NH AG concludes investigation into 2021 Portsmouth election, warns former mayor Marchand

PORTSMOUTH — The New Hampshire attorney general’s office concluded former Portsmouth mayor Steve Marchand was responsible for creating and distributing derogatory ads aimed at then-Mayor Rick Becksted and four former city councilors during the city's 2021 election cycle.

Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell tells Marchand in a letter dated Wednesday, Sept. 13, that the content of the printed ad, a double-sided handbill, “appeared to be largely drawn from Preserve-Portsmouth.com, a website for which you admitted you were responsible.”

The handbill specifically named Becksted and former city councilors Paige Trace, Petra Huda, Peter Whelan and Esther Kennedy — and referred them as “the Becksted 5,” O’Donnell said.

“You provided records and represented through your attorney that you prepared, printed, paid for and personally hand delivered 100 4x6 of the above described handbills,” O’Donnell said. “Based on the information in the complaint, our investigation and your representations, we conclude that you acted alone in the production and distribution of the handbills.”

The attorney general's office also concluded Marchand’s actions were a violation of a “mandatory disclosure requirement” under state law, because he failed to provide the required identification for who was responsible for the handbills, O’Donnell said.

The assistant attorney general referred to Supreme Court case McIntyre v. Ohio and the “narrow protection” it offers for the “anonymity of pollical speech when conducted by an individual.”

“This office will take no further action on this component of the complaint,” he said in reference to the complaint filed by Becksted, Whelan, Trace and Kennedy.

O’Donnell cautioned Marchand, a political consultant, stating “you are warned however that the coordination with candidate campaigns or other non-campaign individuals are factors among others that could bar you from being covered by the McIntyre exception.”

Marchand could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday evening. Marchand has ran unsuccessfully in the past for New Hampshire governor and U.S. Senate as a Democrat.

The attorney general's office in October 2022 issued a similar warning to Marchand, stating he was “responsible for the website” Preserve-Portsmouth.com.

It was created to try to tie the Becksted 5 to former President Donald Trump, the office said at the time.

Myles Matteson, deputy general counsel for the state attorney general, wrote in a letter to Marchand "the website content is the functional equivalent of express advocacy and it was therefore in violation of RSA 664:14 for failing to provide identification information.”

He added in the letter to Marchand, “You are hereby warned against any future violations.”

In a separate letter sent by O’Donnell to Becksted, Trace, Kennedy and Whelan on Wednesday, he references the complaint the attorney general's office received from them in December 2021.

In it, O’Donnell states, they alleged that “a series of calculated actions by individuals or entities with financial interests in Portsmouth were attempting to influence the election.”

The complaint also mentioned the anonymous creation of a becksted5 website and a series of anonymous robotexts, O’Donnell said.

Both the texts and the second website were sent or published after the city elections, he said.

“The beckstedfive.com website and the December texts do not fall within the definition of political advertising …because they are not advocating in support of or in opposition to candidates in the Portsmouth City Council race and were sent or published after the November election,” O’Donnell wrote.

He added in the letter that the attorney general's office “will take no further action on this matter.”

“Each facet of the multi-part complaint has now been addressed and the investigation is closed,” O’Donnell wrote.

Reached Wednesday evening, Whelan said he found it “hard to believe that Marchand was the only one involved.”

“He’s taking the fall for a bunch of people that were involved,” he said.

Asked about being targeted in 2021, Whelan said, “I just find it to be unbelievable. It’s hard to put in words.”

“I was on the council during COVID, which was an extremely hard time to be on the council,” Whelan said. “We accomplished a lot, we got a lot done. To have Steve Marchand and some other group try to torpeodo us by using a fake website and fake flyers, it’s believable.”

Whelan, Becksted and the three other former councilors are running for council again in 2023.

“I just want to make sure it’s an issues race,” Whelan added.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marchand gets warning from AG, 2021 Portsmouth election probe closed