Randy Hilman: Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s veto: ‘Affordable’ now, ruinous later

To The Daily Sun,

Our Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, recently vetoed HB 2026, New Hampshire's bipartisan 10-Year Transportation Plan — the biennial roadmap that keeps our roads, bridges and turnpikes from crumbling under the weight of Granite State winters.

The governor’s laughable reason? She won't accept toll increases needed to fund the capital plan because she wants New Hampshire to stay “affordable."

Affordable for whom? Not for drivers who repeatedly hit frost-heaved potholes and eventually crack rims or destroy front ends.

Not for New Boston households whose commute doubles because the Gregg Mill Road Bridge — already in the permitting pipeline — sits stalled indefinitely.

Not for small contractors who can't hire, train, or bond crews because the state just yanked the 10-year certainty their businesses plan around.

This wasn't a partisan money grab. Republicans and Democrats alike — Rep. John Cloutier and Deputy Speaker Steven Smith among them — called Ayotte's veto short-sighted.

The Associated General Contractors of NH said it plainly: this plan was funded by dedicated turnpike revenue, not new taxes, and it gave the state's construction industry the predictability it needs to keep working.

So if our Republican governor is serious about affordability, here's a thought: don't hand out millions in business tax cuts this year. Don't keep expanding a school voucher program that robs our public schools to bankroll private tuition.

Those are actual affordability choices — ones that don't leave people paying for neglect with blown suspensions, bridge closures and ever-rising property taxes.

Deferred maintenance isn't free. That's not fiscal responsibility — it's Franklin's penny-wise fool pocketing a toll-hike's handful of saved pennies today while sticking Granite Staters with pounds of fiscal ruin tomorrow.

It's foolishly short-sighted of our Donald Trump-endorsing governor, who thinks a small coin saved is a big debt avoided.

Randy Hilman

Moultonborough