THE STRATEGY BEHIND of seeking division — unrecorded — votes on the floor of the New Hampshire House of Representatives is a long and well-practiced one.
Apparently, some Democrats aren’t happy with questions about the choice by House Democratic leaders last week to repeatedly seek division votes in the course of losing by a single vote three times in 30 minutes.
Division votes, like short speeches, are for winners.
When you have the votes, shut up and let the other side endlessly debate a bill.
When you have the votes, seek a division vote because that gives your supporters cover. They can vote for your bill and not have to publicly defend it.
House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm, D-Manchester, said it doesn’t always work that way.
“Often it’s because we think we will get more support from the other side” if we seek a division, Wilhelm said Friday.
“It does make a difference. Sometimes we see subsequent division votes on the same issue and there are changes going that way. We saw that a couple of weeks ago. I am not going to go into any of our floor strategy.”
Fair and reasoned enough, but boy, did some Democrats get prickly heat when we raised the matter on social media.
“The House has done division votes and voice votes every single damn session day you’ve ever reported on,” said Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth. “And now all of a sudden they’re a Dem plot against transparency. Evidently, reps aren’t the only folks in Concord in need of a vacation.”
Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, said the division votes made sense.
“If there were roll calls, those bills would have lost by a greater margin,” she tweeted.
House Majority Floor Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, pounced on that one.
“I don’t know about Rosemarie and her caucus, but I vote the same regardless of a vote being voice, division, or roll call, and know the Republican caucus is the same,” Sweeney said. ‘”Is she aware or part of a group of Dems who switch their votes if they are recorded?”
Rep. Peter Schmidt, D-Dover, said seeking a roll call would have had merit on the bill to carve Strafford County into three separate districts (HB 75).
“We gave all the Republicans a pass on that one. Any of them across the state can say, ‘Oh, that bad bill, I didn’t vote for that, the rest of them did that,’” said Schmidt, an 11-term incumbent.
Still on his mind
Gov. Chris Sununu has taken himself out of the 2024 running for president, but it’s still on his mind.
On Wednesday, he introduced GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley at a Manchester house party to benefit the state party and said he was not endorsing anyone "yet."
Fox News reported that after saying nice things about Sununu, Haley quipped, “I don’t want you to overstress...I think what’s best is go ahead and endorse me now.”
Red Book is out
Movie buffs will remember the memorable scene from “The Jerk” when Steve Martin’s title character, Navin Johnson, declaring with glee, “The new phone book’s here…I’m somebody now!”
That’s how insiders like yours truly feel now that New Hampshire’s Red Book is here, the biennial bible that is a treasure trove of vital statistics on elections, state agency executives and the thousands of volunteers who serve on state boards and commissions.
Thanks to Secretary of State David Scanlan’s crack IT team, an online version of the Red Book is updated every two weeks as state agency officials and board members come and go.
But Luddites long for the June day every odd year that the hardcover version comes out. This one is a 777-page classic.
This 67th edition opens with a tribute to former Secretary Bill Gardner, who retired Jan. 10, 2022, after a record 50 consecutive years of service.
It then offers a fond farewell to Gardner’s irreplaceable staffer, Karen Ladd, who retired last December after 49½ years on the job, 30 of them spent working on the Red Book.
There’s also an update about the Democratic National Committee’s bid to take away the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary.
“Both New Hampshire and Iowa take great pride in their traditional early presidential nominating events and it should surprise no one that both states will position themselves to protect their early roles even if it means sanctions from the DNC,” said a commentary no doubt penned by Scanlan.
The opening section includes an essay from the late Leon “Andy” Anderson’s own book “To This Day,” which describes life in the Legislature in 1871, the last time the body was so closely divided.
At the time, Democrats had a 165-164 advantage in the House, and the Senate was 5-5 with two vacancies.
Finally, there’s a salute to all legislators who served more than 15 or more terms since the state constitution was adopted in 1784.
Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord, has joined two others in second place, with 22 terms. Manchester Democrat Dan Healy served 26 terms before deciding 52 years was enough.
Other incumbents with more than 35 years of tenure include: Reps. David Cote, D-Nashua (41 years); Phyllis Katsiakores, R-Derry, Janet Wall, D-Durham, and John Hunt, R-Rindge (37 years); and Sharon Nordgren, D-Hanover, and Ken Weyler, R-Kingston (35 years).
House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, is right behind them. Next year will mark his 34th in the House.
Bugged by bail reform
Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, wasn’t the only one unhappy that the 2023 session will come to a close without bail reform.
During his regular Q&A after last week’s Executive Council meeting, Sununu went ballistic on the topic, at one point calling out New Hampshire Public Radio and “other media outlets” for printing the ACLU-NH line that the existing bail system works just fine.
“It’s clearly broken, all you have to do is talk to the police, talk to the prosecutors. We knew it was broken months after I signed that bill in 2019,” Sununu said.
“Many in the media simply pass on what the Civil Liberties Union says about bail, ‘Oh, the law works fine, nothing to see here,’ and it doesn’t take any investigative reporting to confirm that’s just flat-out wrong.”
A rare second-timer
Being one of three members of the Public Utilities Commission is a difficult, stressful job that often produces burnout.
So Sununu’s nomination of Carleton Simpson of Hampton to a second six-year term was rare.
Simpson faced a no-drama public hearing before the council last week.
He’s the first PUC commissioner whom Sununu has sought to give a second, straight term and the first PUC member offered this opportunity since 2007.
State Rep. Michael Harrington, R-Strafford, served twice on the PUC but not in consecutive terms.
Medical pot for sale
The Department of Health and Human Services last week announced the seven Alternative Treatment Centers that dispense medical marijuana to eligible patients will be able to sell to qualified out-of-staters and Canadian citizens who are visiting here.
Visitors can purchase it up to three times a year as long as they have photo identification and a card from their home state or Canada that confirms a medical condition qualifying them for cannabis.
They can only buy two ounces of marijuana at a time over a single 10-day period.
Everyone loves a parade
For weeks it appeared residents would get a holiday respite from the parade of presidential candidates to New Hampshire.
Think again.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was the drum major, confirming first that he’ll make his second trip to the state on July 4-5 with plans to hit at least one of the three marquee parades in Wolfeboro, Amherst and Merrimack.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, chimed in on Friday that he’ll be marching in Merrimack on Tuesday.
Not to be outdone, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Never Back Down” Super PAC revealed Friday their candidate will take part in the Wolfeboro festivities.
Biden petition in works
State Rep. Keith Ammon, R-New Boston, has an idea for putting Biden’s reelection effort on the defensive here.
He’s working on a petition for all GOP White House hopefuls to sign that would call on Biden to put his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot.
“We’ve got a president who actually plans now not to run here? All those running on our side should be banging that drum every time they are here,” Ammon said.
Unforgettable ... Concord?
Today is national “I Forgot Day,” and the Legal Sports Betting folks in Massachusetts decided to handicap the most forgettable state capitals.
You won’t see this on the Concord Chamber of Commerce website, but New Hampshire’s capital barely escaped the basement.
Jefferson City, Missouri had the lowest recognition of any capital in the country, with only 61.5% of participants able to name it, most of them probably sixth-graders.
Concord was the runner-up with 62.1%.
Loyal Granite Staters will not be pleased to learn Boston was the fourth-most memorable state capital (85.2%), behind only Honolulu, Hawaii (85.6%), Sacramento, California (85.8%) and Austin, Texas (86.3%).
Montpelier, Vermont, didn’t beat Concord by much, coming in as the sixth-least known (66.3%).
More while the glass is half-full: Concord also was not one of the eight state capitals that most people get wrong.
Tops was Albany, New York, as many people assume New York City is the capital of the Empire State.
Push for female judge
Now that former Attorney General Michael Delaney has withdrawn his name, many are urging Biden to name the first woman from New Hampshire to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
“In 2023, that seems inexcusable and would be easy to rectify. The list of highly qualified women lawyers in New Hampshire is long,” said David Vicinanzo of Nixon and Peabody, a former federal prosecutor.
As we first reported, U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty is among those likely in the running if Biden goes this route.
Law360 reported this week that she is not alone. Others in the mix are New Hampshire Legal Assistance Executive Director Sarah Mattson Dustin and Pamela Phelan, the former litigation director of the Disability Rights Center and the senior staff attorney for the New Hampshire Public Defenders.
Albert “Buzz” Scherr, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law professor, is promoting Dustin for the post.
Singing senator rocks
State Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, had many toes tapping at last week’s Executive Council meeting, where he serenaded the room with renditions of “Tennessee Whiskey” and “This Land is Your Land” while Council Executive Assistant Meagan Rose provided harmony vocals.
Plenty in the till
We know our state-run liquor monopoly is a national trendsetter, but we’re not the “booziest” state, according to Quote Wizard. We rank 14th, while Vermont leads the nation.
The Green Mountain State took the crown, with 8.6% of its population identified as “heavy drinkers,” behind only Georgia (8.7%). It also had the 6th-highest DUI rank. (New Hampshire was 19th).
New Hampshire still led where it counts (read $$$).
Because more than 50% of shoppers at New Hampshire state liquor stores come from over the border, the 2.5 gallons per capita sold in New Hampshire each year has no peer.
