Cilley Talks With Concord Democrats [VIDEO]

, D-Barrington, came to Concord this week to talk to local Democrats about her campaign for governor.

The former two-term state senator, who was defeated in 2010, spent the bulk of her time criticizing the Republican-controlled Legislature and saying she would stand with state employees.

Cilley said the Republicans were waging a two-pronged attack against society, first, against public servants, and second, against public education.

All through her life, whether it was first responders in an emergency, the local sheriff in Berlin where she grew up, or public school teachers, a government employee had helped Cilley or family members, as they have helped others.

“We, as a civilized society, simply want to be able to call the people that we need when we need them,” she said. “Our government is the place that we come together as a civilized society and those are the people that help. We don’t think about them much when we don’t need them.”

On education, she claimed that Republicans were trying to “dismantle it” at a time when more education spending and efforts were needed, not less. Cilley came to post-K-12 education late, at 29 and that opened up horizons that she never thought she would have, she said. As an adjunct professor at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at UNH, Cilley said she had taught about 2,500 students.

“I feel like I’ve given them something,” she said. “They’ve given me something. An education gave that to me.”

The Legislature was also attacking women’s rights, she said, targeting contraception under the guise of religious freedom. Cilley said the Republicans were trying to force other people’s philosophies on the populace, while being handheld by special interests and extremists like Americans for Legislative Exchange Council and Cornerstone.

“It’s simply amazing that we’ve gotten to this state,” she said.

While Cilley said it was important for Democrats to keep the governor’s office, they also needed to flip both houses.

“While Governor Lynch was able to stop of the worst of what was happening,” she said, “there were too many places where those super-majority just overrode it. We need every ounce of energy you have because we do have a state to take back.”

Cilley also said that she wouldn’t make any “foolish pledges,” to applause in the room, but said she wouldn’t commit to raising a specific revenue stream. She compared it to tying your hand behind your back. Cilley said it was important for everyone to decide what kind of state he or she wanted to live in.

“What I’m advocating for is that we have a conversation,” she said. “What do we want New Hampshire to be like in the 21st Century? What do we want this state, that I know you care deeply about, or you wouldn’t be here tonight, what do we want it to look like?”