Let’s first give a hat tip to Kevin Landrigan for recognizing Victoria Sullivan’s senatorial accomplishments as a freshman, which was what inspired this article. While I certainly want to make clear that I do NOT fancy myself in the same league as Kevin Landrigan nor do I see my Spotlight of Positivity citation as having the same prestige as the Nobel Prize or the Person of the Year, I will give readers some backdrop.
I started that title with Rep Shane Sirois and waited many months to submit a “Part Deux” on EC secretary Meagan Rose because this particular citation is all mine and I get to call the shots. One of those shots is that I will not be yoked in the manner that an artist is to a record deal. There is no guarantee of consistency because I want the Spotlight of Positivity to be heartfelt and off-the-cuff rather than a routine selection, like Employee of the Month. With all that said, let’s talk about Senator Victoria Sullivan, the “Granite State Edward Durr.”
My perspective of Victoria is one of a lifelong private citizen and non-constituent, so I would therefore call it ORGANIC at the potential objection of chemistry professors. I met Victoria and her kids in Steve Negron’s office 5 years ago while folding literature for mailers, and learned that she was once a rep. A while later and during a pre-primary event, catered by then-candidate Jose Cambrils, Victoria appeared wearing a Victorian(no pun intended) era sash that said “votes for women” as it was the centennial anniversary of female suffrage. Victoria ran for mayor twice and alderman once, upon the untimely death of Barbara Shaw. I even lied to Joyce Craig on 10/8/21, saying “I’m voting for Victoria Sullivan” during a surprise encounter at the corner of Granite and Commercial while participating in a Tim Scott event demonstration near the DoubleTree Hotel, although I was not registered to vote in Manchester.
Although Victoria lost three local elections in a row, I was thrilled to see her unseat the Queen Bee of the enemy camp, Donna Soucy, so much so that I wrote an article about that race and its results. Victoria did NOT disappoint, meaning that she did not run just to “flush out” a problem occupant of a seat, but to implement an agenda of reform and improving life in NH. You can see for yourself on her Senate home page in the list of bills she sponsored. I will add that, unlike Nashua, the mayor is more involved in the school board, and education has been a capstone of both her mayoral campaigns, thus possibly being part of her appointment to Senate Education vice chair.
I will pause to say that I don’t always blindly unconditionally agree with her on all things involving EFAs, but I will attest to her willingness to engage in discourse. Unlike many other senators, Victoria takes to tweeting and replies to ALL replies to her tweets, even the ones that are hostile and/or rude. I’ve observed her regularly “taking the high road” when people on both sides of the aisle have made snarky replies to her posts. That’s definitely a skill that I admire!
“Why should you, the reader, care about MY personal view of Victoria?”, you might ask. It’s a reasonable question and deserving of an answer. Yeah, I haven’t always agreed with her(unlimited EFAs and her vote on SB 84, for example), but she has always been accessible and available for discussion. Denise is the only senator who invited me to a (non-constituent)phone call to discuss something that I commented on more than Victoria. That was Denise’s two phone calls compared to Victoria’s one. I will add a sidenote that I’ve had multiple phone calls and in-person office talks with Kevin when he was my senator, but most senators won’t even give non-constituents the time of day, let alone reasonable attempts at contact from constituents.
In addition to Victoria’s productivity and accessibility, she has a record of community service and I want to wrap things up with promoting her fundraiser event at KC’s Rib Shack on July 28. Nurse Terese regularly says that she won’t ask people to do things that she won’t do herself. To that, I will admit that prior to Emily Phillips’ primarying Senator Gannon, I had never donated to a Senate campaign, not even Kevin’s. Please consider supporting Victoria, as it stands to reason that Donna Soucy will come back with a vengeance and perhaps all of Buckley’s support and resources at her disposal.
