Bipartisan Group of Mayors Back Ayotte’s Bail Reform Push

Mayors from across the Granite State, as well as the entire Manchester Board of Aldermen, are joining in a bipartisan push and are backing Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s call to reform bail.
“This is not a partisan issue, it’s a safety issue, and the safety of our cities is non-negotiable,” Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais said.
Rochester Mayor Paul Callaghan, Claremont Mayor Dale Girard, Dover Mayor Robert Carrier, Keene Mayor Jay Kahn, Berlin Mayor Robert Cone, Franklin Mayor Desiree McLaughlin, and Concord Mayor Byron Champlin joined Ruais in a letter to House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) and Senate President Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) urging action on bail reform.
“Our citizens, businesses and tourists deserve our best efforts when it comes to keeping our streets safe,” the mayors wrote.
Ayotte has made fixing the bail system a top priority since taking office. She wants to see the 2018 attempt at bail reform, which made it easier for suspects to get released without posting cash bail, rolled back.
“Our current system is a joke to criminals. Too often, offenders are back on the street before officers who arrested them have even finished filing their paperwork. Our law enforcement officers and the public deserve better than this. The safest state in the nation deserves better than this,” Ayotte said.
In an op-ed for NHJournal, Ayotte pledged that, if the current bail reform proposal doesn’t make it to her desk, she will get it done anyway. The governor is putting bail reform into House Bill 2, the state budget trailer, to make sure it passes.
Manchester’s Board of Aldermen says the 2018 law reforming bail has had disastrous consequences for the city. In 2024, Manchester Police arrested 2,971 adults in 4,551 incidents. That’s because 27 percent of people arrested in Manchester last year were arrested more than once. Of the individuals arrested, 24 percent of them, or 715 people, were already out on bail at the time of their arrest.
“We understand the good intentions behind the previous changes to our bail laws. However, those good intentions have been replaced by criminal acts … When individuals are not held accountable for their actions, it encourages more bad behavior,” the Aldermen said in a statement.
Manchester became ground zero for the bail reform debate last month when Kyle Bisson, 25, was released on personal recognizance bail after he repeatedly stabbed another man in an Elm Street confrontation. Bisson has a criminal record, including a prior assault conviction, but he was not out on bail when he was arrested for the Feb. 7 fight. Manchester’s Police prosecutor did not request cash bail at Bisson’s initial bail hearing.
Cities and towns throughout New Hampshire are already struggling to hire police officers, leaving those they do have overworked. The revolving door bail system is only making the staffing and morale problems worse, the mayors said in their letter.
“This problem compounds itself when criminals cycle through a process of arrest and release, only to be arrested again,” the mayors said.
People just want safe cities again, Ruais added.
“We need to focus on making sure violent and repeat offenders are taken off our streets,” Ruais said. “We are counting on the legislature to do the right thing, which will go a long way to making all Granite Staters safer, regardless of where they live.”