Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch paper
Democracy for NH
Granite State Progress
Mike Caulfield
Miscellany Blue
Pickup Patriots
Re-BlueNH
Still No Going Back
Susan the Bruce
New Hampshire Labor News
Chaz Proulx: Right Wing Watch
Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
John Gregg
Landrigan
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
Campaigns, Et Alia.
NH-Gov
- Maggie Hassan
NH-01
- Andrew Hosmer
- Carol Shea-Porter
- Joanne Dowdell
NH-02
- Ann McLane Kuster
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
At least for the time being, I am a member of the NH House Petitions & Redress of Grievances Committee. We have at least four new petitions coming up. Petition #14 is rather annoying. I don't want to cast aspersions on the petitioner, who may have a good case for all I know. But there are two aspects of the petition which exemplify the madness of the O'Brien House.
(Very Important Stuff... Please turn out and let Zandra know. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
As referenced in a diary last week, the House Redistricting Committee - or at least the Chair of such, due to public pressure - has released a list of upcoming public hearings to solicit feedback on the redistricting process. (Don't bother looking for a plan to comment on, because there isn't one.)
All meetings start at 7:00 p.m. I'm posting the full list here along with the chair or vice chair who will be running it. If you can make it, please let us know. We'd love to send you information on back channels to assist with good questions to ask and points to make in your respective area(s).
Thursday, October 13th at 7:00 p.m. Carroll County - Mountain View Community Nursing Home, Ossipee (Rep. Mirski) Hillsborough County - Nashua Public Library, Theatre Room, Nashua (Rep. Bates)
Tuesday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. Belknap County - Belknap Mill, 25 Beacon Street East, Laconia (Rep. Mirski) Cheshire County - Keene Public Library Auditorium, Keene (Rep. Bates)
Thursday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. Grafton County - UNH Cooperative Extension, 3855 Dartmouth College Highway, N. Haverhill (Rep. Mirski) Rockingham County - Hilton Auditorium, Rockingham County Nursing Home, Brentwood (Rep. Bates)
Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. Coos County - Lancaster Town Hall, Lancaster (Rep. Mirski) Strafford County - Strafford County Superior Court, Court Room 1, Dover (Rep. Bates)
Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. Sullivan County - Probate Court, 3rd floor, Sullivan County Administrative Building, Newport (Rep. Mirski) Merrimack County - Merrimack County Administration Building, Basement Conference Room, Concord (Rep. Bates)
Additionally, if you have points or questions to consider (keeping in mind that this is a public forum), post them here or email them to us on the link provided above and we'll help re-circulate. Thanks, all.
These poor House Republican leaders just can't seem to get it right.
Last week, the Chair of the Special Committee on Redistricting, Rep. Paul Mirski (R- Enfield), took heat during a committee hearing for the obvious lack of transparency and public input in the redistricting process this year. The criticism so bothered Rep. Mirski that, even though he had recused himself from the committee at that particular point to introduce and lobby for a bill he was introducing, he retook his seat specifically to negate the charges.
Disagreeing with the criticism levied by America Votes NH, Chair Mirski told committee members that the public did not need to be involved in the redistricting process because:
"It's a very complicated problem and quite frankly because it is a mathematical problem it doesn't lend itself to the sort of give and take with the public that may have been the case in the previous redistricting ... We have been holding off on this because we really have no way to utilize the public forum to get those answers. I just want to make that point." - Rep. Mirski, Redistricting Committee, 9.20.11
Never mind that public input sessions are a common and expected practice of past redistricting committees.
Just over a week later, though, Rep. Mirski is changing his tune and has announced a press conference for this coming Tuesday morning to release details on a series of 10 public hearings across the state related to redistricting. (Perhaps our poking around State House archives and the several inquiries to committee members past and present to determine the public input process and timeline for past redistricting committees caught his attention?)
Voters turned out in large numbers on Tuesday to return Peter Leishman to the New Hampshire house of representatives. Two things are clear. Voters remember how hard he worked when he represented them in the past, paying attention to their specific local needs and voting in the best interests of his constituents without regard to party orthodoxy. And they were influenced by substantive and respectful discourse, rejecting factually inaccurate and ad hominem distortions. My faith in the thoughtfulness and decency of New Hampshire voters is re-enforced. Congratulations to Representative Leishman and to the voters of Hillsborough 3. You all are winners.
Marjorie Smith
Peter Leishman needs your help in the fight for rational government, and against the O'Brien slash-and-burn, let-them-eat-cake, job-killing, family-destroying, antisocial agenda. The GOP is pouring resources from who knows where into these races left and right in the attempt to install O'Brien puppets who will represent only O'Brien and not the constituents of the districts they should be representing.
Put simply, for the sake of New Hampshire, we cannot afford to lose this special election on September 20 to another O'Brien clone.
Please take a look at the campaign website, http://peterleishman.org, and especially consider taking action on the Volunteer page, the Donate page or both.
If you'd like to cut to the chase with a donation, please feel free to be transported directly to ActBlue at this time.
Many thanks on behalf of Friends of Peter Leishman.
On September 20, voters in Hillsborough District 3 will head to the polls for a special election to fill the state House seat vacated by Republican incumbent Robert Huxley. Huxley resigned in April for personal reasons after failing to attend a single committee meeting or cast a single House vote.
Candidates
Democrat Peter R. Leishman, Peterborough, has served as a state Representative on and off since 1996 but lost the seat in 2010. He is the owner of the Milford-Bennington Railroad.
Republican David L. Simpson, Peterborough, is a retired insurance agent and fundraiser for non-profit organizations. Simpson is a pro-life Republican who supports "second amendment rights; parental rights, especially concerning education; and right to work."
District Make-up
Hillsborough District 3 covers four towns: Peterborough, New Ipswich, Sharon and Greenville. Registered Republicans have a slight edge over registered Democrats in the district, but over 42% of the voters are undeclared.
The district is leans Democratic. John Kerry narrowly won the district in 2004. President Obama carried the district by a 55% - 45% margin. Based on voting in presidential elections, Hillsborough District 3 has a Partisan Voting Index of D+2.
Voting Details
If you are a United States citizen and will be 18 years of age or older on election day, you may register with your town or city clerk up to 10 days before any election. You may also register to vote on election day at the polling place. There is no minimum residency requirement. You may register and vote as soon as you move into your community.
Absentee ballots are available from your town or city clerk 30 days before an election. Request the absentee ballot application from the clerk or submit a request in writing that includes your name, voting address, mailing address and your signature.
Remember controversial Alaska Senate candidate and tea party darling Joe Miller? He's back... and attempting to influence the vote to override Gov. Lynch's veto of so-called right-to-work legislation.
In March, Miller took over as chairman of the Western Representation PAC, a Nevada-based political action committee with strong ties to the tea party movement. Miller says the PAC, which spent over $230,000 in independent expenditures for 2010, is seeking to expand its influence.
Despite being formed fairly recently, the PAC was able to gain strong support and make an important impact during the 2010 election cycle. We plan to build on that great start and bring the voice of ‘We the People’ to bear even more as we move towards 2012.
Western PAC has now set its sights on the Granite State. Today, they offered a preview of a radio ad set to air in "targeted districts" with the goal of pressuring New Hampshire legislators to override Gov. Lynch's right-to-work veto.
The ad falsely describes the right-to-work bill as "legislation that would make it illegal to force workers to join a union as a condition of employment" and pretends to be local saying "the time has come for us in the Granite State" to enact right-to-work.
Speaker Bill O'Brien claims the GOP's 2012-2013 state budget will "help our economy grow and create jobs." Not so, says Michael Leachman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Leachman explains why the budget, which relies on substantial cuts to services, "will slow the economic recovery and undermine efforts to create jobs."
Cutting state services not only hurts vulnerable residents but also slows the economy’s recovery by reducing overall economic activity. When states cut spending, they lay off employees, cancel contracts with vendors, reduce payments to businesses and nonprofits that provide services, and cut benefit payments to individuals. All of these steps remove demand from the economy.
Moreover, many of the services that states are cutting are important to states’ long-term economic strength. For instance, research shows that in order to prosper, businesses need a well-educated, healthy workforce. Many of the budget cuts described here will weaken that workforce by diminishing the quality of elementary and high schools, making college less affordable, and reducing residents’ access to health care. That, in turn, could slow the state’s economic growth over the long term.
On July 5, 2011, a primary election to select the Democratic and Republican nominees for the Rockingham County District 14 State House seat will be held. The winners will meet in a special election on September 6, 2011 to fill the seat vacated by Republican Gary Wheaton, who resigned following his arrest in April on charges of driving after his license had been suspended for a reckless driving conviction.
Candidates
The Democratic primary pits former State Rep. Mark Preston, a Seabrook police sergeant who served two terms as a state representative from 2006 to 2010, against 2010 Democratic candidate Ryan Mahoney from South Hampton. Mahoney graduated from UNH in 2003 and has worked in the private sector and in electoral politics.
Five candidates are vying for the Republican nomination. In a strange twist, Gary Wheaton is running for the seat he held before resigning two months ago.
NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien and his leadership team have bullied, bribed, slandered and hidden their way thru the legislative session thus far. So it should not be surprising that they added to that last count today by holding committees of conference without the required 24-hour public notice.
House Rule 43 and RSA 91:A both call for such. But the leadership of the NH House and Senate moved forward today despite little to no public notice about legislative meetings that will ultimately shape the future of our state. A meeting about one bill this afternoon still did not have an official posting by the time the committee had wrapped up business for the day.
Committees of conference, of course, are seen by many as inside baseball. But for consumer advocacy groups and any Granite Stater seeking to be involved in setting (and protecting) strong public policy, they are a critical piece of the legislative process.
THE committee of conference - the one to hash out HB 1 and HB 2, New Hampshire's state budget - was among those that convened today even though notification was only given mere hours before it began.
Rep. Ken Weyler opened the hearing with a little speech that nicely summed up the lack of notice:
"We all had many hours of public testimony. We heard many of the travails of the public. We don't need to hear them again."
Weyler also gave direction that the common practice of standing against the wall when seats are all filled would not be allowed, and took a pre-emptive blow against any activity from the crowd:
"Our chief of security is going to make sure we don't have any disturbances and any, anything that's going to interrupt. We also appreciate the state troopers for being here to keep order because we don't have the time for any disturbances or any demonstrations."
Weyler, of course, is the same legislator who presided over a cowboy amendment to the budget bill earlier this spring that would have made workers at-will employees at the close of their contract. When hundreds turned out for the committee vote, Weyler and House Leadership refused to move to a larger room and instead forced people to line the halls and staircases in crowded masses.
It's hard to decide whether its shame or uncaring that most drives Speaker O'Brien and his extreme leadership team to avoid public transparency.
From moving the original House vote on the budget in hopes of circumventing the 5,000 strong public rally to ignoring their own House rules, this session has been an incredible display of secret meetings, misguided policy priorities and questionable ethics.
Ironically, just a day earlier thousands of petitions were delivered to the Speaker's office, calling on him to give at least 48 hours advance notice before the House veto vote on the right to work for less bill. If O'Brien can't manage 24 hours public notice, 48 must seem like an eternity to him. All the same, the petition can be found here.
Granite State Progress got word early in the day that something was amiss and began to print periodic, time-stamped listings from the General Court website as well as actual photos of the "official" board of announcements in the Clerk's office concerning the committees of conference. More information can be found in our press statement, located here.
House lawmakers passed SB 88 by a 248-111 margin. The bill eliminates the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed weapon, allows gun owners to brandish their weapon, and permits use of deadly force without retreat.
SB 129, a bill requiring voters to present photo identification to vote in person, passed the House by a veto-proof 259-116 vote.
The House thumbed its nose at the Senate and passed SB 154, the comprehensive shoreline protection act with an amendment to withdraw from RGGI tacked on, 248-109. The bill now goes to a joint Committee of Conference.
Meanwhile, the Senate voted 19-5 to approve a two-year budget that spends $71 million more than the House plan, but nearly $250 million less than Gov. Lynch proposed. Republicans rejected amendments that would have added funds for hospital charity care, state colleges and universities, child health care, elderly housing services and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. House and Senate negotiators must now work out a compromise plan.
There was some good news. Once again, Speaker O'Brien was unable to round up the super-majority he needs to override Gov. Lynch's Right-to-Work veto.
Zandra reports House Deputy Majority Leader Matt Quandt (Exeter) and House Whip Tim Copeland (Stratham) have resigned their GOP house leadership posts. Both men have been outspoken in their opposition to the so-called right-to-work legislation promoted by Speaker O'Brien. Both sharply criticized O'Brien on their way out.
“Our family is made of staunch Republicans,” Matt Quandt said. “We are not here to blindly follow a leader who is rejecting those values to please a group of transplants who have no understanding of New Hampshire tradition.”
“I’m a retired state worker and know first-hand what these attacks on workers will mean to middle class families in New Hampshire,” Rep. Tim Copeland said. “I cannot sit by and participate in a leadership team that is bent on destroying the strong labor force and good benefits that we have in our state. I cannot condone the incredible disrespect that Bill O’Brien has shown to other members of our caucus who are trying to represent their constituents.”
Tomorrow, the House is expected to vote on a piece of legislation that could completely change the outcome of the 2012 election.
Here on BH we're all pretty familiar with the voter ID bill that O'Brien has made one of his top priorities to pass, but a lot of Granite Staters don't know the full impact or cost of this bill. We need to reach the Republicans who might not just vote on party lines before tomorrow's vote.
Democracy for America members will deliver a petition with comments on the photo ID bill to the Representatives who we can likely still persuade. Can you add your name today?
This week, I'll be taking a look at the three upcoming special elections for state representatives. Not only are these elections an opportunity to pick up three additional House seats, but a win in each district will be seen as a repudiation of Speaker O'Brien and the Tea Party/Free State GOP.
The first special election will be August 9, 2011 for Strafford District 3. The is the seat previously held by the infamous Republican Martin Harty, who resigned after publicly expressing support for eugenics. Four Democrats are vying for the seat and will face a primary election on June 7, 2011. The winner will face a Republican who moved to the New Hampshire with the Free State Project.
Candidates
Bob Perry, Strafford, will be familiar to many here as a two-term former state rep. As a member of the House Election Law Committee, he co-authored a bill to facilitate the design of a secure electronic ballot-counting device. He also co-sponsored a bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Lynch last year, that established a legal preference for New Hampshire vendors in the awarding of state service contracts.
Others on the Democratic primary ballot are Dennis Malloy (Barrington), Janet M. Kalar (Middleton) and Richard Stanley, Farmington.
Reeling from his devastating and public setback in a House Special Election last week and his inability to find enough votes to support his extreme anti-worker agenda this week, NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien may be relying on another tactic: secrecy.
The House calendar released yesterday has a curious listing for a committee meeting on Thursday. The Redress of Grievances - a favored committee of Speaker O'Brien and one chaired by his most ardent supporters - scheduled a work session for "10:00 am Or fifteen minutes after the House session, should there be any." [Bold included in House calendar.]
Nowhere else in the House Calendar does it reference the possibility of a House Session on Thursday, though it does note that the last day for the House to act on Senate bills is Thursday, June 2nd. The phrase was not included in the Redress listings last week, so it is obvious it was not a simple error of reposting an old committee announcement.
This raises questions about whether Speaker Bill O'Brien is plotting for a surprise - and low turnout - House session on Thursday in an attempt to pass anti-worker legislation HB 474, the right to work for less bill.
Last week on the same day the NH House Republican Leadership was defending SB 129, a photo ID bill, a sign that required voters to show a photo ID 'per pending legislation' was placed at the entrance of a New Boston polling location.
That sign was quickly removed after a complaint was filed, but the questions it raised led a few of us to review our tapes of the House Finance Committee hearing on SB 129 from that day, and we were absolutely stunned by what we saw.
During the public hearing, Rep. Sharon Nordgren (D-Hanover) poses questions about the true intent of the legislation to supporters Representatives David Bates (R-Windham) and Shawn Jasper (R-Hudson). In her final question, Rep. Nordgren brings up the sign that has been placed at the polling location in New Boston - and Bates' reaction is incredible:
Bates, with a smirk and a deceptive raise of his eyebrows, turns to Jasper and whispers,"It's working."
Of course, Bates made this comment thinking no one would hear him -- and he's almost right since it's quite difficult to hear. But, unfortunately for him, we got it on tape. And so we ask: what's working?
Is it working when voters go home, thinking they couldn't vote? Or when an illegal sign is posted directing them to do so? Just what is "working" that got Rep. Bates so excited?
The House Finance Committee will vote on this legislation tomorrow. We should call them and remind them that it's not working when New Hampshire voters are turned away at the polls.
I don't know how many times I have heard Democrats criticized by Republican voters who claim that the Democratic member of Congress just could not have "read the bill" (usually the ACA). Well, it turns out that the NH House has members who apparently really don't read bills.
Let's set the scene:
Yesterday, the House Finance Committee voted to attach an amendment to a bill that would, in their words, eliminate NH's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The move was designed to give the House leverage in negotiations to repeal the program with the Senate. House leadership has made no secret that repeal of RGGI is an ideological crusade for them this legislative session.
Vote totals and referendum talk aside, another question of interest for tomorrow's special election for State Representative is whether or not the son of the Speaker of the House will vote in it.
Brendan O'Brien is a college senior at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and chair of the Maine College Republicans. Last year, Brendan was also a State Representative candidate for Maine House District 73 - just months before he voted in the New Hampshire General Election.
According to the New Hampshire voter file, Brendan O'Brien voted in the New Hampshire Primary and General Election in 2008 from a home address in Mont Vernon, NH. He voted in the Maine General Election in 2009 from his college address in Lewiston, ME. In 2010 he secured a nomination as a State Representative primary candidate in Maine, then withdrew his name shortly after to allow the Republican Party to replace him with a more senior Republican. (Maine has a straw poll system that allows the Party to place a name on the ballot then replace it at a later date.)
Brendan went on to vote in New Hampshire's General Election in 2010 - in his father's district.
Now before the trolls go wild, I'll be quick to note that Brendan has every right to vote in Maine or New Hampshire or anywhere else he is living at the time. There does seem to be a significant question around whether he should have submitted his name for office - and the Maine State Constitution states a candidate must be resident of the state for 1 year - but we'll leave that to Maine pols to discuss.
But curiosity remains - will he vote in the New Hampshire special election this week, in the district he grew up in? Based on his voting history, it seems young O'Brien goes wherever he thinks he will have the most impact. I heard James Pindell was on the news this morning saying that if the vote is even close it'll be a blow to O'Brien; Fergus Cullen just posted on Red Hampshire that we need to "keep special elections in perspective."
Given this hype, will all of the O'Briens be making their way home to vote?
