On the trail: He took his time, but Volinsky eventually feels the Bern

By PAUL STEINHAUSER
For the Monitor
Published: 12/26/2019 4:29:47 PM

Excerpt:

Executive councilor Andru Volinsky was a top Granite State supporter, surrogate, state legal counsel, and presidential convention delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders in his 2016 White House campaign. But the Democrat from Concord, well-known attorney, and 2020 gubernatorial candidate had remained neutral in the wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination – until now. The Monitor on Thursday learned that Volinsky – after taking a hard look at some of the Democratic White House hopefuls – will once again back the independent senator from Vermont in New Hampshire’s presidential primary.

“The reason I delayed in making an endorsement is I think we in New Hampshire have an awesome opportunity and an awesome responsibility to work carefully with presidential candidates in the first-in-the-nation primary. And to be honest, I kicked the tires with a number of campaigns in the state. There are a number that are very, very good,” Volinsky explained in an interview.

But he emphasized that “on the policy issues that I care most about – income inequality, climate change, health care, education – I just think that the Sanders campaign has had a consistent position and is advancing that position in a very thoughtful and careful way in this campaign and so although I spent time with a number of the other campaigns, I kept coming back to Sanders and I think that’s where I belong and I am pleased and privileged to endorse Sanders for president.”

In a statement obtained by the Monitor, which will be released on Friday – Volinsky said that voters “deserve a president who will put working families first. We need a president who will stand with the people as we face the major issues of our time, from confronting climate change with the Green New Deal to making sure no family is left behind by leading on Medicare for All.”

And pointing to Sanders’ push for a “political revolution,” Volinsky stressed that “I believe this election requires a movement; a powerful culmination of honest conversations between people that unite our shared values in the face of overwhelming division stoked by Donald Trump, Chris Sununu, and their acolytes.”

Volinsky plans to officially back Sanders when he teams up with the senator at a town hall in Lebanon at 1 p.m. on Friday.

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Andru-Volinsky-remains-committed-to-Bernie-Sanders-On-the-Trail-by-Paul-Steinhauser-31550961