House Redistricting Committee: Public Hearing Schedule

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Wed Oct 05, 2011 at 15:00:58 PM EDT

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.

House Republican PR Alert: Redistricting

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Sep 30, 2011 at 17:59:00 PM EDT

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?)

(More below the fold)

Speaker William O'Brien Mainstreams Hatred

by: Caitlin Rollo

Fri Jul 22, 2011 at 15:04:08 PM EDT

For the third time since William O'Brien became Speaker of the NH House, another member of his caucus is making national news for an outrageous and downright hate-filled statement.  In fact, two of the House members highlighted below are part of his leadership team!  

This mainstreaming of hate began earlier when now former Rep. Martin Harty (R-Barrington) said

"funding for the mentally ill should be cut because he doesn't support state funding for "the crazy people" who should be sent to 'Siberia.'"

Even worse than what Rep. Harty said was Speaker O'Brien's response to the situation,

"I would certainly hope that in the future Rep. Harty will choose his comments more carefully, and I will talk with him about how he represents the House. While at age 92 and with the amount of time and effort he has given us all, he has earned the right to say what he thinks, he needs to appreciate that, as a representative, he will be held to a higher standard."

The quarterly Intelligence Report by theSouthern Poverty Law Center put this whole issue into perspective.  This is the organization that took down the Ku Klux Klan by getting financial judgments against them.

Outside Special Interest Group Wrote NH's Right to Work for Less Legislation, and Much, Much More

by: Caitlin Rollo

Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 13:11:56 PM EDT

The idea of outside special interests having a hand in writing some of New Hampshire laws is not a new one, especially after what has happened over the past seven months under the reign of Speaker Bill O'Brien (R-Mont Vernon).  We know for a fact that he panders to the needs of big corporations like ExxonMobil and Philip Morris - passing more than $80 million dollars of corporate tax giveaways in one day alone - all while he never listened to the call of NH's most vulnerable and their needs.

The Nation this week highlights an article series entitled ALEC Exposed which caught our attention.  While reading the segment of this series, ALEC Exposed: Rigging Elections, we held hope that New Hampshire would not be mentioned.  But we were.  In fact, we were sort of highlighted as a potential bright spot because, unlike the states of

"Wisconsin, Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee...Only a veto by Democratic Governor John Lynch prevented New Hampshire from enacting a law the Republican House Speaker (Bill O'Brien) admitted was advanced to make it harder for "liberal" students to cast ballots, and that one state representative described as "directly attributable to ALEC."

Two Videos of the NH Budget Process

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 17:24:06 PM EDT

And a true story about Speaker Bill O'Brien and his priorities that everyone should know:

Created by the Granite State Progress State House Monitoring Project

NH House Leadership Continues to Hide from Public: "We don't need to hear them again."

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Thu Jun 09, 2011 at 23:50:04 PM EDT

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.

New England Right To Work Committee: A Post Office Box and a Lobbyist

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Wed Jun 08, 2011 at 14:43:00 PM EDT

Ever seen the office or webpage for the New England Right To Work Committee, a front group for corporate special interests pushing anti-worker legislation in New Hampshire?

Neither had we. Until now.

Yes, that's right. It's a post office box. In Concord, actually. Is there an office? Not that we've been easily able to find. Or a website? Nil. According to the Secretary of State's lobbyist filings, the NE Right to Work for Less Committee is located at PO Box 4076 in Concord. It employs one lobbyist in the state.

Interestingly, the National Right to Work Committee had another active lobbyist in the state until June 1st, at which time paperwork was withdrawn from the SOS office. Perhaps they realized that New Hampshire is not a state that will give up its rights easily.

We'd share more, but there doesn't appear to be any since the committee is not registered as a non-profit in New Hampshire and as we know from an election complaint currently under investigation by the NH Attorney General's office, being transparent is not something they do well.

Is Speaker O'Brien Plotting a Surprise Veto Vote on Thursday?

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri May 27, 2011 at 11:49:20 AM EDT

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.

The Veto Vote That Wasn't

by: Caitlin Rollo

Thu May 26, 2011 at 18:05:53 PM EDT

Towards the end of the legislative session though, it became increasingly apparent that NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien did not have the votes to override the Governor's veto and he decided to postpone the vote rather than face the rejection of his extreme partisan agenda.

When it became obvious that the NH House would not be acting on HB 474, both pro-worker and open transparency advocates in the State House became agitated with Speaker O'Brien's inaction and his constant back peddling on this issue. In protest, Rep. Tony Soltani (R-Epsom) rose during the third reading - the formal act that generally concludes the legislative activities for the day - and  voiced his opposition of postponing the vote.

With a record high turnout of state legislators - and thus an extremely representative cross-section of public opinion - it was the perfect time to take the vote. But Speaker O'Brien would hear nothing of it - when Rep. Soltani began to voice his concerns, the Speaker tried to stifle him. When Soltani persisted, the Speaker ruled him out of order and directed the Sergeant-At-Arms to escort him back to his seat.

Rep. Bates on Voter Suppression: "It's Working"

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Mon May 23, 2011 at 17:15:31 PM EDT

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.

Will Brendan O'Brien Vote in Tomorrow's Special Election?

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Mon May 16, 2011 at 16:43:08 PM EDT

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?

Ethics Fail: NH Rep Chairs Hearing for Personal Friend

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Sun May 15, 2011 at 13:09:19 PM EDT

This is an incredible story, but not for the reasons you may be thinking. Because the real story here is not the committee or the hearing itself, but the man who chaired it.

Hours into the committee hearing, and after the receipt of a formal complaint, Chair Paul Ingbretson (R-Pike) finally saw fit to inform his committee that during the period that the petitioner, David Johnson (currently legally barred from having any contact with his daughter, custody of whom is at the heart of his petition) was allowed to have supervised visits with his daughter, the person that Mr. Johnson chose as the third person to be present at those visits -- four hours long, once every week, for a period of one year -- was ... Chairman Paul Ingbretson.

NH State Rep, Navy Officer Questions Death of Bin Laden

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Sun May 08, 2011 at 11:22:22 AM EDT

Blankenbeker responded that she was excited about the "possibility" that Bin Laden was dead.

Possibility?

Blankenbeker stated that she had received correspondence from her commanders about heightened security needs or support expectations during major initiatives in the past, including the disasters in New Orleans, Haiti and Japan. But since she, personally, has not received an email from her commanders about the death of Osama bin Laden, it gives her "pause".

The show aired the same day as top officials appeared on national Sunday political talk shows praising the work of the armed services and intelligence community and refuting any challenges.

Blankenbeker is a commander in the Navy Reserve who will deploy for her third tour of duty in July. She will be "boots on the ground" for 210 days in Afghanistan. Someone from her command post should probably brief her on reality before that time.

Speaker O'Brien's "Financial Limits" - and His Mercedes-Benz

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 14:57:19 PM EDT

For at least the second time this month, Speaker O'Brien himself has introduced an amendment to strip the language and intent of a bill in full and replace it with his own version of reality. The gas tax mayhem amendment was introduced during the public hearing on Tuesday morning and passed through executive session of the House Finance Committee just a few hours later. Again, no public hearing was held on this bill - only those who were there in the room would have even had a chance to respond to it, and they would have been there to testify on a completely different (and largely settled) issue altogether.

Less than twenty-four hours after Speaker O'Brien introduced this cowboy amendment, it passed the floor of the House. How's that for the open and transparent process in Concord.

But I digress, because the topic we really want to highlight is one statement in particular that Speaker O'Brien made when defending the legislation. When pressed that the bill will amount to little savings for individuals while producing a $7 million deficit to the highway fund (and boon to big oil companies), O'Brien said:

"Perhaps they (opponents to the bill) are not living up against financial limits the way some of us do."

Interesting, because according to Granite State Progress research, Speaker O'Brien isn't exactly hurting. In fact, last year he was able to afford an addition to his home, and his vehicle of choice for the daily commute to Concord? A Mercedes-Benz:

If Speaker O'Brien really knew anything about "financial limits" he would know that this reckless measure will cause more trouble for New Hampshire families, not less.

NH (Koch) Tea Party Fail

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Apr 15, 2011 at 19:32:38 PM EDT

The Koch brothers sponsored group and rally planners (funders) Americans for Prosperity sent this to my inbox this week:

Due to the increased interest from the media and the high volume of attendees expected, AFP-New Hampshire has set up an RSVP system to ensure an accurate crowd count can be determined ... This may be the largest Taxpayer Tea Party Rally in New Hampshire history. You don't want to miss it!

In the email and again during the rally today, the AFP staff asked people to send a text to the designated number for an "accurate count" to counter the low numbers they predicted to be reported by the "liberal media". It'll be interesting to see what numbers they decide to report, given the decidedly low energy and the even bigger contrast to that other large rally on the State House lawn a few weeks ago ... pictures anyone?

The "potentially largest Taxpayer Tea Party Rally in NH history", organized by Koch-funded AFP and featuring several GOP Presidential Candidates like TPaw, Santorum, etc.; est. crowd ~300:

Rally for New Hampshire, organized by a loose-knit coalition of organizations and individuals concerned about protecting essential services and workers rights; est. crowd ~5,000:

Lest the ground-shot vs aerial view gives too much credit in the first photo, pay particular attention to the statues. At the Rally for NH, it was midpoint. Today, the #teafail loosely spread to it as a perimeter.

Outside the State House lawn there was a counter-organizing effort by area students. Good story on that here.

Rep. Bass Telephone Town Hall Meeting

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Tue Mar 08, 2011 at 14:44:06 PM EST

WHO:   Rep. Charlie Bass (R, NH-02)    
WHAT:  Town Hall Meeting    
WHEN:  Wednesday, March 9th at 6:30 p.m.      
WHERE: Teleconference

Registration here. At first glance it appears you need to have a Facebook account, but it turns out you don't. CD1 friends can play along by posting your question suggestions in the comments ...

House Leadership Shuts the Door on Young Voters

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Thu Feb 24, 2011 at 17:43:51 PM EST

Apparently, ignore them and close the door on their active participation in our state:

Follow the live blog of HB 176.

Rep. Notter to Cancer Patients: Host a Bake Sale

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Feb 04, 2011 at 15:20:10 PM EST

During yesterday's hearing on HB 440 - which seeks to remove New Hampshire from the new health law and bar the NH Insurance Department from enforcing consumer protections - Representative Jeanine Notter of Merrimack told a member of the public that health reform is not needed because she is sure, just sure, that communities will rally around cancer patients and help them cover their costs.

Did you hear that, cancer patients? Representative Notter wants you to hold a bake sale while your fight for life. According to her, this is the American way. So don't worry about trying to get access to health insurance so you can pay your fair share and have real faith in your ability to provide care for you and your family, follow the lead of Girl Scouts and PTA functions. You should be able to raise enough for half a doctor's visit - no medical procedures - and you'll get a brownie to boot!

Have Courage - And Have It Year-Round

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Sat Jan 22, 2011 at 20:40:53 PM EST

"I was so excited when my husband proposed to me, but I was embarrassed to tell my gay and lesbian friends that I was going to get married - when I knew they couldn't."

"I knew I was gay in high school. My first thought was that I can't let anyone know. But after a while, you just need to tell someone, anyone."

These are words that were spoken at today's Granite State Camp Courage - Keene, which taught people how to use their own unique reasons for supporting marriage equality ("Story of Self") to win over hearts and minds and more.

Will marriage equality in New Hampshire be on the chopping block in the next month? Honestly, who knows. The NH House Majority Office said no during a damage control press conference last week (even though the bills are already filed), NOM said yes with immediate mailers targeting those leaders, and now that mailer has pushed the Majority Office to call for the bill to be retained in committee - a position they committed to providing testimony on.

What?!

But putting all of that aside - and that's not easy, I admit - the reality is that this issue is going to continue to come up until we reach a critical mass of supporters, and we have to be more vocal that equality isn't important only when it's under immediate attack.

A Different Kind of Symbolism: Hillary StPierre

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Thu Jan 20, 2011 at 10:35:53 AM EST

People like Hillary StPierre, who testified at the NH State House last week against HB 89. That's the bill which seeks to (unconstitutionally) direct the NH Attorney General to join a lawsuit with the ultimate goal of repealing the new health law.

Hillary is a symbol of just what this new law means for families, and why it needs to stay:

This is what is happening in America. After traveling to Concord in the bitter cold just days after a chemo session, and then waiting patiently for her turn to testify, Hillary's energy was spent. What was left was brutal honesty: speaking truth to power. It was about saying this isn't about politics, it's about people.

You can read the full testimony on Hillary's own corner of the web, Baldies Blog.
Encouraged: there is a comments section there, too.

P.S. A big thank-you to TimC who is collaborating with us on the State House Video Monitoring Project. We look forward to sharing more highlights throughout the session.