MANCHESTER, N.H. – On the first day after New Hampshire voters went to the polls to choose their parties’ nominees for everything except President, the two major party nominees for the New Hampshire First Congressional District announced a set of endorsements from New Hampshire first responders.
Republican nominee Matt Mowers announced that he has received the endorsement of the Manchester Police Patrolman’s Association (MPPA) and Manchester Association of Police Supervisors (MAPS).
In a joint statement, MPPA President Derek Feather and MAPS President Joseph Lorenzo said that Mowers’ opponent, Democratic nominee Chris Pappas, changed after arriving in Washington. While Pappas earned the endorsement of both groups in 2018, they felt that Mowers defended their interests.
Mowers has been an outspoken advocate for police officers, calling for more funding to ensure that we have the resources needed to do our job and keep the community safe,” they said in the statement. “At a time when police officers are asked to do more with less, we need a strong, pro-law enforcement Congressman like Matt Mowers. We look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Matt in this election and when he serves New Hampshire in Congress. We are proud to support Matt Mowers for Congress.”
Mowers called New Hampshire law enforcement a model for the rest of the country, stating that New Hampshire police departments have already initiated many of the reforms discussed in Washington.
In regard to other police reform topics, Mowers agreed with Pappas in aiming to help police departments across the country to follow the Manchester Police Department in earning accreditation. However, he felt that ending qualified immunity, a portion of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that was supported by Pappas, would harm policing as a profession.
“The fact of the matter is that if you get rid of qualified immunity, like Chris Pappas voted to do, you’re not going to have law enforcement,” You’re going to have record resignations across the country among law enforcement and it will be that much harder to recruit people into law enforcement every single day.”
When asked about the recent arbitration ruling regarding fired Manchester Police Officer Aaron Brown, Mowers said that Brown has no business being in law enforcement and was confident that most rank-and-file patrolmen in Manchester agreed with that sentiment.
Pappas also earned a law enforcement endorsement of his own from Strafford County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant and Democratic Nominee for Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave.
“Chris has always supported our officers and first responders, and he’s backed up his commitment to us with action.,” said Brave. “He authored and passed legislation to help our departments fund critical training efforts, and is the only candidate in this race working to help to bridge the gap between our police departments and the communities they serve. We need leaders like Chris who will bring us together – not leaders who will divide us.”
Pappas also earned the endorsement of the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire on Wednesday as well.
“Chris’s commitment to public service has always been marked by his strong, pragmatic approach to solving the problems our communities face, and years of delivering for Granite Staters. Chris knows what it takes to build stronger communities and fight for working families,” said Bill McQuillen, President of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire. “Public safety professionals know what it takes to have the backs of New Hampshire’s families. We know that Chris Pappas has and will continue to have our back as our Congressman.”
