Name: Sununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debate
Brand: wmur.com
SKU: wmur-com-88
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Sununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debate

preview

AdvertisementCandidates spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic, legislative recordsSununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debateCandidates spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic, legislative recordsHide TranscriptShow TranscriptOVER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, PANDEMIC RESPONSE, AND MORE. GOVERNOR SUNUNU AND STATE SENATOR DAN FELTES IN OUR SOCIALLY DISTANCED DEBATE STUDIO AT WMUR. THE FIRST HALF OF THE DEBATE CENTERED AROUND COVID-19 RESPONSE IN MULTIPLE ASPECTS, INCLUDING A PLAN FOR SCHOOLS. &gt;&gt; UNDER DAN FELTES’ ORIGINAL PLAN, IF HOSPITALIZATIONS JU WENT UP 10%, WE WENT FROM 10 TO 11 HOSPITALIZATIONS, EVERY SCHOOL WOULD HAVE TO CLOSE. UNDER HIS PLAN, EVERY SCHOOL WOULD BE CLOSED. &gt;&gt; PEOPLE WERE EXPECTING GOVERNOR SUNUNU TO LAY FORTH SOME PUBLIC HEALTH STANDARDS. HE THREW UP HIS HANDS, PUNTED IT DOWN TO THE LOCAL LEVEL, JUST LIKE TRUMP PUNTED IT DOWN TO THE LOWER LEVEL ON SCHOOLS. CHERISE: POLITICAL REPORTER JOHN DISTASO RETURNING TO A TOPIC THAT MADE HEADLINES IN THE PRIMARY DEBATE IN WHICH FELTES SAID HE WOULD COMMUTE THE DEATH SENTENCE OF CONVICTED POLICE OFFICER KILLER MICHAEL ADDISON, BUT LATER SAYING HE WOULD BLOCK A MOVE TO DO THAT IF ELECTED. &gt;&gt; WOULD YOU COMMUTE HIS SENTENCE OR WOULD YOU ALLOW HIM TO BE EXECUTED? &gt;&gt; WELL, I’VE BEEN CONSISTENT -- I’VE BEEN CONSISTENT IN SUPPORTING A COMMUTATION PROCESS MOVING FORWARD, BUT I DON’T SUPPORT A COMMUTATION PETITION RIGHT NOW. CHERISE: THE TWO ALSO ASKED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND WHETHER THEY CAN AGREE ON ANYTHING TOGETHER TO COMBAT THE EFFECTS. &gt;&gt; MY PLAN WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE NOT BUILDING THESE MASSIVE SOLAR ARRAYS WHERE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS GO TO SOLAR DEVELOPERS. LET’S PUT THE SOLAR PANELS ON THOSE THAT HAVE TO PAY THOSE SUBSIDIES -- LOW-INCOME HOUSING, MOBILE HOME PARKS, LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES. LET THEM BE THE FIRST TO GET THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT CHERISE: AND YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL DEBATE ON OUR DIGITAL PLATFORMS IF YOU MISSEDAdvertisementSununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debateCandidates spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic, legislative recordsThe candidates for New Hampshire governor clashed early and often Monday night in a debate that focused largely on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with issues of race, justice and climate change.&gt;&gt; Download the FREE WMUR appIncumbent Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is running for reelection against Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes. Sununu spent much of the debate highlighting the state's response to the pandemic, while Feltes was often on the attack, trying to tie Sununu to President Donald Trump and policies that Feltes said would hurt Granite Staters' health care. ** Watch the FULL debate here **Several times throughout the debate, Feltes asked Sununu whether he continued to think of himself as a "Trump guy through and through" and whether he would be proud to vote for Trump. Sununu never responded to the question and instead focused on his administration's response to the pandemic.&gt;&gt; View post-debate reaction from Feltes and Sununu"We wrote the playbook and did a good job as a team working with the Division of Public Health and the businesses to reopen and to have a successful summer," Sununu said. "There are some restrictions we could put in place down the road, but we are far away from where we were. We have done a great job and there is no reason we cannot keep up the success."Feltes said he has the background to lead the state through the pandemic."For years as a legal aid lawyer, I battled the health insurance industry to get access to health care for Granite Staters, working families," Feltes said. "I did the same in the state Senate, Delivering real results. Prescription drug relief, Medicaid expansion, working to expand health care access. That's what we've got to be focused on right now."WATCH THE FULL DEBATE:View full debate videoWATCH THE DEBATE BY TOPIC:Leading NH through end of pandemicIs it time to reverse opening of the state?Should NH have a mask mandate?Long-term care facilities; NH Senate's pandemic responseSchools, youth sports amid COVID-19Help for struggling NH hospitalsLightning round: NH school mascots; Sec. Gardner; state's liquor control system Addressing systemic racism, racial disparity in prison systemCapital punishment and NH's only death row inmateAre additional gun control measures needed?Endorsements from law enforcement groupsHousing for mental health treatment How serious they are about climate changeClosing statementsFeltes accused Sununu of wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, based on past statements the governor has made about the legislation. "Gov. Sununu, these are your own words. You ran on a platform of repealing Obamacare," Feltes said. "You said you supported Trump because he would finally end horrible programs like Obamacare."But Sununu said he has worked to defend the program."I am one of the few Republican governors in the country actually fighting to keep the Affordable Care Act," Sununu said. "New Hampshire is on the lawsuit today fighting to keep the Affordable Care Act, bucking the trend."&gt;&gt; RELATED STORY: ‘Trump guy’ vs. ‘taxer’ – accusations fly on familiar themes in governor’s raceSununu said the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a model for the country. He said the state has worked well to keep hospitalizations low, even as cases have climbed back up again in recent weeks.Feltes criticized the governor for vetoing legislation that would have called for an independent review of how the spread of the virus was handled in long-term care facilities. But Sununu said the Department of Health and Human Services has done its own reviews, and the state has been transparent with its health data and aid expenditures.Feltes again tried to tie Sununu to the president when talking about the state's guidance for reopening schools. While most of the state's reopening guidance had specific requirements and recommendations, the school guidance was much less direct, outlining options for schools and putting the decision in the hands of local school districts."The biggest thing facing our schools, without question, is the lack of reopening public health standards," Feltes said. "With five or six weeks to go before schools were going to reopen, people were expecting Gov. Chris Sununu to actually lay forth some public health standards. He threw up his hands, punted it down to the local level, just like Trump punted it down to the local level, on schools."Sununu pointed to the lack of outbreaks in schools as evidence that New Hampshire's approach has worked."The No. 1 request of stakeholders was (to) make sure we have some flexibility, because what happens in a third-grade classroom in Colebrook is very different than what's happening at Manchester Central High School," Sununu said. "By providing that flexibility, what's the result? Eighty-five percent of our schools are open in some fashion. We have no outbreaks. It's a huge success."VIEW POST-DEBATE Q&amp;As:Gov. Sununu on schools, rise in COVID cases, opioid crisis Feltes talks voter outreach, Sununu's COVID response, reopening, absentee voting The debate touched on the racial strife that has been seen across the country in the wake of police killings of unarmed Black people. Sununu launched a commission after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, and he touted the findings of that commission, all of which he has endorsed."When the first Black Lives Matter protest was going to happen on the streets of Manchester, I picked up the phone and said, 'We support you. We support you and the message, and we will work with police,'" Sununu said. "The result isn't just talk. The result has been allowing the Law Enforcement Accountability Commission to come together."Feltes again used the issue as a way to tie Sununu to Trump, who has been criticized for his divisive rhetoric on issues of race. The senator also talked about his support for addressing disproportionate racial incarceration at the state prison."Systemic racism doesn't mean everyone in the system is racist. It means policies and practices have a disproportionate negative impact on communities of color," Feltes said. "So, we need to look at the sentences and look at the low-level nonviolent offenders and make sure that it's appropriate and make sure we do it in a commonsense way."The two also sparred over the issue of climate change and what the state is doing to address the problem. Feltes said the governor vetoed numerous bills on issues such as net metering that were intended to help encourage solar installations."We did agree on a couple things, including Gov. Sununu signed my bill to enable communities to do community aggregation, unlock solar savings for communities," Feltes said. "But he also vetoed 14 pieces of clean energy legislation, energy efficiency, clean energy, solar, distributed generation, net metering -- three net metering bills, in fact. All three had bipartisan support. So, this fundamentally is not a Democrat problem or a Republican problem. Quite frankly, the failure to move forward is a Chris Sununu problem."Sununu said he doesn't want the state to move forward with massive solar arrays, but instead target them to places such as mobile home parks and long-term care facilities. He said he has sought to balance the cost with the benefits."There is a balance and a solution to all of this, but it isn't just saying yes to everything and letting giant solar development companies take all the money," Sununu said.View the full debate below:The candidates for New Hampshire governor clashed early and often Monday night in a debate that focused largely on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with issues of race, justice and climate change.&gt;&gt;AdvertisementIncumbent Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is running for reelection against Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes. Sununu spent much of the debate highlighting the state's response to the pandemic, while Feltes was often on the attack, trying to tie Sununu to President Donald Trump and policies that Feltes said would hurt Granite Staters' health care. ** **Several times throughout the debate, Feltes asked Sununu whether he continued to think of himself as a "Trump guy through and through" and whether he would be proud to vote for Trump. Sununu never responded to the question and instead focused on his administration's response to the pandemic.&gt;&gt; View post-debate reaction from and"We wrote the playbook and did a good job as a team working with the Division of Public Health and the businesses to reopen and to have a successful summer," Sununu said. "There are some restrictions we could put in place down the road, but we are far away from where we were. We have done a great job and there is no reason we cannot keep up the success."Feltes said he has the background to lead the state through the pandemic."For years as a legal aid lawyer, I battled the health insurance industry to get access to health care for Granite Staters, working families," Feltes said. "I did the same in the state Senate, Delivering real results. Prescription drug relief, Medicaid expansion, working to expand health care access. That's what we've got to be focused on right now."WATCH THE FULL DEBATE:WATCH THE DEBATE BY TOPIC:Feltes accused Sununu of wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, based on past statements the governor has made about the legislation. "Gov. Sununu, these are your own words. You ran on a platform of repealing Obamacare," Feltes said. "You said you supported Trump because he would finally end horrible programs like Obamacare."But Sununu said he has worked to defend the program."I am one of the few Republican governors in the country actually fighting to keep the Affordable Care Act," Sununu said. "New Hampshire is on the lawsuit today fighting to keep the Affordable Care Act, bucking the trend."&gt;&gt; RELATED STORY: Sununu said the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a model for the country. He said the state has worked well to keep hospitalizations low, even as cases have climbed back up again in recent weeks.Feltes criticized the governor for vetoing legislation that would have called for an independent review of how the spread of the virus was handled in long-term care facilities. But Sununu said the Department of Health and Human Services has done its own reviews, and the state has been transparent with its health data and aid expenditures.Feltes again tried to tie Sununu to the president when talking about the state's guidance for reopening schools. While most of the state's reopening guidance had specific requirements and recommendations, the school guidance was much less direct, outlining options for schools and putting the decision in the hands of local school districts."The biggest thing facing our schools, without question, is the lack of reopening public health standards," Feltes said. "With five or six weeks to go before schools were going to reopen, people were expecting Gov. Chris Sununu to actually lay forth some public health standards. He threw up his hands, punted it down to the local level, just like Trump punted it down to the local level, on schools."Sununu pointed to the lack of outbreaks in schools as evidence that New Hampshire's approach has worked."The No. 1 request of stakeholders was (to) make sure we have some flexibility, because what happens in a third-grade classroom in Colebrook is very different than what's happening at Manchester Central High School," Sununu said. "By providing that flexibility, what's the result? Eighty-five percent of our schools are open in some fashion. We have no outbreaks. It's a huge success."VIEW POST-DEBATE Q&amp;As:The debate touched on the racial strife that has been seen across the country in the wake of police killings of unarmed Black people. Sununu launched a commission after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, and he touted the findings of that commission, all of which he has endorsed."When the first Black Lives Matter protest was going to happen on the streets of Manchester, I picked up the phone and said, 'We support you. We support you and the message, and we will work with police,'" Sununu said. "The result isn't just talk. The result has been allowing the Law Enforcement Accountability Commission to come together."Feltes again used the issue as a way to tie Sununu to Trump, who has been criticized for his divisive rhetoric on issues of race. The senator also talked about his support for addressing disproportionate racial incarceration at the state prison."Systemic racism doesn't mean everyone in the system is racist. It means policies and practices have a disproportionate negative impact on communities of color," Feltes said. "So, we need to look at the sentences and look at the low-level nonviolent offenders and make sure that it's appropriate and make sure we do it in a commonsense way."The two also sparred over the issue of climate change and what the state is doing to address the problem. Feltes said the governor vetoed numerous bills on issues such as net metering that were intended to help encourage solar installations."We did agree on a couple things, including Gov. Sununu signed my bill to enable communities to do community aggregation, unlock solar savings for communities," Feltes said. "But he also vetoed 14 pieces of clean energy legislation, energy efficiency, clean energy, solar, distributed generation, net metering -- three net metering bills, in fact. All three had bipartisan support. So, this fundamentally is not a Democrat problem or a Republican problem. Quite frankly, the failure to move forward is a Chris Sununu problem."Sununu said he doesn't want the state to move forward with massive solar arrays, but instead target them to places such as mobile home parks and long-term care facilities. He said he has sought to balance the cost with the benefits."There is a balance and a solution to all of this, but it isn't just saying yes to everything and letting giant solar development companies take all the money," Sununu said.View the full debate below:Loading more articles...

AdvertisementCandidates spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic, legislative recordsSununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debateCandidates spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic, legislative recordsHide TranscriptShow TranscriptOVER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, PANDEMIC RESPONSE, AND MORE. GOVERNOR SUNUNU AND STATE SENATOR DAN FELTES IN OUR SOCIALLY DISTANCED DEBATE STUDIO AT WMUR. THE FIRST HALF OF THE DEBATE CENTERED AROUND COVID-19 RESPONSE IN MULTIPLE ASPECTS, INCLUDING A PLAN FOR SCHOOLS. &gt;&gt; UNDER DAN FELTES’ ORIGINAL PLAN, IF HOSPITALIZATIONS JU WENT UP 10%, WE WENT FROM 10 TO 11...

Sununu, Feltes clash in gubernatorial debate

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS