CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A Massachusetts mayor and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu now say they’re willing to work together to fight the region’s drug crisis after trading a series of criticisms about each other’s actions.
Sununu, a Republican, sparked the short feud Wednesday night by saying Lawrence, Massachusetts, was the main source of drugs flowing into New Hampshire and pledging to “get tough” on dealers across state lines. Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, a Democrat, called the comments disappointing and accused Sununu of pointing fingers instead of finding solutions.
Following a phone conversation Thursday afternoon, both men said they’d like to work together to combat the heroin and drug trade.
“The mayor and his local law enforcement personnel have been doing a good job on this issue, but we must recognize this is a cross-border problem that requires cross-border solutions,” Sununu said in a statement.
Rivera agreed the two could work together, even inviting Sununu to visit Lawrence. But he maintained his criticism that Sununu’s tone and initial comments were counterproductive.
“I encouraged him to review the tape of his comments and to see how it came off,” Rivera said in a statement. “It appeared that he was sending a warning that he was coming for Lawrence.”
Sununu isn’t the first New England governor to accuse Lawrence, a city of many immigrants, of fueling the region’s drug crisis. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, last year said black and Hispanic drug dealers from Lawrence and Lowell were trafficking drugs into his state. New Hampshire Attorney General Joe Foster, a Democrat, said Thursday that most of the fentanyl and heroin entering the state is indeed from Lawrence.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said Thursday that the opioid epidemic is a regional and national problem and it would be wrong to single out any community or state.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to be pointing fingers. I think we should work on this stuff together,” Baker said.
Rivera didn’t dispute the city has a drug problem and said 23 new police officers will be added over the next three years. But he suggested New Hampshire could be doing more to help struggling addicts and said Sununu lacks the facts to back up his claims.
In a Wednesday radio interview, Sununu also targeted a policy that makes Lawrence similar to a sanctuary city. The city’s policy, passed in 2015, says local law enforcement shouldn’t ask about immigration status if a major crime hasn’t been committed. Sununu said judges are letting drug-dealing immigrants out on bail who are in the country illegally, allowing them to change their names and keep dealing. His office didn’t provide a source of those claims
Since passing what it calls the “trust act,” Rivera said, the city has reported five immigrants in the country illegally who committed crimes.
“I don’t think he understands what he’s talking about,” Rivera said. “It’s not like we’re harboring criminals.”
Rivera suggested building more long-term treatment beds in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to help struggling addicts.
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Associated Press writer Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this report.
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