Governor Ayotte Should Attend Meeting

I have been a New Hampshire Independent for decades, and I typically have voted for republicans and democrats starting with supporting JFK in 1960. I was hesitant to vote for Kelly Ayotte for governor in the last election because I was concerned she would not put New Hampshire first and ahead of partisan politics.

Unfortunately, this concern came true when Governor Ayotte turned down an invitation to meet with other governors and Canadian premieres.

Five New England governors, four democrats and one republican, plus the governor of New York, voted to meet as a group with Canadian premieres to discuss improving trade relations between the six states and Canadian provinces. New Hampshire will be AWOL.

The six New England states plus New York conduct about $73 billion in trade annually with Canada. Canada is Maine's top trading partner at $6 billion, and Canada is New Hampshires second leading trading country at $3 billion. New York is at $38 billion and Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island account for $26 billion. Additionally, the tourist industry heavily relies on Canadian visitors, especially in the Summer.

Governor Ayotte should attend the governors meeting to provide her perspective on trade between the United States and Canada instead of sitting it out. She should be taking the high road for the state of New Hampshire.