Gov. John Lynch loves to have metrics, measurements and plenty of data to pore over before making big decisions.
That’s how he would like the residents of New Hampshire to judge him after eight long, action-packed years in office.
“I think we should all be measured in terms of results, not style,” Lynch said on New Hampshire Public Radio. “If you look at the results the last eight years, they are really quite significant.”
People looking for a few of Lynch’s accomplishments during the last year may have a hard time coming up with a list.
Even Lynch has a hard time.
When asked to list his two biggest accomplishments, the Hopkinton Democrat offered an answer heavy on tone and light on specifics.
“I’ve been able to bring people together to solve problems and I’ve been accessible, tried to always be available to the people of New Hampshire,” he said.
By most measures, however, Lynch’s biggest political victory came in June 2007 when he completed a two-year campaign to raise the mandatory age for students to stay in school from 16 to 18.
“It was clear to me as soon as I came into office that letting kids drop out at 16 was subjecting them to an uncertain, if not tragic, future,” Lynch said.
“Employers won’t hire anyone for a real skilled job without at least a high school diploma, and today, even the military refuses to take them.”
The former business consultant kept hearing from major employers that the one big barrier to bursting economic growth was the lack of a skilled workforce.
Keeping kids in high school would not only improve their chances, but increase the likelihood they would identify a trade or college course to pursue, Lynch said.
“For our state to compete and our children to succeed, more of them must graduate from high school,” Lynch said in his state of the state address on Jan.![]()
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