Hide Transcript Show Transcript

LAUNCHING HIS CAMPAIGN TODAY TO TAKE ON INCUMBENT CHRIS SUNUNU. DETAILING HIS HUMBLE UPBRINGING , SENATOR DAN FELTES OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED HIS CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR IN A FOUR MINUTE ONLINE VIDEO. >> MY DAD WORKED IN A FURNITURE FACTORY HIS ENTIRE ADULT LAST, THE SAME FURNITURE FACTORY, ON AIR-CONDITIONED. MY MOM WORKED PART-TIME JOBS WHILE RAISING FOR KIDS. MIKE C: FELTES IS THE STATE’S YOUNGEST SENATE MAJORITY LEADER AND HAS SERVED CONCORD AND HOPKINTON IN THE STATE SENATE FOR FOUR YEARS. HE BELIEVES NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO CHALLENGE INCUMBENT GOVERNOR CHRIS SUNUNU GIVEN SUNUNU’S VETOES AND POSITIONS ON GUN CONTROL, WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND VOTER REGISTRATION. >> WE NEED A DIFFERENT APPROACH. WE NEED TO MOVE NEW HAMPSHIRE FORWARD FOR WORKING FAMILIES. EVERY DAY I’VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING INTO THE CORNER OFFICE. MIKE C: FELTES PROMISES TO USE A BIPARTISAN APPROACH IF ELECTED BUT SAYS HE WILL NOT BUDGE WHEN IT COMES TO A BROAD BASED STATE TAX. >> LET ME BE CLEAR, I DON’T SUPPORT A BROAD-BASED INCOME OR SALES TAX AND I WOULD VETO ONE IF IT CAME TO MY DESK AS GOVERNOR. MIKE C: BUT FELTES SAYS HE WANTS TO FIND A SOLUTION TO RISING PROPERTY TAXES, AND IS NOT IN FAVOR OF TAX BREAKS TO LARGE CORPORATIONS. HE ALSO IS PLEDGING TO RE-WORK A BAIL REFORM LAW HE SPONSORED WHICH MANCHESTER LEADERSHIP SAID LAST WEEK WAS FUELING CRIME, DRUG USE AND HOMELESSNES >> WE WORKED WITH THE CITY OF MANCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT ON BAIL REFORM. WHICH SUNUNU SUPPORTED. I WILL LOOK AT IT COME HAVE AN OPEN MIND, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT ON THE GROUND. MIKE C: AMONG THE OTHER TOP PRIORITIES FOR HIS CAMPAIGN,

Advertisement Promising to put working-class families first, Democrat Dan Feltes announces run for governor State Senate majority leader, former legal aid attorney cites his modest upbringing, says Sununu concerned about big corporations Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Promising a bipartisan approach to governing and a focus on working-class families, state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes of Concord on Tuesday became a candidate for governor in the 2020 election.Feltes’ announcement came in a four-minute video, shared first with WMUR, in which the 40-year-old husband and father of two young daughters recounts his upbringing in a working family headed by a father who was a laborer and a mother who spent many years working at part-time jobs to make ends meet.View the Feltes video here and at the end of this report.Feltes is the first Democrat to formally announce a full-fledged candidacy to take on Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who is running for a third two-year term. Democratic Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky in July announced the formation of an exploratory committee in a preliminary step toward a run, but he has yet to make his candidacy official.Also considering running for governor are 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former state Sen. Molly Kelly and former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, who ran unsuccessfully in 2016 and last year.Feltes, in an interview Monday with WMUR, discussed his overriding reasons for becoming a candidate.“It’s critical that we work together to move New Hampshire forward for working families, especially when costs are rising on everything from health care to prescription drugs to property taxes, and we have a governor who doesn’t get what working families are going through,” Feltes said. “He is concerned about big tax breaks for corporations while everyone’s property taxes are skyrocketing.”Feltes was referring to Sununu’s veto of the state budget primarily because of his support for new cuts in business taxes, which were removed in the budget passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.Feltes also cited the addiction crisis, a need to pass paid family leave legislation into law and a need for improvements in job training and apprenticeship programs. He said gun violence prevention, voting rights and women's reproductive rights will also be issues in the campaign. “We need a new approach to build a brighter future for everyone,” Feltes said.Feltes noted that Sununu has vetoed 53 bills, many of which were passed with bipartisan support. Sununu shattered the previous record of 15 vetoes by a governor in a legislative session, which had been held by former Democratic Gov. John Lynch.Later Tuesday, Feltes was endorsed by fellow state Sen. David Watters, as well as two environmental activists -- 2018 congressional candidate and former state Rep. Mindy Messmer and former Executive Council candidate Dan Weeks.(Update:) Republican Party executive director Elliot Gault responded to Feltes' candidacy by calling him a big taxer and spender who has been less than honest with the public. Gault's full statement in below. Feltes is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Iowa.He worked for New Hampshire Legal Assistance for about a decade and successfully entered elective politics in 2014, when he won a tough Democratic primary and then easily won the general election in the highly Democratic District 15 to succeed former state Senate President Sylvia Larsen.He was reelected in 2016 and again last year and was named majority leader by Senate President Donna Soucy.Feltes sponsored several key bills and as majority leader, he led the push for numerous other Democratic-authored bills during the past session. Some of his key legislative initiatives were a paid family and medical leave program, a minimum wage bill, a Medicaid expansion reauthorization bill and legislation to shore up staffing at the Division of Children, Youth and Families.Feltes’ parents, David and Lynn Feltes, are prominent in the announcement video, which focuses on the candidate’s working-class upbringing.Lynn Feltes opens the video by saying, “As a parent, you hope to teach your children to have integrity, take care of your family and your community. Most of all, the value of hard work.”Dan Feltes then says, “The way we were raised shapes who we are and how we see the world. The values of our parents -- in my case the values of hard work, family, respect -- become the values we hold close to our hearts.”He goes on to talk about his work as a legal aid attorney and his first bid for the Senate.Then, in a clear reference to Sununu, Feltes says, “I wasn’t born into a family of politicians. My father wasn’t governor. I was born into a family of workers. That’s what I knew. That’s what we did. I said if we did win (his state Senate election), I was going to work hard for working families. Well, we did win and I stayed true to my word.”View the video below:In an official statement that accompanied his announcement, Feltes said:"My wife Erin and I are excited to announce that I'm running for governor of New Hampshire. Our state has great potential, but working families are being left out and left behind with the highest health care costs in country -- including crushing prescription drug costs, rising electric rates, and skyrocketing property taxes.“My father worked in the same un-air-conditioned furniture factory for 45 years and my mother worked multiple part time jobs to make ends meet. We knew what it meant to stretch a dollar. Right now we have a governor who doesn't get what ordinary folks are going through -- property taxes on everyday folks are going up, while taxes on large corporations are going down. That's not fair. “And we're going to change that. My parents taught me to work hard, leave no one behind and get things done. That’s the kind of governor we need right now."Gault of the NHGOP said:Dan Feltes, in this session alone, sponsored over a quarter of a billion dollars in new spending, all while championing an income tax on the backs of Granite State workers. Dan Feltes pushed a budget that benefits his left-wing special interests, pursued job-killing tax hikes on New Hampshire employers and forced his Democrat Party to pass an unsustainable and bloated budget.""On issue after issue, Dan Feltes has misled and been dishonest to the public about his true agenda, and we’re ready to point out the facts over the course of his campaign. Dan Feltes fights for himself, not for New Hampshire."The Republican Governors Association also issued a statement critical of Feltes.“Under Governor Chris Sununu, New Hampshire’s economy is roaring and more Granite Staters are working than ever before. Serial tax hiker Dan Feltes would roll back this tremendous progress, weakening the economy and taxing businesses and residents out of the state,” said RGA Executive Director Dave Rexrode. “Dan Feltes’ record speaks for itself – he’s another big government, tax-and-spend liberal who stands in the way of growth and opportunity by pushing measures like a state income tax and crippling taxes on New Hampshire businesses."