Sununu promoting compromise during inaugural Thursday
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Jan. 5—CONCORD — Gov. Chris Sununu will call for bipartisan cooperation while assailing the Biden administration's energy policy during his fourth inaugural address Thursday at noon.
Sununu, 48, will become the second governor in modern New Hampshire history to take the oath for a fourth, two-year term as the state's chief executive.
Since Colonial times, Democrat John Lynch of Hopkinton in 2012 is the only other governor to do it.
Sununu's remarks will likely get more national attention than usual since he's traveled extensively outside the state during the 2022 midterms.
Since his Nov. 8 re-election, Sununu, a Republican from Newfields, has not ruled out running for president in 2024.
Sununu has insisted his efforts are to promote the state and urge Republicans nationally to adopt his approach.
Since COVID-19 hit the nation, Sununu has pointed to New Hampshire as a state that more quickly recovered from the pandemic and led the region in job growth.
"We have provided leadership that puts the individual ahead of the system. Our priorities must not be about government, but about ensuring that everyone — regardless of income, gender, race, or religion — has the same opportunities to succeed as their neighbor," Sununu said.
"Simply put, New Hampshire is the envy of the nation, the gold standard of states, and number one place in America to live, work, and raise a family."
Educated as an engineer, Sununu has criticized the Biden administration's failure to support more domestic energy production and blamed Washington for high gas and heating prices facing consumers this winter.
"We must reject legislation that will impose unnecessary costs on our electric ratepayers while we are fighting these unprecedented high national energy prices," Sununu says according to excerpts released to the media.
Urges N.H. House to show Congress how it's done
The governor used federal grants to convince the Legislature last fall to expand income eligibility for families in the Low Income Heating Assistance Program.
Sununu urged a closely divided New Hampshire House of Representatives to show its Washington counterpart how to get things done through consensus rather than trying to score political points.
"Constituent service is more important than going viral on Twitter. This year, let's commit to find compromise where we can, disagree amicably when we must, and always remember that the people of this state are counting on us to deliver," Sununu said.
The speech will also serve as a full-throated defense of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary that faces opposition from Biden and leaders on the Democratic National Committee.
Biden has gotten behind a proposed 2024 calendar that would have South Carolina holding the first primary and New Hampshire sharing second spot with Nevada.
National Republicans have already approved a 2024 calendar that keeps New Hampshire first.
State Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, said Wednesday she would sponsor a resolution and Sen. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, will submit a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would give even greater protections for New Hampshire's primary than its existing state law.
Since 1975, the state has had on the books a mandate that New Hampshire must hold the first primary at least seven days before any "similar contest."
A DNC bylaws panel has given the state until early February to repeal its law or party leaders will push N.H. further back on the 2024 primary calendar.
