Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte sometimes describes the time she spent leading the New Hampshire Department of Justice as serving as “the people’s lawyer.” But from the moment she launched her run for governor this year, Ayotte tended to highlight one specific aspect of that work.
“Make no mistake: I’m a former murder prosecutor,” Ayotte emphasized during a September debate on WMUR.
Ayotte has built a long resume since her days as a self-described “murder prosecutor”: six years as a U.S. senator; a stint helping advance the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court; tenure on several high-profile, high-paying corporate boards. But it’s her time as a top lawyer in the state Department of Justice, including five years as attorney general, that has perhaps most shaped her reputation in Concord.
Today, as Ayotte prepares to move into the governor’s office, it’s clear that experience will inform her early approach to getting things done in the State House.
A ‘nuts-and-bolts’ approach
Ayotte filled many roles at the state Department of Justice, but she built a good bit of her public image by winning guilty verdicts in high-profile homicide cases.
Back in 2002, as an assistant attorney general, Ayotte prosecuted the teenage killers of two Dartmouth professors. Five years later, as attorney general, Ayotte pursued two death penalty cases at once, and took the relatively rare step to personally lead the prosecution of one of them: against the man who murdered Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs.
It's not unusual for an attorney general — whether in New Hampshire or elsewhere — to cultivate strong relationships with police. But longtime members of law enforcement in New Hampshire say Ayotte’s emphasis on public safety — and her solicitousness to police rank and file — were clear from the start.
David Goldstein, who recently retired as Franklin Police Chief, worked closely with Ayotte during his time on the State Police Major Crimes Unit. He said Ayotte took a distinctly hands-on approach to the job.
“I remember one case she worked when she was right out there in the muck and the mire with us,” Goldstein said. "And in court, when she was a prosecutor and would ask us to testify, she knew her business.”
Lawmakers who intersected with Ayotte when she was attorney general also attest to her attention to detail and her zeal in pursuing her department's prerogatives.
“She was very forceful for the Department of Justice, and she was definitely a nuts-and-bolts person,” said Rep. Peter Leishman of Peterborough, a Democrat who sits on the House Finance Committee.
How nuts and bolts Ayotte chooses to be when it comes to fighting for policies as governor remains to be seen. It can take any new governor time to get their footing. But during the eight years Gov. Chris Sununu has been in the corner office, lawmakers like Leishman have become acclimated to a chief executive who generally engages them — and most policymaking — at arm’s length.
“No disrespect to Chris Sununu, but he’s flying at 20,000 feet, " Leishman said. “So whether she’s flying at 20,000 feet as governor, as most do, or does she fly as the Kelly Ayotte that I know, that was getting down in the weeds to support the Department of Justice?”
Public safety as governing strategy
The state budget Ayotte presents in February — and how hard she chooses to fight for it — will be an early test of her approach to her new job. But there are already reasons to expect Ayotte’s focus on law and order to remain intact.
She’s already named Hillsborough County Sheriff Christopher Connelly, a career law enforcement officer, as her chief of staff — a role typically filled by political insiders. Her first policy move as governor-elect was the appointment of a “Public Safety Task Force,” which Ayotte characterized as meeting a critical need.
“Keeping New Hampshire moving in the right direction starts with ensuring we remain the safest state in the nation,” Ayotte said in announcing the group.
When Ayotte was asked by WMUR earlier this month to cite early priorities for her administration, she mentioned housing and the state budget. But she pivoted quickly to specific issues tied to law enforcement.
“We have real recruitment and retention issues around our first responders,” Ayotte said. “So we have to make sure we address that: make sure their retirement is competitive, make sure that the bail law is not a revolving door, and that we have the right penalties to keep the state safe.”
For Ayotte, public safety — and supporting those charged with securing it — has been good politics. As she heads to the corner office, it also appears to be a governing strategy.
