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Hours before her termination hearing in front of Manchester’s Board of Aldermen, Housing Stability Director Adrienne Beloin took a deal to resign her post and end her public spat with elected officials.

Beloin walks away with a $57,000 payment, according to sources, after she spent weeks trashing board members in public when they began questioning her management of the city’s Beech Street shelter. Aldermen complained about Beloin’s condescending answers to their questions and her refusal to follow the board’s guidance.

When asked for comment, Mayor Jay Ruais’ office released a statement: “The personnel matter has been resolved, and the mayor has received Ms. Beloin’s resignation effective tomorrow, April 12, 2024. The mayor will not be commenting on personnel matters.”

Beloin refused to accept the board’s policy and said it lacked the necessary experience to set the agenda for her department.

“I know it’s very hard for you to understand what the work is that we’re doing, because this is not your field of work,” she told Aldermen at a public meeting last week.

Beloin doubled and tripled down, going to the media and blasting the board for pushing her out and claiming it lacked the expertise to instruct her regarding homeless policy.

At one point, she claimed the board giving her an office in the Beech Street shelter was retaliation.

Beloin’s lack of a permanent office in city hall was something she wanted corrected, but apparently balked when given an office in the shelter she oversaw.

While Beloin tried to turn the controversy into a personal issue between herself and individual board members, a source close to the negotiations told NHJournal the real problem came down to policy.

It was Beloin’s refusal to be accountable to elected leaders and to follow their policy directive that ultimately ended her tenure.

“This isn’t personal; it’s policy. She refused to do what the board wanted. What else were they supposed to do?” the source said.

Another city insider told NHJournal Beloin was protected by former Mayor Joyce Craig, who kept her away from aldermen who questioned how she did her job.

According to a report by the Union Leader, Beloin’s settlement included $27,064.36 in wages, $25,000 for compensatory damages, and $5,000 for attorney fees.

Manchester’s homelessness crisis, and Craig’s mishandling of that crisis, is seen as a primary reason for Ruais’ win in the mayoral race last year. The Republican ran on a promise of fixing the problem.

Beloin is now the city’s second Housing Stability Director to leave since the position was created a few years ago. The first director, Schonna Green, suddenly quit in 2022 after about a year and a half on the job, citing personal reasons.

Manchester’s homelessness crisis peaked in the winter of 2023 when a homeless woman gave birth to a child at an outdoor camp, and two people died in their tents. Homeless camps dominate parts of Manchester’s downtown, and those camps account for at least half of the city’s opioid overdose calls.

Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais presented his first budget to city leaders Thursday night, telling them he is grappling with lower city revenue, funding shortfalls created by the last administration, and exploding healthcare costs.

But, he added, it’s still a budget that will help the city grow.

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Ours is a city filled with undeniable and unquantifiable promise, and this budget responsibly funds our potential,” Ruais said.

He presented his proposed $189 million city budget and $227 million school budget Thursday night in the aldermanic chambers. Despite economic pressures that include a more than $3 million hole, Ruais’ spending proposal comes in with a 3.86 percent increase, well under the 5.6 percent tax cap limit.

“We had to make tough decisions,” Ruais said.

Ruais’s predecessor, Democrat Joyce Craig, left him with a $1.7 million funding gap after she used federal COVID relief funds to cover ongoing expenses in her last city budget. Add to that an overage in city employee healthcare costs of $1.4 million, and a dramatic drop in new revenue from $4.5 million last year to $166,000 this year.

Craig is now running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Ruais’s proposal freezes hiring in the city, eliminates funding for vacant positions, and cuts city department requests by almost $2 million. Ruais said his budget focuses on growing the city and strengthening its finances for the future. That means he’s also cutting the bonding that future generations will pay by 10 percent and leveling funding of city departments.

The budget does not include any layoffs, however. City employees will be receiving a 4 percent cost of living adjustment. Ruais’ budget focuses on education, public safety, quality of life, and ending the homeless crisis.

He wants to use $1.65 million in federal funds to build 45 affordable housing units, as well as funding for programs like Families in Transition, which would receive $70,000 for family emergency housing; WayPoint would receive $89,000 for its homeless youth shelter; YWCA would receive $70,000 for Emily’s Place; and 1269 Café would receive $50,000 to double its residential room capacity.

Those investments would help prevent the city from relying on emergency shelters, which are expensive and not long-term solutions for homeless people.

Importantly, Ruais does not want to keep using limited funding to create new and ongoing expenses for taxpayers. The city’s homeless engagement center came together with federal funds which are now running out. Instead of putting that expense onto the tax rolls, Ruais wants to use remaining ARPA funds to keep the center as a non-profit not funded by the city.

“ARPA has fully funded the engagement center since its inception; and those funds run out on June 30. I don’t believe cities should be in the shelter business, and we do not have the resources to fund this in the long term. We should take this opportunity to transition from a city run shelter, to that of a nonprofit,” Ruais said. “What I am proposing today is that we take a portion of the ARPA money we have left to build a transitional bridge to the nonprofit that will take over. This is an important strategy allowing us to address these real challenges without having the taxpayer bear the full burden.”

Ruais also wants to see increased spending in the city welfare department to keep people from falling through the cracks and ending up homeless. This type of humane investment in people is good for the community and the taxpayer, he said.

Manchester’s police and fire departments aren’t expected to shoulder any cuts. Ruais is making sure 10 officers funded through a federal COPS grant will continue, as will the six new officers hired since January. Mental health funding for officers will also continue. Firefighters are getting $100,000 in new protective gear to keep them safe on the job.

“You have our back, and this budget has yours,” Ruais said.

While the school part of the proposal, $227 million, may not be everything the district is seeking, Ruais said it is a solid compromise and a generous allocation.

“We were able to invest an additional $1 million into our school district. The $227 million we are proposing to allocate this evening represents the most ever allocated by the City of Manchester,” Ruais said.

The budget includes more than $5 million in funding for road repairs and funding to incentivize property owners to beautify their downtown buildings with the aim of attracting people and businesses to the city. Additionally, Ruais proposes investing in parks and youth sports to enhance the quality of life.

Hours after Nashua’s James Morris was charged with senselessly assaulting police officers during a traffic stop, he made bail and was back on the streets.

“It’s certainly frustrating for the officers,” said Nashua Sgt. John Cinelli. 

James Morris

Morris, 32, is just one of the alleged violent offenders who have caused mayhem in recent days in incidents throughout the state, incidents abetted by New Hampshire’s reformed bail system. 

The 2018 bail reform was meant to eliminate the unintended consequence of the cash bail system that resulted in cases of poor people charged with relatively minor, nonviolent crimes but who were unable to afford bail.

People like Jeffrey Pendleton, a 26-year-old Nashua panhandler arrested in 2016 on a marijuana possession charge. Pendleton ended up in Valley Street Jail in Manchester when he couldn’t come up with the $100 cash bail. Five days later, he was found dead in his cell from a drug overdose.

But now, instead of protecting poor, nonviolent offenders, bail reform is letting people charged with violent felonies stay on the street.

Police stopped Morris’ car near School Street Friday night, and he refused to give the officers his identity before he decided to start fighting with them, according to Cinelli.

“We have no idea why he did that,” Cinelli said.

On Thursday, Concord homeless man Victor Manns, 23, allegedly stabbed two tourists on South Main Street and led officers on a prolonged manhunt. Manns’ was walking around despite being charged with assault in June and again in August in separate incidents.

Victor Manns

According to police, the couple were in their car parked in front of a business on South Main Street when Manns, wearing a mask and a hood, approached and began hitting the car. The alarmed couple got out of the car. Manns reportedly brandished his knife, threatened the pair, and then stabbed them, according to police.

Manns ran from the scene of the attack, kicking off a two-hour police search of the downtown area before he was captured.

On Friday, Claremont woman Brandie Jones, 33, allegedly hit a Nashua police officer with her car to avoid a felony arrest. At the time of the incident, Jones was wanted in Londonderry on warrants, including a breach of her previous bail in another case.

Brandie Jones

Nashua police had previously stopped Jones but gave a false name to officers as she had been convicted of being a habitual traffic offender by the state. If caught driving, habitual offenders face new felony charges.

After getting stopped for the second time on Friday night, Cinelli said Jones was getting out of her car as instructed by police when she changed her mind. With the door still open, she got back in the driver’s seat and sped off. The open car door hit one officer, Cinelli said.

Jones made it to Londonderry, where she ditched her car and ran. Londonderry Police eventually found her with the help of a police dog and took her into custody. 

Cinelli said that none of the Nashua officers suffered any serious injuries from the incidents involving Jones and Morris. The couple attacked by Manns both suffered lacerations, and one sustained minor injuries, which required a trip to the hospital. 

Cinelli said the 2018 bail reform law makes it easy for people charged with a crime to avoid jail, get back out, and re-offend. 

“When these guys are getting bail and getting out that quickly, what is going to stop (them) from doing it to more officers or civilians who don’t have the ability to defend themselves,” Cinelli said.

Jay Ruais, the Republican running to replace Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, has been demanding changes to the state’s bail system as crime becomes a bigger problem in the Queen City. In recent weeks, two men charged in an Elm Street shooting got released on relatively low cash bail. In another incident, 10 people were arrested for being part of a street fight in the area of Auburn and Cedar Streets, where two men were stabbed. Most of those suspects were quickly released on bail.

“Violent, dangerous, and repeat offenders should never be on our streets,” Ruais said. “As mayor, I will make sure our police have the resources and tools they need to make our community more safe.”

The issues of homelessness, crime, and opioid addiction dominated the conversation at the first mayoral forum in Manchester on Wednesday night. They also revealed a divide between the approach the candidates would take to address them, with Republican Jay Ruais urging more policing, while the three Democrats raised concerns about equity and discrimination.

“Structural racism does play a role in this city; we are not immune from that,” warned Alderman Will Stewart (D-Ward 2) in front of a crowd of several hundred people at the Rex Theatre. Ruais and Stewart were joined on stage by Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh and At-Large Alderman June Trisciani.

Jay Ruais

As mayor, Ruais said he would increase public safety by giving police the tools they need to protect the Queen City. “We have got to get violent criminals off our streets,” Ruais said. He also supported closing a loophole and allowing police to prevent more people from camping in public spaces.

One striking difference was in the responses to a question about Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg’s plans to use data to focus police activity in neighborhoods considered crime hotspots.  

Stewart and Trisciani worried that policing focused on tacking criminal hotspots would lead to racial profiling.

“Over-policed neighborhoods based on hotspot data, those are marginalized communities,” Stweart said.

Rather than targeted policing in high-crime areas, Stewart proposed efforts to get people to know one another in their neighborhoods, like block parties and other social events.

Triciani favors a community policing approach incorporating hotspot data while striving for equality. “We still need to treat everyone equally,” Trisciani said.

Manchester At-Large Alderman June Trisciani

Cavanaugh suggested there could be some creative ways for people in non-hotspot neighborhoods to still feel safe while police were tackling crime.

For Ruais, the solution is filling the 22 empty positions in the Manchester Police Department and letting those officers do their jobs. “We have to create a better environment for our police,” Ruais said.

Ruais viewed to help get rid of the state’s bail system, which he said is keeping violent criminals on the streets. “We need to fix our broken PR bail system,” Ruais said.

When asked about issues of diversity in the city, Ruais was the only candidate to answer part of the question in Spanish.

Taxes and spending were also part of the conversation. Cavanaugh and Stewart both said they supported letting voters decide whether to give the Manchester School Board the power to create their own budget, independent from city government. Ruais opposed it, saying Manchester taxpayers were already under too much stress.

Manchester Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh

On the proposed $800 million commuter rail project, all three Democrats supported the idea, and Trisciani wants it to extend to include Concord. Ruais said none of the proposals for a rail line connecting Manchester to Boston made fiscal sense. “I understand the why; I have yet to see the how,” Ruais said.

A financial analysis of the rail proposal anticipates the construction and operation of a Manchester station at an estimated $51 million, all from city coffers.

Manchester can’t afford a rail line given the school district’s aging buildings, unaffordable housing, and a city budget Ruais called a ticking time bomb that uses one-time federal grants to pay for ongoing expenses.

“When do the taxpayers get a break?” he asked.

During 2016’s First in the Nation primary, the issue of opioid addiction surged to the national stage, partly due to the Granite State crisis. President Donald Trump later credited his New Hampshire victory in part to frustration over the flow of opioids over the U.S. southern border.

“I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den,” Trump said in 2017.

Now comes a new report that opioid overdoses in Manchester and Nashua are at five-year highs, and political candidates are again focusing on the issue.

American Medical Response crews were called out to 99 overdoses in July in Manchester and Nashua, the highest number of overdoses in a single month since 2018, according to Chris Stawasz, the AMR’s Regional Director of Government Affairs — Northeast.

“The high death rate per capita is attributed to synthetic fentanyl, which is now commonly found in all types of illicit substances in New Hampshire,” Stawasz said. “People who are using illicit substances have no idea that what they are using contains synthetic fentanyl – or how potent the synthetic fentanyl in the product is. Synthetic fentanyl can be lethal the first time you use it, knowingly or unknowingly.”

Eight people died in July from opioid-related overdoses, four in each city, according to Stawasz. 

AMR’s statistics show that through the end of July, medics responded to 415 suspected opioid overdoses in Nashua and Manchester, with 68 of those calls suspected opioid deaths. Manchester accounted for 40 of the deaths and Nashua for 28.

In Nashua, suspected opioid overdoses are 10 percent lower than last year. But at the same time, fatal opioid overdoses were up 10 percent. In fact. Stawasz said more than 20 percent of the suspected opioid overdoses that AMR medics responded to in Nashua have been fatal.

In Manchester, suspected opioid overdoses are 2 percent higher than last year, though total suspected fatal opioid overdoses in Manchester are 13 percent lower.

Candidates at the federal and local levels are speaking out.

“Sadly, drug overdoses are increasing in New Hampshire faster than anywhere else in the country, and Communist China is to blame,” former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley told NHJournal. “President Biden should confront Xi Jinping’s drug war and put an end to it today. Stop all normal trade relations with Beijing until they stop killing Americans.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the issue during an event in Rye, N.H., last week, pledging to “lean in against the drug cartels.”

“If they’re trying to bring fentanyl into our communities, that’s going to be the last thing they do. Because at the border, they’re going to be shot stone-cold dead,” DeSantis said.

And Democratic presidential contender Robert F Kennedy, Jr. just released a documentary, “Midnight at the Border,” that addresses the cross-border drug trade and the need for action.

“These numbers represent both a state and national tragedy. Our national government has failed the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement to NHJournal. “The open border has enabled an acceleration of illegal drugs including opioids and fentanyl to move across America creating a social, economic, and spiritual disaster for our country.

“The lack of enforcement at the border has far-reaching consequences for health policy and law enforcement. As President, I will close the border and make available treatment centers for those who are struggling with addiction. I intend to restore America’s sovereignty and restore the health of our people.”

In Manchester, the overdose epidemic runs in tandem with the city’s homelessness crisis. Mayor Joyce Craig has said at least 50 percent of the city’s overdoses happen among the homeless population.

The city’s Board of Aldermen will consider changing an ordinance next month that could give police more legal authority to prevent homeless people from camping on public property.

None of the Democrats running for mayor, Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh, Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart, or Alderman At Large June Trisciani, responded to NHJournal’s calls and emails last week.

Republican candidate Jay Ruis wants to see police given more power as part of a larger strategy to address homelessness and addiction.

“We must deal with this issue in a comprehensive way, one that includes enforcement of our ordinances, addressing the underlying causes of this crisis like addiction and mental health, while increasing the availability of affordable housing. What we cannot do is govern in fear of lawsuits, and I support this proposed ordinance change,” Ruais said.

Republican candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte has pointed the finger at Massachusetts as one source of the problem. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen drugs, the fentanyl being trafficked off our southern border from Lowell and Lawrence, Mass. into our cities, and it’s killing our citizens,” Ayotte said.

Massachusetts officials complained, and some in the media suggested her comments were “racially tinged.” But the problem continues.

On Friday, Lawrence, Mass. man Santo Evangelista Soto, 36, was sentenced to five years in prison for being part of a trafficking ring that brought drugs into New Hampshire. Soto, a twice-convicted trafficker, reportedly sold counterfeit prescriptions made with deadly ingredients.

In one of the drug deals Soto allegedly pulled off during the investigation, he sold 1,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained heroin and methamphetamine.

Soto is not the only trafficker operating in the state. Joseph Goffinet, Jr., 53, of Manchester, was arrested and charged last week on charges of distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in connection with the sale of fentanyl. His alleged co-conspirator, Walter Velez, 41, was arrested in late July.

Both Goffinet and Velez allegedly sold vast quantities of fentanyl in Manchester.

Manchester’s police are hamstrung when dealing with the twin crises of homelessness and addiction, thanks in part to a city ordinance that allows homeless people to camp on public property, according to mayoral candidate Jay Ruais.

The lone Republican in the race to replace Democrat Joyce Craig, Ruais is backing an effort to change the city ordinance prohibiting camping on public property. Under ordinance 130.13, police cannot currently stop someone from setting up a tent on city property. That needs to change, Ruais said.

“We have a significant homelessness crisis in our city, and it is impacting the community at large. In order to make sure our businesses are thriving, and the quality of life for residents and visitors to Manchester is not threatened, we must give our police and first responders the proper tools to address this issue,” Ruais said.

Alderman At Large Joseph Kelly Levasseur is pushing a change to the ordinance to make it easier for police to keep people from sleeping on the streets. The ordinance currently prohibits the camps, but with a loophole: It allows homeless people to stay on the street if no shelter space is available.

Levasseur wants the Board of Aldermen to remove that exception, allowing police to enforce the camping prohibition. Camping on public property without a permit carries a possible $250 fine. Ruais said enforcing ordinances against camping is an important step toward addressing the city’s homeless problem.

“We must deal with this issue in a comprehensive way, one that includes enforcement of our ordinances, addressing the underlying causes of this crisis like addiction and mental health while increasing the availability of affordable housing. What we cannot do is govern in fear of lawsuits, and I support this proposed ordinance change,” Ruais said.

None of the Democrats running for mayor — Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh, Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart, or Alderman At Large June Trisciani — responded to questions from NHJournal about whether they support closing the street camping loophole. 

Manchester has struggled for years with its homeless crisis. In 2021, the city had about 360 unsheltered people, according to the NH Coalition to End Homelessness annual report. According to city officials, that number has jumped to about 540 people this year.

Much of the homeless population lives in tents and shelters scattered throughout the city, leaving many residents feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods. Craig, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, acknowledged this year that half of the city’s opioid overdose cases happen in homeless camps.

Last year, homeless man Richard Moore, 40, was arrested for fatally stabbing 75-year-old Daniel Whitmore, who was walking near his home, according to police reports. Whitmore lived close to a public rail trial where he reportedly enjoyed walking and which was close to another homeless camp.

After two people died in homeless camps last winter, and a woman was arrested for giving birth in a camp, Craig demanded the state step in to provide National Guard support to deal with the crisis, among other measures. The homeless mother charged with endangering her baby is Alexandra Eckersley, 27, daughter of Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Craig ordered some of the camps cleared this year in reaction to those events, moving about 40 people off the streets. Craig has been pushing a $1.4 million homeless center that will include 40 beds. 

The issue is expected to be front and center in the governor’s race next year if Craig defeats Executive Councilor Warmington for the Democratic nomination.

Asked recently about Craig’s candidacy, Gov. Chris Sununu replied, “Seriously, does anyone want the state of New Hampshire run like Manchester?”

Craig has attempted to blame Sununu and the state government for Manchester’s homeless problem.

“Manchester and communities across the state have been working to address the growing homelessness crisis for years, and mayors have repeatedly asked for the state to collaborate with us to find solutions,” Craig said in a May 2023 statement. “Our communities need a partner in Concord who understands that we can only solve this homelessness crisis if we all work together.”

A Manchester alderman has asked the state’s attorney general to look into Mayor Joyce Craig’s office and its handling of a request for emails from the mother of Harmony Montgomery, the seven-year-old girl allegedly murdered by her father.

Now Gov. Chris Sununu has gotten involved, contacting the AG’s Office regarding the matter and decrying Craig’s lack of accountability.

“It is about leadership. You have to be able to be transparent, be responsible, be accountable. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of accountability out of the mayor’s office,” Sununu told NHJournal Thursday.

Sununu contacted Attorney General John Formella’s office after hearing complaints from Manchester Alderman Joseph Kelly Levasseur about Craig’s questionable handling of a Right to Know request.

“I received a message from local leadership in Manchester. I brought it to the attention of the attorney general and asked if they were looking at it,” Sununu said.

Michael Garrity, communications director for Formella’s office, said the matter is under review.

“We are aware of the matter. We have not made a determination regarding any potential next steps,” Garrity said.

NHJournal filed its Right to Know request with Craig’s office last month soon after the affidavit detailing Harmony’s gruesome murder was unsealed. It was the first time the public learned what police said happened to the little girl. Additionally, the affidavit also sheds light on the failures of the Division of Children, Youth and Families to keep tabs on a child known to be in an abusive home, as well as the response of other officials, like Craig.

NHJournal requested any emails sent to Craig by Harmony’s mother, Crystal Sorey, as well as any response from the mayor’s office. Craig’s office ignored the request, made under the state’s RSA 91-A, and did not respond until contacted by an attorney well after the statutory deadline had passed.

The eventual response from the City of Manchester’s IT Department claimed there were no emails between Sorey and Craig’s office.

In reality, there were at least two: A Dec. 29, 2021, email from Sorey to Craig pleading for help finding her child; and a response from a member of Craig’s staff to Sorey declining to offer any aid and informing Sorey to call 911 if she felt her daughter was in danger.

At that point, Harmony Montgomery was already dead.

Craig’s mishandling of the matter is symptomatic of her failed leadership in Manchester across the board, from housing to education to the opioid crisis, Sununu said.

“Unfortunately, Manchester has had a leadership problem for quite some time. Joyce Craig’s leadership style is to hide under the desk and blame everyone else. And it’s a shame because with the unprecedented amount of money and support around schools and mental health and the opioid crisis, the rest of the state is redesigning their systems and providing opportunities for their citizens,” Sununu said.

“The people of Manchester should be furious that they’re being left behind.”

Craig isn’t seeking re-election, instead launching an exploratory committee for a bid for governor in 2024.

One candidate hoping to replace Craig in the mayor’s office, Republican Jay Ruais, said Craig and her staff should have done more for a desperate mother.

“When a person reaches out in crisis, every effort should be made to address their concerns, follow up, and assist in making appropriate connections while using the power of the office to make a difference,” Ruais said.

Ruais also faulted Craig and her team for ignoring a Right to Know request, saying it creates an atmosphere of distrust between the elected representatives and the public they are supposed to serve. 

“The mayor’s office needs to be accountable, transparent. and swift in its actions when working with the public. The failure to release these records contributes to the already growing distrust of our elected officials in Manchester,” Ruais said. “A good leader making good decisions should have no problem being open to the people who elected them. Manchester has a right, and the mayor’s office has an obligation, to communicate what is going on in City Hall. Anything less than full transparency is completely unacceptable.”

Levasseur is angry with the way Craig and her office seem to be covering up the emails. His email to Sununu, sent Wednesday night, demands some form of accountability.

“I would appreciate (an) AG’s Office investigation into the city of Manchester’s IT Department. Couldn’t find the email? How many other RTK requests has that department covered up for Craig?” Levasseur wrote.

Shannon MacLeod, Craig’s chief of staff, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. MacLeod is also the staffer who initially ignored NHJournal’s Right to Know request for the emails.

“When an extremely important email sent to the mayor’s office goes missing- (could not be found after a FOIA request by the IT Department), it leads one to question the level of trust we can have in our city officials,” said Lavasseur. “I believe the attorney general of this state should be investigating the city’s IT Department and the mayor’s office to find the actual reason a specific email from Harmony’s mother could not be found. The answer from our IT Department raises more questions and concerns. The citizens of Manchester deserve answers.”

The puzzling aspect regarding Craig’s actions is the fact Sorey’s email to her office has already been reported in the press and is a matter of public knowledge. NHJournal sought a copy of the email as well as any response after the unsealing of the murder affidavit filed against Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery. 

That affidavit, written by Manchester Police Detective John Dunleavy, states the investigation into Harmony’s disappearance started when representatives with the Division of Children, Youth and Families reported they could not find the girl on Dec. 27, 2021. 

Sorey had already called Manchester police on Nov. 18, 2021. The affidavit does not indicate police received any communication from Craig’s office following Sorey’s email to the mayor’s office.

Add gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington to the list of Granite State political candidates with ‘endorsement trouble’ in the 2024 election cycle.

The Democratic Executive Councilor has posted a list of endorsements from elected officials. Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave is among them. He is currently the subject of a criminal investigation for allegedly abusing his office. The charge is just the latest scandal to dog the Democrat sheriff.

Cinde Warmington, who hopes to beat outgoing Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, made a splash this month by announcing endorsements from more than 100 Democrats across the state. That included the shout-out she got from Brave.

Warmington did not respond to questions about Brave’s endorsement that appears on her website, and his name was still on the page late Thursday night.

According to a letter from New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Dan Jimenez, Brave is being investigated for theft, falsification in official matters, and abuse of office. Jimenez’s letter did not provide details about the allegations. 

Brave went public with the investigation this week, telling Foster’s Daily Democrat he was being accused of using public money to take a female employee who is not his wife to Florida. Brave also revealed the attorney general is looking at whether or not public money was used for the woman’s housing expenses.

Brave denied all of the accusations, dismissing them as politically motivated. He blamed Strafford County Commission members for targeting him, even though all three — Deanna Rollo, Bob Watson, and George Maglaras — are fellow Democrats.

None of the commissioners have publicly endorsed Warmington.

Endorsements are generating plenty of drama in New Hamshire politics this cycle. When Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign listed the names of several Republican legislators who had previously endorsed former President Donald Trump, it set off a series of tit-for-tat reactions, including one state representative claiming she was endorsing both candidates.

On Tuesday, the Trump campaign released a list of town captains that included conspiracy theory proponent and anti-vaccination activist Terese Grinnell Bastarache. A day earlier, Bastarache was awaiting trial on charges of criminally disrupting an Executive Council meeting as part of an anti-Covid-vaccine protest.

The charges were dropped late Monday.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig’s administration is paying for a drag show at West High School, and using taxpayer dollars to do it. Specifically, federal tax dollars designated for COVID relief.

The city is spending $4,000 for the high school’s June 2 Pride Event, taken from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. That includes $500 to pay drag performers to appear at the public school.

The funding was approved through the city’s Community Event and Activation Grant, or CEAG, program, according to documents obtained by NHJournal.

Craig, a Democrat who is mounting a run for governor, did not respond to a request for comments about drag shows at a city high school or the use of COVID relief funds to pay for them.

But at least one Republican raised eyebrows.

“Is this really the best use of taxpayer funds?” asked New Hampshire Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.

Edelblut, a Republican, is considered a likely gubernatorial contender if Gov. Chris Sununu does not seek a fifth term. 

Edelblut’s office stressed the Department of Education has nothing to do with the funding or approval process for the Manchester West Pride Event and drag show. According to documents reviewed by NHJournal, school administrators went to the City of Manchester’s CEAG with an application earlier this year.

“We are looking to get equipment that is sustainable and durable for many more Pride celebrations and activities at West to come,” Manchester West art teacher Richella Simard wrote in the grant application.

Manchester School District Superintendent Jennifer Gillis stood by the taxpayer-funded drag show in a statement, but she noted student attendance is optional.

“As a district, we support and care for all of our students as they learn and grow … Events such as this are consistent with the goals of our community-developed strategic plan, and in line with district policies,” Gillis said.“As with other years, this is an after-school, extra-curricular, opt-in event.”

Gillis made sure to acknowledge the city is paying for the drag performance, and not the school district,

“In prior years, it’s been well-attended, including students, families and members of the West Side community. This year, the group organizing the event applied for and received a Community Event and Activation Grant from American Rescue Plan Act funds through the city of Manchester. Although this is a school event, the district and partner organizations are working to help support the school as needed.”

Simard’s list of Pride equipment on her grant application includes a photo booth and film, a PA system, tables and chafing dishes, as well as an additional $500 for unspecified “Pride decorations and swag.”

The items do not appear to qualify for ARPA funding under federal guidelines.

Manchester’s own CEAG web page lists the approved uses for the money; “With guidance from the Department of the Treasury Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Final Rule, this program calls to action community-based projects that address public health, public safety, the economic recovery of impacted sectors, educational disparities, and more.”

Manchester School Board Member Jim O’Connell said the city is responsible for vetting the applications under the CEAG program, not the School Board.

“It’s the city’s deal. We didn’t measure it or look at the qualifications for it,” O’Connell told NHJournal.

The city pushed the grant application to the School Board, which then approved the spending this month. O’Connell said any amount more than $5,000 requires board approval, but in cases of grants or gifts, that approval is considered pro forma. The board simply allows the school to use the grant that had already been vetted and approved by another agency, he said.

Manchester West has been hosting Pride events at the school since 2018, though two were held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

O’Connell said he supports the drag show performance at the public school.

“I don’t have any problem with a youth pride event for our LGBTQ students and others,” O’Connell said.

At least one Manchester West parent does have a problem and wrote to public officials, including Gov. Chris Sununu and Edelblut, expressing concerns. The parent, whose name is redacted, said the Manchester schools have more pressing issues, such as providing a quality education to struggling students.

“Rather than focusing on essential aspects such as graduation rates, reading scores, and effectively tackling issues like bullying, the district seems to be allocating resources and attention toward irrelevant events like drag shows. This misplaced emphasis is a clear indication that the district is failing in its fundamental duties towards our students,” the parent wrote. “Taxpayer dollars should not be sponsoring drag shows.”

The total estimated cost for the June 2 Pride event is more than $6,000. Of that, $4,000 is coming from the city’s CEAG program, and the rest from unspecified matching funds, according to Simard’s grant application. 

Not surprisingly, Tina Kim Philibotte, chief equity officer for the Manchester School District, said the event is crucial for the lives and well-being of LGBTQ students.

The Manchester Public School District is currently facing a legal challenge to its policy of keeping information about students’ behavior secret from their parents, particularly behavior involving sex and gender. A mother who asked about her child’s actions at school was told she had no right to know and school officials declined to answer her questions. During oral arguments before the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the district’s attorney argued that parents who don’t like the policy can simply pull their children out of school.

“If the parents want to make a different choice, they can homeschool, or they can send their child to a private school; those are options available to them,” said attorney Meghan Glynn.

When Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig announced her plans to run for governor Monday morning, she already had the backing of some of the biggest names in the Democratic establishment. In addition to forming an exploratory committee for a 2024 race, Craig also released a “who’s who” list of party insiders and activists to head her committee, including:

Former four-term moderate Gov. John Lynch, 2018 gubernatorial nominee and former state Sen. Molly Kelly, current state Sens. Lou D’Allesandro and Kevin Cavanaugh (the latter a candidate to replace Craig as mayor), and former state party chair Kathy Sullivan.

That was enough political firepower to drive the Democrats’ 2022 candidate, former state Sen. Tom Sherman, out of the race.

But Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington tells NHJournal she’s not going anywhere.

“It’s very early. We are more than 18 months away from the election,” Warmington said in a statement.

Warmington, the lone Democrat on the Executive Council, is no stranger to being outnumbered. It’s well known that she is interested in running for governor. Will she get in the race?

“Right now, I’m focused on getting things done for the people of New Hampshire. There will be plenty of time for politics later,” she added.

Sources tell NHJournal that party insiders, including U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, have been working for weeks to clear the field for the Manchester mayor. And, in an unusual case of politics making strange bedfellows, Republicans are cheering the effort on.

Granite State Republicans believe Craig’s three terms as mayor of Manchester, with a steady stream of headlines about violent crime and out-of-control homelessness, would hurt the entire Democratic ticket with Craig at the top. GOP officials wasted no time getting their message out.

“Granite Staters have seen what Joyce Craig has done in Manchester and will not let ‘Craig’s Chaos’ spread to the rest of New Hampshire,” GOP state party chair Chris Ager said in a statement. “Craig has unequivocally failed Manchester during her time as mayor, and it is laughable that she wants to bring her disastrous policies to the corner office.”

Craig’s plan to run for governor was the worst-kept secret in New Hampshire politics. In her WMUR interview released early Monday morning, she took a swipe at incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu, who has yet to definitely declare whether he will seek another term.

“A consistent theme that I’m hearing throughout these conversations is that there’s a lack of support from the state level, and I know that we can do better,” Craig told WMUR’s Adam Sexton. “So, I’m really looking forward to getting out across the state and having conversations with residents and families about what matters most to them.”

The New Hampshire Democratic Party has had great success either avoiding primaries entirely or rallying around mainstream candidates and marginalizing their progressive opponents, as it did with former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand in 2018 and former Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky in 2020 — both defeated by more moderate candidates who then went on to lose to Sununu in the general.

Could they do the same with Craig — whose list of 73 supporters across all 10 counties includes former Republican state Rep. Charlene Lovett — and keep a more progressive Democrat from mounting a strong campaign?

Sherman, who lost badly to Sununu even as Democrat Joe Biden carried the state by eight percent, certainly got the point.

“It’s a lot of time, and I feel strongly it’s time for me to take a break. The great news is we have such a strong group of people coming up the ranks to fill that need,” Sherman said in a video statement.

Sherman’s surrender was applauded on Twitter by New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley.

“As I said on election night, you should be proud of your campaign for governor – you beat Sununu in every debate!” Buckley tweeted.

Sherman’s debate victories aside, Sununu won the race with 57 percent of the vote to Sherman’s 41 percent.

UNH Political Science Professor Dante Scala said while Craig has a fundraising and organizational advantage, it is unlikely the New Hampshire Democratic Party will be able to keep other candidates from entering the race. The prospect of Sununu’s departure would be too much of a lure.

“The more talk that Sununu will not run again, the more likely it is that other Democrats will take a close look at a race for an open seat,” Scala said.

Assuming Sununu doesn’t seek a record fifth term as governor, his fellow Republicans, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, and former state Senate President Chuck Morse are all widely believed to be seriously considering entering the race.

Meanwhile, Granite State Republicans are gearing up for a Craig candidacy.

“I’ve already got my bumper sticker ready,” said GOP strategist Pat Griffin. “‘Joyce Craig for Governor: She’ll do to New Hampshire What She Did to Manchester.'”