Sherman lashes out against Sununu while stumping at Keene State

Oct. 19—With issues like abortion care, public education and rising energy costs on the table, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Tom Sherman said at a town hall in Keene Tuesday that incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu can't be trusted.

Speaking before about 50 people gathered in Keene State College's Young Student Center Flag Room, Sherman went after his Republican opponent's record while also laying out what he called a positive message, focused on finding common ground and solutions.

"The people of New Hampshire are deeply concerned," said Sherman, a state senator from Rye. "Families are concerned about sky-rocketing costs: houses, rent, property taxes, and now energy bills, electric bills, heating bills. Parents are concerned about finding child care and public schools, the quality of public schools. And businesses can't find a workforce."

Pointing to the partial abortion ban Sununu, of Newfields, signed into law last year, Sherman said that the freedom of 50 percent of the state's population is at stake in the upcoming election and pledged to restore protections women had for the half century before the overturn of Roe v. Wade earlier this year.

New Hampshire's ban on abortions, in most cases, after 24 weeks of pregnancy has led women to suffer unnecessarily and weakened the medical infrastructure throughout New England by unraveling existing care networks that once attracted top-level OB-GYNs to the state, said Sherman, a gastroenterologist.

"A woman in the last part of pregnancy facing a tragic complication to the pregnancy right now has to wait — this isn't Texas, this is New Hampshire — they have to wait until she's sick enough that the lawyers say the doctor won't be charged with a felony," he said.

Unlike states like Massachusetts and New York, where abortion laws make an exception for a pregnant woman's health, New Hampshire's law is more restrictive, making an exception only when "a pregnant woman's life or major bodily function is threatened," or for a fatal fetal anomaly.

Noting he hopes to appeal to Republicans and independents as well as Democrats, Sherman said he found a passion for public service when he started working as an EMT in high school, leading him to a more than 30-year career as a doctor and then to serve in both chambers of the state Legislature.

His medical experience, Sherman said, taught him two important lessons that carry over to political leadership: Every relationship is built on trust, and if you don't listen you're going to miss a diagnosis.

As a legislator, he said his ability to listen allowed him to find a common thread where he could work with politicians on both sides of the aisle to find solutions. Asked later in the town hall about how he would overcome division and "Trumpism," Sherman again touted this outlook on collaboration.

"I will work with anyone to solve problems," he said.

Describing the Free State Project, a movement that aims to bring libertarians from across the country to New Hampshire to gain a political foothold in the state, as a "vocal minority," Sherman said Granite Staters already know how to respond: by working together.

Again leaning into his opponent, Sherman said Sununu has repeatedly blocked legislation that would have expanded the state's energy portfolio to include more renewables, like solar, wind and hydro power, and invested in weatherization and energy efficiency.

These programs would have been to the benefit of Granite Staters, Sherman said, raising the topic again in response to a question from a Keene State student who had asked how he would address inflation and rising energy costs.

Not only would investments in these technologies be a step in the right direction to address climate change, Sherman said, but they also would have cut energy costs for New Hampshire residents.

Sherman, who ran unopposed in the primary, also said he is in favor of raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and finding ways to fund public education in the state without raising property taxes. By not legalizing cannabis for recreational adult use, he said, the state has allowed its neighbors to cash in while it misses out on tax revenues that could be used to fund education and other programs.

With the upcoming election less than a month away on Nov. 8, Sherman said that policy plans for how he would address the housing crisis in the region and other issues, such as supporting child care workers, can be found on his website.

Accusing Sununu of failing to implement legislation and spend available funds before they lapse, Sherman said as governor he would not only communicate with the Legislature to pass meaningful measures but execute them after signing them into law.

"Granite Staters are paying the price. You can't trust [Sununu]," Sherman said. "But imagine what we could do if we all worked together."

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or rspencer@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @rspencerKS