Ayotte Said She Welcomes Trump Administration Observation Of NH Elections, Looks Forward To Aldenberg Dealing With SYSC Issues

By PAULA TRACY, InDepth NH

NASHUA, NH — Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she welcomes anyone who wants to come to New Hampshire to observe how elections are run, including Republican Trump Administration officials and it is all part of being a First-in-the-Nation Primary state.

And she said former Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg, confirmed as interim state child advocate Wednesday brings a passion for the issue of child safety and leadership to implement the changes sought by the Attorney General to assure safety for all at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester.

TRUMP SENDING OVERSIGHT

Ayotte, three quarters of the way through her first term, made these statements just after former Executive Councilor, a past Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andru Volinsky warned in an opinion editorial that elections are at risk with Trump officials set to monitor polls in two major cities, Manchester and Nashua, this fall in addition to other states.

“...Trump is sending his thugs to interfere with our primary and general elections this year in an effort to prevent Democrats from taking Congress and, just maybe, the US Senate,” he wrote.

“With depleted resources, you might think the Trump DOJ would focus its efforts to protect voting in places where there have been problems before. You’d be wrong in that belief,” Volinsky wrote in a piece published Wednesday on InDepthNH.org.

But the fellow Republican seemed to suggest in her statements that it would be alright for anyone, including the President, to oversee what is known as a state-run election.

During a press briefing after the Executive Council meeting on Wednesday at Nashua Community College, Ayotte, who is running for re-election, said, “I would welcome anyone that wants to come to New Hampshire and see how we do elections. I think we do them well. And so, if they want to come and observe how we do elections here in New Hampshire I think they will see that we conduct our elections in a fair, transparent way. And so, again right now anyone can come and – with appropriate measures – come and look at how we do things.

“I think it is part of being a First-in-the Nation primary too. We are a place that we openly welcome people to come and our role in that primary is really important. And by the way, I am obviously just really beyond disappointed, I am very upset about the recent (Democratic National Committee) DNC decision,” which last week chose South Carolina to go first in the nation in its Democratic Primary this fall.

New Hampshire has a state law which requires that it be first before other states and this happened during the last Presidential primary election, despite threats to penalize the state.

Former Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, said, “How New Hampshire conducts its elections is up to Granite State election officials, not Donald Trump or his Department of Justice.

“Trump’s election monitors have no business interfering with our gold standard election system. It’s time New Hampshire had a governor who has the backbone to stand up to Trump and gross federal overreach. Kelly Ayotte has proven that she won’t and has only made it harder for Granite Staters to vote,” Warmington said.

Ayotte also addressed the First in the Nation primary.

Ayotte said she feels confident that the Secretary of State has the tools he needs to require that the state goes first in the primaries but welcomes Republican efforts to try to strengthen that.

“I talked with the Secretary of State. I think we have the tools to beat this back and New Hampshire is going to be first. We are going to be the first in the nation primary,” in law.

“He has the ability to set that primary,” in advance of South Carolina, which the DNC has chosen to go first, and the state third, “but I think right now Dave Scanlan has what he needs (in law) to protect New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary and I know he has what is prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure we protect our status,” she said. “I think New Hampshire is so important in making sure that you actually have to go out and earn the support of voters and that is what we do here.”

SYSC SITUATION

The Sununu Youth Services Center and the temporary appointment of Aldenberg were issues that the Executive Council addressed Wednesday and Ayotte said she has full confidence that the situation there involving the state’s most troubled youths who are under the state’s care will be improved and addressed prior to a move of those children to a new facility being developed at the former Hampstead Hospital, likely at the beginning of 2027.

Cassandra Sanchez, the outgoing state child advocate, alleged that there was abuse occurring at the facility in a March letter to the council but an investigation by the Attorney General found no such evidence, but did outline changes that needed to be made including staff training and the suggestion of the introduction of body warn cameras.

It comes after the legislature cut funding for the Office of the Child Advocate.

Ayotte said the state needs to ensure that both children and staff are safe.

“Everyone has to be safe. We need to make sure that safety and accountability is married with a trauma-informed environment for the youth that are held there; to make sure that they are also getting the programming they need for rehabilitation. So there is absolutely more work that needs to be done. We are moving very quickly on this. You heard the Commissioner of Health and Human Services talk about the fact that number one: the Department of Corrections has been able to identify body-warn cameras that will be immediately repurposed for those that work in the youth detention facility so that we have complete transparency as to what is happening there, to protect both the safety of the residents and the staff as well.

“So that is going to happen very quickly. The staffing was delayed somewhat by – at least the staffing contract by the Executive Council – but we are moving as fast as we can with Health and Human Services to make sure there are trained additional contracting staff that will go in to support the facility on an interim measure. We are reclassifying positions to expand the number of youth counselors and physicians at the facility, and we are also working with the Department of Justice and the Attorney General working on an understanding of when there are incidents that happen that have a criminal nature, bringing in the county attorney, the state police to make sure that every incident is fully investigated,” Ayotte said.

Asked how Aldenberg will be able to contribute his skills to the Office of the Child Advocate, she said he brings in a great level of experience.

“He’s no nonsense. He understands the implications and the concerns on child protection. I think he was quite vocal on the Harmony Montgomery case on what he saw as some of the failings of the system, so he has a passion for this issue. Not only does he have, I think, the credentials and leadership experience to come in as an acting child advocate to not only look at making sure we are implementing the recommendations of the attorney general’s office but also best practices, but he served on the board of Manchester Mental Health so he has that experience as well. So I am very glad that he is willing to come in and I think he will be the strong leader that we need on an acting basis while we are continuing to search for the permanent child advocate to really make sure we are acting as quickly as we can and that that facility is safe…” she said.

When the new facility is open, she said she wants to be sure that the lessons made from this time, and the improvements are prior to moving in and best practices are in place when the new facility opens at Hampstead.

BELL TO BELL REPORT ON NO CELL PHONES IN SCHOOLS

The governor, who advocated a drop of cell phone use in schools in her inaugural address and who has seen implementation of that ban in the first year, said she is pleased by a recent survey of teachers and administrators who have seen improvement in the school environment in the first year.

She said with the coming year it is an opportunity to learn from schools where the best practices have been established and to share with other districts those approaches. She said the report showed a drop in distractions in the classroom and more focus on learning. There are fewer discipline issues, she said.

“I am excited we passed this policy,” she said, adding she is eager to see how the state as a whole can learn and improve from it in the fall of 2026.

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.