Tri-Town Democrats' recent meeting with Sen. Tom Sherman

GILMANTON — Senator (Dr.) Tom Sherman, candidate for New Hampshire Governor, was guest speaker at a well-attended May meeting of Tri-Town Democrats of Barnstead, Gilmanton and Alton at the Wagner Farm in Gilmanton.

Senator Sherman lives in Rye with his family and was a gastroenterologist for over 30 years. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and became a senator in 2018. He has devoted much of his adult life to improving health care for all. As a representative, Dr. Sherman was instrumental in the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid; as a senator, he helped pass a bill that moved adults with mental illness out of emergency rooms and secured critical funding for children in mental health crisis.

Senator Sherman gave an impassioned speech to Tri-Town. During his six years as governor, Sununu has not addressed the serious problems facing New Hampshire. Children with mental health issues are still at risk (despite available funding). Affordable childcare is still nonexistent (14,000 children are still waiting for a spot in childcare). The need for affordable housing is acute. Governor Sununu continues to ignore the school funding crisis (which relies on local property taxes). And his recent school voucher legislation has exacerbated the problem by taking millions out of school funding.

Senator Sherman believes that all these problems can be fixed (not by raising taxes but by utilizing the resources already available), but New Hampshire needs a governor who has the will, and knows how, to fix them. It seems clear that the current governor does not have that will or knowledge. Dr. Sherman has been solving problems his whole adult life and is anxious to start tackling the crises facing our state as governor.

Tri-Town’s next meeting will be held on Monday, June 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Pearson Road Community Center, 7 Pearson Road in Alton.