice by the Republican-led House just last week. A Reaching Higher NH study showed that the bill would have stolen $266 million from public schools. The bill was panned as unconstitutional by experts and several editorial boards. This vote marks the third time in two weeks, Sununu’s own party rejected his top legislative priority of the session.

Also on Thursday, the New Hampshire Senate voted 16-6 to concur on a 5-year reauthorization of Medicaid Expansion, a program that insures more than 52,000 Granite Staters and serves as a key tool to fight the opioid crisis. Every present Senate Democrat voted yes, with 6 of 13 Senate Republicans voting against the bipartisan proposal. Democrats in this state have made the program successful, popular, and politically impossible to oppose, which is why even longtime critics like Governor Sununu have been forced to relent, giving people the health care coverage they deserve

This week Republicans also continued their fight to disenfranchise young eligible voters when the State House passed the voter suppression bill, HB 1264, sending it to the Governor’s desk to sign or veto. Governor Sununu has refused to commit to support or oppose either HB 1264 or its twin HB 372 for months even though he’s said he “hated” HB 372 and opposed HB 1264 as written. After the vote, Sununu released a statement saying he would seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court before he made up his mind, a right he alone does not have. But if he truly opposed the bill, there could be no real reason to get the court’s opinion. Clearly, Sununu is looking for any reason to support this bill.

Supporter Housing

The NHDP is gearing up for our 2018 Coordinated Campaign! We are bringing on staff and volunteers to support our Town and County committees to turn out the vote in November. We need your help finding places for them to stay. Whether it is for a week or through election day – any little bit helps. Please fill out THIS FORM if you are able to house a volunteer or staff member.

Sununu Reality Check

After the House vote to send the voter restriction bill HB 1264 to the Governor’s desk, there seems no better time to look back on Sununu’s conspiratorial record on voter fraud.

Even though he once paid lip service to the idea of opposing laws that would suppress the vote, Sununu’s evasive language has done little to assure New Hampshire residents that he would actually veto any voter suppression law that the legislature sends him. Sununu’s recent comments suggest that he is trying to maneuver politically in an attempt to avoid taking blame for distorting the democratic process while giving Republicans an electoral advantage.

To read more about his faulty record click HERE.

Follow Sununu Reality Check on TwitterFacebook, and check out our website (SununuRealityCheck.com) to get updates on how we’re holding Sununu accountable.

Check out the NHDP Store

Click HERE to buy your NHDP swag today!

Committee to Elect House Democrats 2018 Auction

The 2018 midterms will be here before we know it and our fundraising will have a direct impact on our success regaining the majority in the House of Representatives.

Help us win in November by donating items to be put up for auction. Past items have included: gift certificates, paintings, jewelry, access to vacation homes, or tickets to events. The auction will run from May 10th – 20th with all proceeds going directly to our campaign efforts!

Contact Patty Lovejoy at pjlovejoy@comcast.net with your auction items today!

Social Media

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In the News

Defeat of voucher plan is a win for the state
By: Rep. Mel Myler
Concord Monitor: READ HERE

Broadband bill is big for communities
By: Sen. Jay Kahn
Keene Sentinel: READ HERE

House should reject D.C.-style politics
By: Sen. Dan Feltes
Concord Monitor: READ HERE

Remember who voted for vouchers

  By: Susan Seidner
Union Leader: READ HERE

GOP tax cuts law makes things worse
By: Barbara Hull Richardson
Keene Sentinel: READ HERE

Get Involved

We are going to need all hands-on-deck in 2018.  If you’d like to get involved, please let us know.  There are many ways to help out!  You can volunteer to write letters to your local paper, call your local representatives, testify at hearings, or share posts on social media.

SIGN UP HERE