State House Dome: Nonpartisan group wants to de-polarize the pols

Apr. 26—A NONPARTISAN GROUP that wants to end polarization in politics had its kickoff sessions online this past week.

New Hampshire Together is a project of The People, a nonprofit launched in 2019 that brought two people from each state to Washington to work on bipartisan solutions.

"We are leaving it up to the citizens to chart the course," said Executive Director Kate Fahey, when asked what topics this campaign would tackle.

"In early conversations we saw a big range, concerns about money in politics, how New Hampshire elections should work, the initiative process, redistricting, to name a few. I am excited to see if this bubbles to the top."

The group collaborates with New Hampshire Listens and the Sunshine Initiative.

"As hosts of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary and home to one of the largest representative legislatures in the English-speaking world, New Hampshire proudly boasts one of the most politically engaged and informed electorates in the country," said Gov. Chris Sununu, who embraced the effort.

"New Hampshire Together seeks to continue that tradition by offering Granite Staters another opportunity to join together to focus on a future rooted in solutions — not partisan divides."

Fahey said the campaign will succeed only if it attracts the broadest cross-section of individuals and organizations, which would enable it to avoid being viewed as leaning in any political or ideological direction.

Online sessions, which began Tuesday and Thursday, will continue through May and June.

In-person events are scheduled for Portsmouth, Colebrook, Laconia, Concord and at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

"New Hampshire Together offers Granite Staters a way to identify issues of widespread concern and to prioritize specific topics for deliberation and action," said Project Manager Martha Madsen of Hopkinton.

Building shutdown on track

A big change to the State House complex gets started in July 2025 when the Legislative Office Building will be shut down for the $6 million replacement of its HVAC system.

This past week the Joint Legislative Facilities Committee gave the general go-ahead for the project.

The work, which is being done with American Rescue Plan Act grants, is on the clock because all that money must be spent by June 2026.

Chief Operating Officer Terry Pfaff said the timeline and precise details are contingent on a bid process that is now underway.

Pfaff said the building will become a "construction zone for a period of time."

This means all legislative staff and committee hearing rooms will be moved to locations yet to be determined. One possible option could be the Granite Place building in Concord where the Department of Justice is housed.

The Executive Council just approved spending $21 million in ARPA money to buy that building from former GOP state Chairman Steve Duprey.

"Please be patient as we work through the details of a very complex project that ultimately will result in a better work environment for all," said an email sent to legislative staff about the plan.

Stone flap expands

The Biden-Harris campaign jumped on the Claremont City Council decision to remove state Rep. Jonathan Stone, R-Claremont, from local panels after the release of 18-year-old police personnel records.

"Stone is alleged to have threatened to kill law enforcement in a shooting spree, and to commit rape and murder, all while having inappropriate relations with a minor — now the only thing Granite Staters are left wondering is: What's it going to take for Donald Trump to stop backing Jon Stone?" said Biden-Harris for New Hampshire spokesperson Marisa Nahem.

House Democrats have pushed for Stone to be taken off the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, but the response from GOP leaders has been crickets. Stone's work on behalf of Trump campaigns goes back to 2016.

The state Democratic Party issued its first digital ad against GOP candidate for governor Kelly Ayotte, which highlights Stone's endorsement of her candidacy.

Craig lands converts

Democratic candidate for governor Joyce Craig persuaded two activists to drop their support for primary rival Cinde Warmington of Concord and get behind her candidacy.

"Our next governor needs to have the executive experience to lead our state, and as a three-term mayor of New Hampshire's largest city, Joyce has that experience," said former Rep. Tim Egan of Sugar Hill, a leader in the pro-cannabis legalization movement.

This past week, first-term Rep. Linda Haskins of Exeter wrote a blunt op-ed for Seacoast Online detailing her reasons for jumping off the Warmington ship.

After retiring as a school counselor, Haskins said she worked to help families dealing with addiction because she lost a nephew to an overdose and a sister to alcoholism.

"When it came to my attention that Warmington has been a lobbyist for Purdue Pharma, I was shocked," Haskins said.

"In a conversation we had about this, I came away incredulous that there could be any rationalization for this choice."

Gun plans a lot alike

Both Democratic candidates for governor have signed onto significant gun control proposals, earning each the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction this past week.

The gun violence protection plan released by Craig looks a lot like the one Warmington unveiled a month ago.

They each call for assault weapon bans, universal background checks, waiting periods, a return of permits to carry a concealed gun, gun-free school zones, red flag laws, and bans on high-capacity magazines and ghost guns, along with stronger gun storage regulations.

Craig said she also would make state grants available to police departments and school districts with gun violence protection strategies and close what she called a hate-crime loophole by expanding laws that prevent access to guns by those convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes.

Not playing nice

In advance of last weekend's Republican State Committee meeting, Chairman Chris Ager and National Committee members Bill O'Brien and Juliana Bergeron issued a call for primary candidates to refrain from negative attacks.

"Let's lead by example, showing that politics can be about the issues that matter and not about tearing down one another," O'Brien said.

"In doing so, we honor President Reagan's legacy and build a stronger foundation for our party and our country."

The message seemed targeted at former Senate President Chuck Morse, who in recent weeks has stepped up his issue attacks on former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, the race's current front-runner.

Morse was not deterred.

"We can't trust someone that ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010 as a conservative and then voted with the Democrats 265 times," Morse began in his GOP address.

"We can't trust someone who joined with all of the Democrats to give amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

"We can't trust someone who voted against school choice for low-income families."

Morse's hope for an upset rests on turning this race into an issue-based food fight.

"Kelly is focused on keeping New Hampshire safe, prosperous, and free and ensuring that the Democrats don't turn our great state into Massachusetts," said Ayotte campaign spokesman John Corbett. "As for Joyce Craig, Cinde Warmington, and Chuck Morse, it's clear that Kelly Ayotte is beating them, and they don't like it!"

Morse Campaign Manager Maya Harvey said it's Ayotte who can't stand the heat.

"Facts are facts, and talking about someone's record is only an attack if they are embarrassed by it," she added.

Stephen endorsement

Former Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen of Manchester got some big-name Republicans to get behind his GOP bid for the Executive Council.

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne of Auburn heads the list, along with House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee Chairman and former GOP Chairman Wayne MacDonald of Londonderry; House budget writer Jess Edwards of Auburn; Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin and ex-Rep. Pam Coughlin of Amherst; former car dealer and big GOP fundraiser Andy Crews of Bedford; Manchester Alderman Chris Morgan; Reps. Larry Gagne of Manchester and Tom Mannion of Pelham, and ex-Rep. and former GOP Vice Chairman J.P. Marzullo of Deering.

Possible retirement boost

The good news for unions representing public safety employees is that Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, has not rejected a financial boost for Group 2 employees, who had their pensions cut in 2011.

The bad news is he hasn't embraced one, either.

It's clear the Senate will not sign onto a Group 2 pension package that cleared the House of Representatives (HB 1647) because the price tag is too big.

This past week, Bradley authorized the preparation of two less expensive amendments to review.

Cold shoulder for border bills

House Democrats got two bills passed that would provide more oversight on the work of the Northern Border Alliance, which beefs up the presence of law enforcement along the border with Canada.

The first bill (HB 1054) calls for any unspent money in the program's budget to go back to the state treasury every June 30; currently any leftover money carries over from year to year.

The House passed that one on a 188-180 vote.

The second (HB 1528) called for a semiannual report on the group's financial activity. That won House approval by a voice vote.

Along party lines, Senate budget writers recommended the full Senate kill both bills.

Visitor stumps for Biden

U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware, hosted an event on reproductive rights for President Joe Biden's campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday. Rochester is seeking to become the first person of color elected to the U.S. Senate from that state.

Earlier in the week, state Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, held a news conference on Biden's and former President Donald Trump's records on education, which included NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle, AFT President Deb Howes and educators Liz O'Neil and Tara Haarlander.

Dem joins Senate race

Rusty Talbot, 46, of Sugar Hill, announced his Democratic bid for the State Senate District 1 seat currently occupied by Littleton Republican Carrie Gendreau.

Talbot, who is president of the Franconia Notch Regional Chamber of Commerce, founded the North Country Climbing Center, and his parents were active in public service.

Party officials view this race as one of their best shots for flipping a seat from red to blue this fall.

Gendreau hasn't announced whether she will seek a second term.

Some Republicans have been trying to recruit Coos County Sheriff Brian Valerino to run.

Pushback on Guard bill

The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance led a group of conservative activists condemning the state Senate for failing to pass Defend the Guard legislation (HB 229) that proposed to block New Hampshire guardsmen from being deployed to combat in undeclared wars.

Co-signers included leaders in the House Freedom Caucus, RebuildNH and the Citizens Alliance of New Hampshire.

We'll see whether this issue prompts any primary challenges for incumbents in either party this June.

Kevin Landrigan is State House Bureau Chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Contact him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.