Joyce Craig to seek third term as mayor of Manchester

Apr. 27—Citing a feeling of "optimism and energy" across Manchester, Mayor Joyce Craig said Monday she is running for reelection to a third term.

"Before COVID-19, Manchester was a city on the rise," said Craig. "We'd made some really great progress, and then COVID hit and our progress was pretty much stalled. It was on pause. We have an opportunity to pick things up and to do better."

Craig said throughout the pandemic she watched city department heads, employees and the community "really step up."

"We've learned through this pandemic and through our history that Manchester is a very resilient community," Craig said. "We've had to make some difficult decisions, and I feel like now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With vaccines more available and warmer weather again we can pick up on that progress that we had made and build on it."

Craig's announcement raises to three the number of candidates officially in the running to become mayor of Manchester in 2021. Former at-large school board member Rich Girard and former state Rep. Victoria Sullivan — Craig's 2019 mayoral opponent — announced their intentions earlier this month.

In an interview Monday, Craig highlighted a few accomplishments city departments achieved over the past year, including a decrease in crime for the fifth year in a row; a 28% decrease in opioid overdoses — and 42% decrease in opioid overdose deaths; establishing the Emergency Housing Assistance Program; providing over $370,000 in assistance to help renters and homeowners in Manchester; and preparing over 185,000 meals for public, private, and charter school students across the city.

Craig said one of the more difficult decisions over the past year was opening the school year in remote status.

"My daughter's a junior at Central, so I've seen firsthand the stress that's been caused by this but it goes back to assuring that our students and everyone in our schools are safe and healthy," said Craig. "We had to make difficult decisions but our kids have been able to continue learning, and that's been very important."

Craig said a significant change in membership on the school board and changes made to the structure of the board's committee work have made a difference.

"There's definitely a strong commitment by this board to do better by our students, to ensure that we're providing equal opportunities from a teaching perspective to all of our students and that we're supporting our educators as well," said Craig.

Craig said her office has been working to address the issue of homelessness in the city, which she says is a statewide and "countrywide" issue.

The city has focused on three areas: prevention, housing opportunities and improving shelter life to make it more accommodating for homeless people.

"Everything we're doing, we're trying to help these individuals," Craig said.

Manchester has hired its first homeless coordinator, Schonna Green, who has "hit the ground running," Craig said. She said some of the federal American Rescue Plan funds headed here will be used to address affordable housing.

Craig said throughout 2020, city employees worked "around the clock" to make sure life continued as close to normal as possible for Manchester residents.

"The garbage continued to be picked up, people could continue to pay their bills online," said Craig. "The city continued to operate but was just different, and it's thanks to the city employees that we were able to do that."

Craig specifically mentioned the work performed by city health director Anna Thomas during the pandemic.

"They are the unsung heroes in this," said Craig. "I feel like the health department has always done tremendous work in the city of Manchester, and I think that through this pandemic our community and our state has now been able to see the work that they do."

In 2017 Craig — born and raised in Manchester — became the first woman elected mayor of the Queen City. She began her public service in 2007 when she won a seat on the Board of School Committee. In 2009, Craig won a seat as Ward 1 alderman.

Craig and her husband, Michael Craig, an attorney, have three children: William, Sarah and Kathryn.

Official results from the November 2017 election show Craig defeated former mayor Ted Gatsas by 1,498 votes, 53% to 47% — or 12,068 to 10,570 — to become the first Democrat elected mayor of the state's largest city in 14 years.

Sullivan — a former assistant house majority leader and Ward 9 resident — lost to Craig in 2019, 11,051 votes to 8,441.

Girard, 51, served two terms as an at-large member on the Manchester school board. He was first elected in 2015, and won a second term in 2017. He did not run for re-election in 2019.

Voters will decide the Queen City's next mayor this fall. The city primary election is Sept. 21; the general election is Nov. 2.

pfeely@unionleader.com

Paul Feely is the City Hall reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Reach him at pfeely@unionleader.com