Latest news with #D-Manchester
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sullivan splashes endorsements for 1st District seat as others mull run
Hoping to send an early warning message to other potential Democratic primary opponents, First Congressional District candidate Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth announced more than 30 endorsements from elected officials, small business owners and veterans. Among those on the list are former House Speaker Steve Shurtleff of Penacook, former party chairman and U.S. ambassador to Belize George Bruno, State Sen. and Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long, D-Manchester, and former Executive Councilor and Army Reserve Ambassador Jim Normand. A Merrimack County commissioner, Shurtleff lives in the Second Congressional District. The group also includes five school board members and two aldermen from Manchester, the largest city in the district and Pappas' hometown. Earlier this month, Sullivan became the first candidate in either major party to declare her candidacy for the seat that four-term U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., will vacate to run for the U.S. Senate. In 2018, Sullivan finished second to Pappas in his first primary for this seat in a race that attracted 11 candidates. Sullivan outperformed expectations in that race but had to overcome criticism that she had only lived in the state for a few months before the campaign and done little grass roots work in New Hampshire in contrast to Pappas who had been an elected official and campaign volunteer for two decades. Since her loss seven years ago, Sullivan has gotten intensely involved in party politics and last month got elected as one of the state's two vice chairmen of the New Hampshire Democratic Party along with Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene. She also raised more than $400,000 in the week after she announced for the seat and has won the support of VoteVets, a Democratic political action committee that spent significant resources in support of Navy Reserves veteran Maggie Goodlander of Nashua who won the Second Congressional District seat last November. Sullivan is a combat Marine Corps veteran who rose to the rank of captain and had several foreign deployments including one to Iraq. After her service, Sullivan worked in the federal Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense during the Obama administration. Her endorsement list also includes five school board members and two aldermen from Manchester, the largest city in the district and Pappas' hometown. This open seat is sure to attract other Democratic hopefuls. Potential tough race with Stefany Shaheen looms Stefany Shaheen, a former Portsmouth city councilor and police commissioner, recently confirmed she's considering her own campaign. She's the eldest daughter of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen who will retire in 2026 after five decades of serving in elective office and working on campaigns. Chris Bright, a Derry businessman who finished fourth in the 2024 Republican primary for this seat, is expected to run again. Some activists are encouraging the second and third place finishers in that primary, Greenland business owner Hollie Noveletsky and Manchester Aldermanic President Joe Kelly Levasseur, to run. Other Democrats who are on this latest list to endorse Sullivan include: ● State Rep. Luz Bay of Dover; ● Rep. Charlie St. Clair of Laconia, executive director of Laconia Bike Week; ● Rep. David Meuse of Portsmouth; ● Ex-Rep. Kate Miller of Laconia; ● Ex-Rep. Gerri Cannon of Somersworth; ● Ward 1 Manchester School Board member Julie Turner; ● Ward 2 Manchester School Board Sean Parr; ● Ward 7 Manchester School Board Chris Potter; ● Ward 8 Manchester School Board Jessica Spillers; ● Ward 11 Manchester School Board Liz O'Neil; ● Ward 2 Manchester Alderman Dan Goonan; ● City Councilor Eric Hoffman of Laconia; ● City Councilor Tony Felch of Laconia; ● Town Councilor Mackenzie Murphy of Merrimack; ● Retired Lieut. Col. Andy Corrow of Durham; ● N.H. AFL-CIO Executive Council member John MacNeil of Bedford; ● Moms Demand Action activist Robin Skudlarek of Londonderry; ● Belknap County Democratic Chair Johnna Davis of Gilford; ● Rockingham County Democrats Secretary Trish Tidd of Kingston; ● Carroll County Dems Vice Chair Tom Randell of Moultonborough; ● Former town chair George Hamblen of Plaistow; ● Town Chair Reva Tankle of Gilford; ● Town Chair Carrie Duran of Wolfeboro; ● USMC veteran Bill Kingston of New Castle; ● Navy veteran and businessman Gray Chynoweth of Manchester; ● Holly Henshaw, Navy Veteran and Community Leader, Dover and, ● Katelyn and Michael Wilson, activists from Newfields. klandrigan@
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Extending last call hours for alcohol sales debated
Mar. 5—Supporters urged lawmakers to allow bars, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores to stay open later to sell alcohol along with two other changes that would further relax liquor laws. But the state's restaurant lobby — along with state liquor enforcers — opposed the legislation, maintaining that business owners aren't clamoring for these changes. Two-term state Rep. Jessica Grill, D-Manchester, said New Hampshire's last call hours of 1 a.m., for bars and 11:45 p.m. for retail stores are among the earliest in the nation. Her legislation would raise those last call hours to 2 a.m. for bars and 1 a.m. for retail outlets, seven days a week. The bill would permit a bar owner to ask the host city or town for permission to stay open until 3 a.m. "I think as the Live Free or Die state, New Hampshire should be a leader for freedom and this bill allows our citizens to have more choice," Grill told the House Commerce Committee Wednesday. The other reforms in Grill's bill (HB 529) would allow bars and restaurants to sell liquor for home delivery and permit bars to sell refillable beer containers. She said 27 states already allow "cocktails to go" including Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Former Gov. Chris Sununu temporarily allowed bars to sell alcohol for home delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic when few patrons were visiting them in person. Grill said the later hours might make New Hampshire a more attractive destination for weddings and/or receptions. "I also believe nightlife plays an important societal role," Grill said. Few restaurants choose home delivery of beer, wine Corinne Benfield with Stay Work Play New Hampshire said her group's survey found that the lack of nightlife was the second reason behind cost of living why young people said they left New Hampshire. This becomes an obstacle for a state that's already the second oldest in the nation, she testified. "We are not just competing on jobs and housing with our neighboring states. It is a matter of quality of life as well," Benfield said. Michael Somers, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, said his group opposes the extension of closing hours, supports the cocktails to go provision and has no position on refillable beer containers. Under current state law, bar owners have been able to petition the local town to stay open until 2 a.m. and that's occurred only in Nashua, Laconia and Berlin, Somers said. "There is no one in the industry actually asking for this. I don't see a crowd behind me," Somers said. Most bar and restaurant owners don't have the staff to increase their serving hours, he said. "Many restaurants have closed for two days and a number of them don't open for lunch anymore because they can't fill the shift," Somers said. Mark Armaganian, director of liquor enforcement and licensing with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, said the change would require spending nearly $230,000 a year more in payroll for investigators. Currently, restaurants are allowed to send beer and wine home to patrons. Among the state's 2,100 licensees, only 37 of them offer that option, Armaganian said. "This is going to create the possibility of more negative incidents on the highways," he added. What's next: The House committee must make a recommendation on the bill by March 27. Prospects: Not great. The House approved a bill letting bars stay open later in 2024, but the Senate killed it. klandrigan@
