Born and raised in Manchester’s south end, Mayor Joyce Craig is a former alderman and school board member, a businesswoman, a mom of three Manchester public school students and graduates, and now is the first woman to serve as Mayor of Manchester. Joyce hit the ground running as Mayor and, in less than two years, has strengthened our schools, brought hundreds of new jobs to Manchester, and made progress combating the opioid epidemic.
FIGHTING FOR STUDENTS
- Joyce’s 2019 budget proposed an additional $4.3 million for Manchester schools, the largest increase in Manchester school funding in fourteen years
- As a result of Joyce working with the NH College and University Council, the Manchester School District was awarded the competitive GEAR UP grant, providing more than $10.5 million to the district over the next seven years.
- Joyce is working with Manchester Proud, a community group of local business leaders and stakeholders, to develop the district’s first strategic plan and oversaw the development of Velcro University at West High and the Eversource Academy at Central High—partnerships with the business community to teach skills students will need after graduation and provide local job opportunities.
GROWING OUR ECONOMY
- Joyce worked with the state to develop a comprehensive proposal that resulted in BAE Systems coming to Manchester, along with up to 800 new, high-paying jobs.
- Joyce has worked with state legislators and business leaders as a strong advocate for the expansion of commuter rail to Manchester.
- Under Joyce’s leadership, businesses and developers are investing in Manchester, bringing good-paying jobs to the city. With the renovation of spaces downtown and across the city, Manchester is seeing additional living and mixed-use retail spaces in previously empty buildings.
- Made smarter decisions that reflect our priorities to protect your hard-earned tax dollars, and respect the tax cap
- By working with the Manchester Development Corporation and Palace Theatre, the Rex Theatre, a historic and formerly dilapidated building in downtown Manchester, is being transformed into a 300-seat entertainment venue.
- Manchester is seeing the first new development in the Millyard in decades with the building of the Tru by Hilton Hotel and SNHU parking garage.
- In 2019 alone, the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport will experience an 80,000-seat increase in departing flights.
COMBATING THE OPIOID CRISIS
- Joyce has led efforts to make the Safe Station treatment process more effective. While it previously took someone 2-3 weeks to get into treatment, it now takes 2-3 days.
- There has been a 19% decrease in opioid overdoses in Manchester since Joyce took office—the first time we’ve seen a decrease in overdoses since the crisis began.
MAKING CITY HALL ACCESSIBLE
- Hosted more than 25 community meetings across Manchester.
- Increased diversity on local boards and commissions to empower Queen City residents.