Joyce Craig’s tenure as Manchester mayor remains a central focus of the race for governor as the Democratic nominee drew on her experience in executive office while her Republican opponent, Kelly Ayotte, continued to attack her leadership record during their first debate Wednesday morning.

Four more debates are scheduled before Election Day on Nov. 5.

Craig, the Democratic nominee who served as mayor from 2018 until January, said she addressed statewide issues at the local level. She argued that state leaders aren’t listening to localities about their problems.

“Too many families and communities are being left behind. I am the only candidate that has the executive experience, that understands what’s happening at the local level, and who has a track record of getting things done,” Craig said.

“She failed that city,” Ayotte said.

Ayotte, the Republican nominee, a former U.S. senator and New Hampshire attorney general, warned that Craig will make New Hampshire like Massachusetts and, in contrast, pledged to keep the state on its current path spearheaded by Gov. Chris Sununu, which she called “tremendous.”

“The Sununu path is working,” Ayotte said. “It’s working for businesses, it’s working for individuals, it’s working for the people of this state.”

As each candidate presented their approach to issues like education and housing, they also went on the attack. Each claimed the other can’t be trusted.

Both have taken the pledge to not implement a sales or income tax, and Craig said she’ll accomplish her agenda without one. Ayotte accused Craig of proposing tax increases as mayor.

“Mark my words, if Joyce Craig makes it to that corner office in Concord, then we can kiss the New Hampshire advantage goodbye,” Ayotte said.

Ayotte said she wouldn’t sign any abortion law that’d restrict access more than it currently stands in New Hampshire – abortions are legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and the law makes exceptions for fatal fetal diagnoses and the life of the pregnant person.

Craig said the former senator can’t be trusted on this issue and claims she voted in Congress for a national abortion ban. Ayotte’s website says that vote was for a restriction on abortions after five months of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest and life-threatening emergencies.

“You cannot trust what Kelly was saying,” Craig said of Ayotte’s promise not to infringe on reproductive freedom. “She is saying anything to be elected.”

Libertarian candidate Stephen Villee, a software developer who lives in Dover, repeatedly said he believes the government shouldn’t play a role in many of the topics of debate. Laws should be determined by the people, he said, not the governor. Should the legislature approve bills to address various issues without any tax increases, he’d sign it into law. Villee is a secessionist and advocated for advancing New Hampshire as a Libertarian state.

The state budget faces a tough year ahead as Covid relief funding and other resources dwindle. To balance the budget, Ayotte said it’s “really important that we live within our means.” She wants to protect the most vulnerable people as a baseline and cut funds allocated to areas that don’t need them, but she didn’t specify what those are. Ayotte said Craig proposed tax increases in Manchester.

“We can’t afford that at the state level if you want to protect the New Hampshire advantage,” Ayotte said.

Craig argued that she’s the only candidate who has experience proposing a budget. Some areas, like education, don’t get enough state funding, which she said puts an outsized burden on local property taxes.

“Senator Ayotte doesn’t understand what’s happening within the state and within our local communities,” Craig said. “The state of New Hampshire is downshifting millions of dollars onto our local community.”

With a spike in median home prices and significantly increased rent prices statewide, Craig and Ayotte both said they’ll work to boost New Hampshire’s housing supply.

Ayotte said she’d “overhaul” excessive requirements for approval from various state agencies that are necessary to build, review state-owned properties that could go to municipalities for housing, and work on sewer, water and road infrastructure.

Craig also emphasized infrastructure improvements and said she’d look to help localities amend zoning ordinances. She attacked Ayotte for her position on the board of Blackstone, a private equity firm that critics say exploits tenants and wreaks havoc on local communities, according to reporting by the New Hampshire Union Leader. Ayotte is paid $150,000 yearly to serve on the board and owns upward of $2 million in stock from the company.

Blackstone only owns three properties in the Granite State, so Ayotte argues the firm isn’t big enough to move the needle on the state’s housing or rental markets.

“She always attacks the private sector,” Ayotte said. “We need the private sector at the table.”

The state’s share of public education funding is a hotly contested topic in the legislature – 25 education- and school-related bills are already on track to be introduced at the next session – and the governor’s race is no different.

Ayotte, whose husband is a math teacher, said kids have fallen behind in subjects like math, science and reading, and even though the state continues to spend more and more on education, it’s not working – New Hampshire needs to up its standards and support teachers.

She also advocates for Education Freedom Accounts, the state-funded vouchers that give financial support to families who choose to homeschool or put their kids in private school.

“For some children, the public schools aren’t working, and the Education Freedom Accounts allow parents to put their child in the best venue for their child to succeed,” Ayotte said.

Craig, who served on Manchester’s school board before running for mayor, said the state isn’t spending enough.

“It is not right that today it depends on where a family lives for the quality of education that they receive,” Craig said. Public schools are largely funded by local property taxes.

She blames learning lags and other struggles on a lack of state support, and she vowed, as she has before, to request Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut’s resignation on day one. Edelblut has been a driving force behind instituting and expanding Education Freedom Accounts. Craig has said public tax money should instead go to public schools.

An audience member asked toward the end about the “litmus test” candidates use to determine what are state responsibilities versus local control.

Ayotte said there needs to be a balance between the two, and while the state plays a role, it’s important to preserve local decision-making. Balancing the state budget will also help return local tax dollars to communities and, hopefully, taxpayers, she said.

Craig said the two need to work together, especially on statewide issues like education, housing and substance abuse.

“I can tell you that a town or a city will never be able to solve these challenges on its own,” Craig said.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.