Victoria Sullivan
Running forWard 9 Alderman
in 2022
Running as
At age53
My husband Buddy and I will be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary in April. We have two teenage boys, Buddy and Seamus. We also have 3 rescue pets, a dog named Lucky and two cats Mrs. Norris and Professor McGonagall (yes, we are Harry Potter fans). I enjoy archery, target shooting, soap making, and spending time with my family.
I have served on the Manchester Heritage Commission and as a selectman in Ward 9. I served two terms in the N.H. House of Representatives where part of my responsibilities was working on and passing the state and county budgets. I served four years on the House Education Committee where I sponsored and co-sponsored several bills that have given parents a stronger voice in their children's education. I also served as Assistant Majority Leader under Speaker Chandler.
Current jobI work for UNH through the Preschool Development Grant. My responsibilities include working with multiple agencies to provide grant support. I work with the NH Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Council for Thriving Children and multiple non-profits to form a better understanding of the current early childhood system and to strengthen the system, better address the needs of vulnerable young children and their families, and help build a solid foundation to improve outcomes for all NH families.
Physical Program Coordinator for the YMCA in North Andover, MA. Here I oversaw multiple departments, designed and implemented programs, oversaw staff, developed budgets, and built relationships with our clients. I also taught many preschool and early childhood classes.
Assistant to the President of NEBC, VT. I assisted the President of the company in organizing meetings, handled invoices and learned project management and budgeting for multiple construction projects, and customer service.
Time lived in NH13 years
Medway High School
Northern Essex Community College
Certified in Trauma-Informed Care for Children
Various continuing ed certificates through the YMCA
Best way to contact candidateVictoria@Victoriaformanchester.com
Facebook Messenger
My home phone is 232-4382.
WebsiteVictoria For Manchester
What are your views on city budget/tax cap?
People are hurting all over the city. The price of gas, food, energy, and on top of that most of the folks in ward 9 were hit with a higher property tax bill. As our city leaders struggle with housing issues, they refuse to acknowledge the direct impact increased property taxes have on people who rent.
We have seen a reduction in many city services including waste pickup but received an increase in our taxes. This is unacceptable. While many candidates say they will respect the tax cap they often provide exceptions. All too often we see those “few exceptions” expand to include city services, contracts, and pet projects. I understand what it means to hard-working blue-collar families like mine when our elected officials, many of whom are better off financially than their constituents, override the tax cap. I will never vote to override the tax cap. Period. As your alderman, you can trust me to have your back.
Our residential homes, multi-family, multi-tenant buildings and condos were hit hard by property tax increases. Until we reign in spending we will continue to increase the poverty levels in our city. The city and school district have seen an incredible influx of tax dollars returned through CARES Act, ARPA, and ESSER funds equalling tens of millions of dollars. Manchester has received a 45 percent increase in a return from the state by way of meals and rooms tax. Manchester is not facing a funding issue but the taxpayers are facing a property tax issue. It is neither right nor necessary.
The conversations happening around the budget need to start by asking how we make our city more efficient? Where are we seeing redundancy? One place is in the school district. By reverting the district back into a city department we can get rid of duplicative administrative costs. We also have to stop using grants and one-time money for job creation. In the end, the burden falls back to the taxpayers who honestly do not have anything left to give.
What are your views on public safety?
In Ward 9 we are seeing higher incidents of cars being broken into, property vandalized, and trespassing. We have seen an increase in armed robberies at businesses in close proximity to our neighborhoods. None of this is acceptable and it must be addressed.
I have been advocating for a stronger relationship between our officers and our community for several years. It has been refreshing to hear our Chief entering into these conversations as of late. We need to form better communication and therefore a better trust between our officers and our citizens, and especially our youth.
I am advocating for officers to spend time on patrols walking or riding in the trails. Our trails have become covered in graffiti and trash. The homeless encampments are stretching into the woods, near Nutt’s Ponds and close to our ball fields at Precourt Park. A police presence would dissuade some of these behaviors while insuring safety for those using the trails. Some years back, seeing the police down here was commonplace. Many of our residents feel that the south end of Manchester has been forgotten. This needs to change.
The homeless crisis is expanding across the city and is impacting ward 9 directly. It isn’t just that we have homeless encampments, but the encampments are filled with trash, discarded electronics, feces, and have made our trails unusable. We have offered to assist in the clean-up only to be told that it was a biohazard and was too dangerous. That biohazard is washing into our trails and inevitably into Nutt’s Pond. One such encampment that is located under the Cracker Barrel sign has been here for over a year and has grown into an incredibly large encampment that can be seen from 293 and is very close to the President Road neighborhood.
Our ward has begun meeting to discuss some of these issues as well as how the opioid epidemic is impacting our neighborhood. We are in agreement that the city needs to do a better job of addressing areas like this in a timely manner before the situation grows into an enormous mess with a large cost for clean-up. We are willing to work together with the city to make sure these issues are addressed. As your alderman, I will make sure the south end and the issues impacting us are not forgotten.
What are your views on education?
Let me be clear–I support our public schools. That being said, I support children above all else and my loyalties are to them and their families. That means that I believe in education choice for all families. Choice does not exclude public schools. Most children and families will choose their neighborhood schools when given the choice.
However, the last two years were very difficult for all of us, but it especially took a toll on our children. Manchester was one of the last districts to return to in-person full-time school. MSD has some of the lowest proficiency scores in the state. Returning to in-person education as quickly as safely possible was imperative. When parents realized that MSD was not moving in that direction many removed their children from the district. In fact, MSD has seen a reduction of over 1000 students in recent years. Yet our education spending continues to increase at a staggering rate that is unsustainable while there is no increase in education outcomes.
We often hear people blame programs that provide education opportunity for low to middle-income students for the decline in enrollment. They pull out the old mantra that school choice defunds public schools. State money is based on average daily attendance. A school only gets funds for educating that child. If a child is choosing education outside of the district, the district does not receive that money. It doesn’t matter if the child goes to another school, is homeschooled or moves. That argument is used simply to stir emotions in our citizens.
The fact is that if schools were responsive to parents, provided education opportunity through district-wide school choice, and had excellent education outcomes, fewer families would choose other education options. The proponents of school choice believe there should be no consequences to the district for failing scores and children should remain segregated by zip code. This kind of thinking removes any incentive to better public education and leaves many of our poor, our minority, and our underserved children with no options and no way out of their circumstances.
School choice is the great equalizer and many of our families that qualify for free and reduced lunch, new Americans, or minority children use these scholarships to attend schools that provide smaller classrooms, better support, and an opportunity that would otherwise be only for wealthier children. I don’t understand how anyone could want to remove that kind of opportunity for children.
An Education Choice survey found that 78 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Independents favored education savings accounts such as our Education Freedom Accounts. Of that 78 percent of African-Americans and 79 percent of Hispanic respondents also support education choice.
Manchester should be embracing this option if they truly want equality in education.
In order to adjust to the lower enrollment numbers, instead of increasing spending and hiring more non-teaching staff, we need to reorganize and prioritize. We need to restructure the district to cut waste and return the district to a department that would create an immediate cost savings.
Manchester school district is filled with incredible teachers and we have the potential to be the strongest district in the state if we support the traditional education, move away from fads, and allow our teachers the freedom to teach without strangling them with policy from people who have no idea what is happening in their classrooms.
What are your views on infrastructure/transportation?
We need to re-examine the city bus routes. I hear from people all of the time that the routes do not meet the needs of those that depend on them, especially now that the Manchester DHHS office has moved to Perimeter Rd. We need to make sure our buses are routed efficiently and effectively.
I have been speaking to people in all corners of our ward and our businesses. Ward 9 will be the most impacted if the commuter rail goes through and our residents do not want it. The quality of life impact, the emissions from the diesel, the proximity to homes, especially those with children, the impact on small businesses when the trains transport people out of Manchester to higher-paying jobs in Boston are all seen as a detriment to the majority of people in ward 9.
Our citizens have shared with me that they would like to see a greater emphasis on nature trails for biking, skiing, and walking (not bike paths painted onto the roads which many find dangerous). There is some investment in trails in the grant. Again, public safety would have to be addressed before the trails could be safe and usable, but many feel that Manchester is trying too hard to be a big city (hence the big city problems) and is losing sight of the fact that people come to NH for the nature aspects.
The Queen City has received significant funds to address our roads bridges. However, there has been a noticeable change to the conditions of roads over the years. This is pothole season and we expect to see some of the damage, but the roads don’t seem to be holding up like they once did. We need to look into the reasons why and address them. Citizens deserve safe roads that they can travel without the risk of costly car repairs.
We are investing a great deal of money into our sewer system. This has been downshifted from the federal government at a great cost to the taxpayers. Using that one-time money that we have could have had a direct positive impact on our taxpayers. The city’s upgrades are necessary, but the property taxes should not be used for downshifted federal expenses. We need to start looking ahead at other infrastructure improvements that we will need and budget accordingly so that our taxpayers are not taken off guard and the city isn’t scrambling to find funds.
What are your views on the city's relationship with Concord?
The city has a strained relationship with Concord and has for a number of years. I have sat down with the Governor to discuss Manchester issues. He wants to be a partner in developing better outcomes for our city. He offered to sit down with the Board of Mayor and Alderman and the state department heads to have an open conversation and to address the needs of our city. I heard from several of our aldermen, who were willing to attend that meeting, that they were told by city leadership that they were not to attend.
This has to change. We need to work in a bipartisan fashion. For example, the bail reform that has been detrimental to our city has two bills in the legislature to address some of the issues. The House bill was sponsored by one of Ward 9’s state reps, Ross Berry (R) and co-sponsored with bi-partisan support including that of Barbara Shaw (D). I went to Concord and testified in support of this bill and asked members of our ward to send letters explaining the impact on the city. We need to be unified in what is in the best interest of our city and work together to bring about the change that is needed.
We need to have a working relationship with our Governor and our legislature. Party pettiness has got to be tossed aside for the greater good of our city. I have a strong working relationship with many of my former colleagues in the House and with the Governor. My current job has created many connections with DHHS, the DOE and other agencies. We need to work seamlessly with the state in order to get the work of the people done.
What are your views on addressing homelessness/affordable housing?
Our homeless crisis is significantly impacting all corners of our city and ward 9 is no exception. We have one large encampment and several smaller ones in our neighborhoods and in our trails. Homelessness has a direct correlation to mental illness and addiction. Our overdoses are at our highest levels since 2018.
My full plan can be found on my website. This plan has been consistent for the last few years and I am beginning to see the language from it being used as the city works on the homeless crisis. Some bullet points are:
- Work with the state to make sure we have seamless access to mental health, opioid, and alcohol dependency treatment.
- Support wrap-around and transitional services. People need a leg up if we want them to remain off the streets. They need support when they leave rehab.
- Bring all of our non-profits, faith-based groups, and private organizations together to share best practices, failures, and identify gaps in support.
- Lessen city regulations to allow people to repurpose spaces that are no longer needed for their initial use.
- One example is office and retail space that is not being used could become apartments and condos.
- Allow people to add mother-in-law apartments without burdensome regulations and costs.
- Create a tax incentive program that allows contractors to receive a tax break if they purchase and restore abandoned multi-family units that are currently a blight on our neighborhoods and attract crime.
- Work to make our shelters are a safe place where people can receive services, including job training that will eventually lead to independence.
What are your views on partisanship/political incivility in the city?
As your State Representative, I worked in bipartisan manner in order to get good legislation passed for our citizens. I stood firm against my own party when I disagreed with them and supported legislators across the aisle many times. In Concord, you get little done by being partisan. Every bill I sponsored had bi-partisan support.
I have volunteered for Democratic and Independent candidates when I believed they were the best candidate. In fact, my sons and I canvassed for Alderman Shaw in 2017 when Jim Burkush ran against her because I believed her to be the better candidate.
The political incivility has been taken to a whole new level with social media. I have apologized for any part I have played in it in the past and continue to try to respond to voters without allowing myself to fall into the nonsense. I admit that I still fail at times.
The incivility in this particular race is the worst I have seen. The lies that have been spewed against me without any way to bring the truth forward is frustrating. I grew up in a town where your name meant something and defamation was a serious offense. Now nameless, faceless people hiding behind keyboards can make any claims without consequence. Not so nameless and faceless people do it as well. Once the lies are out they are difficult to counter.
The fact is none of this helps our city or helps inform voters. It is a distraction from the issues that matter. Politics is no longer issue-based. It has been reduced to a sport of labeling, defaming, and canceling. We recently had one neighbor go after another using screenshots to try to get her fired from her job. Who have we become when we try to remove someone’s livelihood over a disagreement? Photoshop has made it nearly impossible to know what is real and what isn’t. Voters are going to have to stop getting their information from social media and start having conversations with the candidates if they want to actually know who they are voting for.
The free exchange of ideas has been traded for screenshots and the weaponizing of words that can be used tomorrow, next year, or fifteen years from now. It all has to stop on both sides so that we can get to the business of representing the people.
What are your views on Ward 9's role in the city?
Our ward is home to Precourt Park where the south-end soccer and baseball fields are located. It has trails that should be a main part of our ward and I hope will be once we implement some of the solutions I have laid out. We have disc golf, stores, restaurants and recreational fishing at Nutt’s Pond. We have an incredible community that cares about their city. Many parents and volunteers make sure children have the opportunity to play sports, participate in scouting, and many other activities.
I spent many hours alongside other parents and grandparents at the ball field with my boys coaching, being a team mom, working the concession stand, cleaning the fields, etc… Everyone chips in and everyone gives their time not just to their children, but to all the children.
When we have ever asked for help whether it was to clean a trail, or had a need for the PTA, or needed a hand with the theater program that we ran at Highland Goffe’s-Falls school, we were never short on help. People go above and beyond to help a neighbor here.
Ward 9 is all about community. That community produces strong citizens and families that continue to give back to our great city. I have great pride in our little corner of Manchester and love the people who live here who have become family to us.
What are your thoughts on the state of South Willow Street?
South Willow Street has been an issue for as long I as can remember. My parents first moved here in the early ’90s and it was difficult back then. When Walmart went in on Gold Street they should have changed S. Willow Street so that Gold Street was easily accessible when getting off the highway, but they didn’t. Because of this poor planning tractor-trailer trucks get lost in our neighborhoods all the time. President Road has seen significant damage to pavement because of this and it is a nuisance for the neighborhood. It has to be addressed.
For years they have been discussing the timing of the lights. I hope that this is finally coming to fruition. It would make a significant difference on S. Willow, especially over Christmas when the mall has so much traffic.
That being said, S. Willow Street is not the biggest concern for Ward 9 residents. Residents on Gold Street need the street to be a one-way heading down toward S. Willow. No gate, just a one-way. The street is far too narrow and the traffic is too heavy for this road. The intersection at Gold and S. Beech is incredibly dangerous. A young woman lost her life there not too long ago and there are accidents there all the time
The speeds that people travel on S. Beech, Calef, and Cilley are unacceptable. The neighbors have been asking for a stronger police presence. The hope is that it would aid in traffic control.
What are your views on the city's downtown, including the current/future development of South Elm Street?
This plan was interesting because I travel that area every morning and I don’t see an issue with it. Putting a roundabout in a heavy traffic area seems counterintuitive. There are several accidents at S. Beech and S. Willow, but that isn’t being addressed.
I support investing in our downtown. We have a beautiful riverfront that is largely ignored that could be the gem of the Queen City. What people don’t seem to understand is that this $25M grant to improve the downtown hinges on the implementation of the commuter rail. This stipulation is written right into the grant. The Queen City Bridge has been under construction for what seems like an eternity. Can you imagine the disruption to that end of the ward while a rail and station are constructed? As I stated, people that live in that area do not want a rail and many feel like the promise to improve the downtown was a distraction from the agreement to implement the rail.
While there are good things in the grant, it should be broken down and presented in a way that people who will be impacted by each step have the opportunity to understand the full impact, air their concerns, and make suggestions.
What is your vision for the city in 10 years from now?
The Queen City is at a crossroad. Where we will be in 10 years depends on the leadership and that is in fact up to the voters. If we continue down this same path then homelessness, addiction, trash on our roads and trails, graffiti on our businesses and bridges will continue, and disrespect for our city and our citizens will grow. We will see these issues escalate as they have in other cities. The premise that higher taxes create better services is not true. Higher taxes increase poverty and homelessness. We need to put our citizens first.
If the voters choose fiscal conservatives that are willing to keep taxes low, which keeps rents low, reduces homelessness, allows people who love their homes to stay in them, then I think we start to see the city take a turn for the better.
If we support school board candidates that put children and families first, believe in the foundations of education, choice in schools by offering more opportunities around the trades, arts, and classical education, and respect the parents’ voice in education we will be one of the strongest districts in the state.
Manchester is filled with great potential. Her people are her strongest asset. Together we can forge a Manchester that we are all proud to call home and a city that our children will want to raise their own children in. It is within reach. It is achievable and we take the first step on March 15th.
I ask for your vote so that we can begin to move the Queen City into her brightest days.
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