Senator Jeanne Shaheen endorsed Democrat Molly Kelly for governor in Manchester today.
Shaheen and Kelly spoke in the workshop of the Queen City non-profit Girls at Work, where young women learn about the construction trade. The podium for the event was built by girls in the program for a then-mayoral candidate Joyce Craig, who went on to be elected Manchester mayor last year. That wasn't lost on Kelly. “I think it's a lucky one,” she said.
As a former governor of New Hampshire, Shaheen said she knows the qualities it takes for the job, and that she believes Kelly has them.
“I met Molly a long time ago, but when I met her, one of the things that impressed me so much about her was that she was a single mom, she worked and put herself through college and through law school while she was raising her three children,” Shaheen said. “And she knows what people are dealing with when they’re in hard times and they need opportunities.”
Shaheen also praised Kelly's focus on expanding job training for young people during her time in the state senate. Kelly says that will remain an emphasis if she's governor.
“When you talk to business leaders, what they tell you is, 'I need a workforce that I can depend on, that's skilled, that's educated,’” Kelly said. “They're not telling me they're looking for tax breaks.”
Kelly called out Governor Chris Sununu, a first-term Republican, for what she says are millions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations. She also voiced her stance against any plan that would transfer money from public schools to pay for private school vouchers.
Kelly faces former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand in the Democratic primary.
