State House Dome: Dems for gov get early start ($$$)

Jul. 8—MEMO TO GOV. Chris Sununu:

If you are likely not to seek an unprecedented fifth two-year term as governor, you would do your Republican allies a favor by making that known in short order.

That's because the two highly competitive Democrats hoping to be the next chief executive — Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of Concord — are showing formidable fundraising ability.

Together, they have raised more than $700,000 and had more than $520,000 in the bank by mid-June.

This should not be a surprise to seasoned political observers.

Craig set records running for three terms as mayor of the state's largest city, often raising more than $300,000 for her reelection efforts. Warmington blew away her competition in both major political parties in part by building massive war chests that opponents could not overcome.

Craig so far has raised nearly $362,000 and spent less than $30,000 of it.

Her list of donors includes some of the Democratic Party elite: ex-Gov. John Lynch ($10,000); retired Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick ($1,000); Senate Dean Lou D'Allesandro of Manchester ($10,000); ex-State Sen. Martha Fuller Clark of Portsmouth ($15,000); Southern New Hampshire University president Paul LeBlanc of Manchester ($15,000); ex-state Sen. and Manchester mayoral candidate Kevin Cavanaugh ($10,000) and Stonyfield Yogurt Co-Founder Gary Hirshberg ($10,000).

Organized labor has given Craig an early thumbs up with big checks from the Mass.-Northern new England Labor District Council of Hopkinton, Mass. ($30,000); New Hampshire AFL-CIO ($10,000); the Painters and Allied Trades District Council ($10,000) and the Plumbers and Steamfitters ($10,000).

Craig's fund-gathering extends beyond the Granite State's borders, with contributions from Charles Baker of the Boston-based Dewey Square Group ($2,500); Fort Lauderdale, Florida developer Peter Flotz ($3,500) and Menlo Park, California philanthropist Tom Kemp ($1,000).

Warmington already has raised $353,000, with most of that coming in before she confirmed last month that she was running for governor. She currently has $284,000.

Warmington, a former partner with the law firm of Shaheen and Gordon, has been financially backed by many of her past colleagues: Michael Noonan ($7,500); the firm itself ($15,000) and Cathy Green ($1,500). Other contributors include Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer ($1,000); Lee software engineer Dean Rubie ($5,000); Robert Hering-Smyth of Peterborough ($3,000) and Joanne Fenton of Keene ($4,000).

Some Democrats will hedge their bets by giving to both candidates.

Anne Segal of Hanover gave $5,000 apiece to Craig and Warmington.

The Atlantic Bridge and Engineering firm of Hopkinton wrote $5,000 checks to each as well.

Signs are that once Sununu makes up his mind, the three GOP hopefuls most likely to try to replace him will be able to catch up.

In 2016, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., spent a record $100 million on that race.

Former Senate President Chuck Morse raised nearly $2 million before narrowly losing his GOP Senate primary last year to Stratham conservative Don Bolduc.

Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, meanwhile, is the darling of the culture conservatives, a likely source for campaign cash.

Sununu said last week that he has spoken to First Lady Valerie and his three children about his political future and expects to make an announcement "shortly."

On his terms

One thing is for certain — Sununu wants to keep New Hampshire's two-year term for governors.

While some who have held this office left expressing support for the state to join 48 others with a four-year term, Sununu is not one of them.

"It's a great system, hard for the governor, but good for the state of New Hampshire. If I am not doing my job, then the people get to say, 'Thanks for trying, it didn't work out, you are fired,'" Sununu said.

Vermont is the only other state that makes the governor run for office every other year they are in office.

"It's part of what makes us unique, and it makes our governors accountable," Sununu said.

Sweet on Sununu

Sununu said he wasn't aware until told by a reporter that leaders of the No Labels Movement and the Wall Street Journal had identified him as a natural to run for president as an alternative to those who want someone other than President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

"On the other hand, one of the No Labels candidates is Chris Sununu, the very popular New Hampshire Republican governor. I mean, it's not all clear to me that this is definitely a gain for Trump and it could be the reverse," said Ryan Clancy, No Label's chief political strategist.

The other figure with bipartisan appeal identified in this piece was U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.

"If it is Joe Manchin for example, leading the No Labels ticket, then you maybe could see many Democrats crossing over and voting for him and that being a boost to Donald Trump," said Kyle Peterson of the WSJ's "Potomac Watch" podcast.

Sununu, who said he likes No Labels, was flattered but not interested.

"I still got my day job to do."

Ethics panel says no

The Legislative Ethics Commission issued its first advisory opinion of 2023 after Rep. Jordan Ulery, R-Hudson, asked whether lawmakers could seek money from lobbyists to pay for them to attend events like meetings of the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.

Ulery set up a blind trust so the donors don't know the legislator benefitting from a donation.

"All we are looking to do is be able to ask others to make a contribution to the scholarship fund, not to individual legislators," Ulery said.

The ethics panel unanimously decided this solicitation would violate the state's ban on gifts to legislators.

Commission Chairman and former state Rep./Sen. Ned Gordon, R-Bristol, said the panel issued a similar ruling in 2012.

"We are concerned that direct solicitation and receipt by legislators of cash contributions for the proposed event, from any source, would violate the prohibition," Gordon wrote.

This allows lobbyists to donate to charitable organizations that sponsor a specific event, such the annual legislative golf tournament or the Rock 'n' Race celebration, which takes place in the capital city's downtown every spring, he said.

Start of the slow season

With sessions over, House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, reminded all that July and August are the quietest months of the year.

"As the summer break nears, in keeping with past practice to reduce travel costs, there will be no legislative activity or mileage reimbursement in July or August, unless special circumstances arise and pre-authorization is granted, or if you are a member of a statutory committee that is required to meet during that period," Packard said.

No committee meetings are scheduled for next week, and only two commissions meet, one dealing with the opioid abatement treatment fund and the other on post-traumatic stress disorder among first responders.

This was the first week of no House or Senate calendar. They will publish bi-weekly during the summer.

Strafford County papers

State Rep. Aidan Ankarberg has made a right-to-know law request to Strafford County officials for all documents on the investigation of County Sheriff Mark Brave for financial irregularities.

Brave has said the decision of Attorney General John Formella's office to answer the call of Strafford County Attorney Tom Verlardi and open a probe of Brave's conduct is politically motivated.

Ankarberg is seeking all communication to and from Verlardi's office about the probe, as well as information about the county's hiring of Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI) of Plymouth to do an independent investigation of Brave's office.

Community college aid

Officials with the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) on Wednesday will spell out a new form of "gap funding" for eligible in-state students starting this fall.

Mark Rubinstein, CCSNH chancellor, and Anthony Poore with the NH Center for Justice and Equity will provide details on the need-based financial assistance at "The Pit" on the Manchester Community College campus starting at 1 p.m.

Election denier to speak here

Ivan Raiklin, a Trump supporter who helped challenge the 2020 election results in court, comes to New Hampshire with a provocative new speech topic, "Exposing NH's Deep State."

The retired Green Beret, constitutional lawyer and self-described "Deep State marauder" will be at Fulchino's Vineyard in Hollis for his talk on July 17 at 6 p.m.

Raiklin attended former Trump's opening of his Manchester campaign headquarters late last month.

GOP fundraising pays off

When he took over the Republican State Committee, one of Chairman Chris Ager's top goals was to broaden the party's fundraising base to match the Democratic Party's cash machine.

Ager has not been shy. He often is seen taking down the names of sponsors of candidate or special interest group events so he can get on the phone and hit them up for a donation.

It's paying off.

Through early June, Ager's state GOP PAC had raised nearly $440,000 and had more than $275,000 in the bank.

Rival Chairman Ray Buckley's team still did better, with $1.1 million coming in and $405,000 left over.

But Ager has secured some big donors, both in and out of state.

The homegrown donor base includes Exeter developer Eric Chinberg and Anchor Management executive Alexander Choquette ($25,000 apiece); A.J. Letizio Sales and Marketing of Windham ($10,000); the Fleury Group, owners of The Goat restaurant in Portsmouth, ($25,000); and John Motta of Nashua, who owns 30 Dunkin' franchises in southern New Hampshire and the Virginia Beach, Virginia, areas, ($25,000).

NH GOP's big out-of-state contributions include South Carolina insurance giant American Pastime Sports Marketing ($10,000); the Starpoint Resort Group of Las Vegas, Nevada ($10,000); and Phillips and Jordan of Knoxville, Tennessee ($10,000).

Recent donors to the NHDP include the liberal Minnesota DFL Party ($100,000); Atherton, California, philanthropist and environmental activist Mark Heising ($12,000); the Teamsters ($5,000) and the Willow Creek Action firm of Washington ($2,980).

Covering all bases

Eversource's political action committee touched them all.

The electric utility PAC gave a check to 23 of the state's 24 senators over the past six months.

The exception was Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro. The NH Senate Republicans PAC that Bradley controls received $500 from the PAC.

All but two of the senators received $250. The leaders, Majority Leader Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, and Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy of Manchester each got $500.

Rosenwald gets a jacket

When Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua gets behind a cause on the Senate Finance Committee, most colleagues choose to get on board rather than get run over.

This was the case in the spring, when Rosenwald concluded that anyone with a snowmobile should be able to register it online just like a car or a truck.

Rosenwald said many snowmobilers come up to enjoy the woods on vacation or while visiting someone else and can be miffed to learn they've got to go get their New Hampshire papers in person to ride here.

The New Hampshire Snowmobile Association took notice.

When the NHSA hosted a meet-and-greet outside the State House late last month, leaders presented Rosenwald with one of the organization's signature black jackets.

HVAC in the LOB

The Legislative Office Building is the most densely populated during legislative sessions, with more than 20 committee rooms filled with legislators, lobbyists and citizens attending public hearings.

The pandemic prompted the Legislature to hire an engineering firm to evaluate the HVAC systems. That study found "multiple deficiencies" with the air flow handling.

As a stopgap measure, lawmakers installed room-sized air-exchange units.

"It is not sustainable long-term; instead, complete replacement of the LOB air handling system is necessary," said the Department of Administrative Services.

General Court Chief Operating Officer Terry Pfaff convinced the Executive Council to use $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act grants to get the job started.

"It's going to take more, probably in the $8 million range, to finish this job," Pfaff said.

With lawmakers sent home, work begins in earnest on the southern side of the first floor of the State House to install new flooring and furniture.

The same work on the north side, including the State House pressroom, commenced last summer.

Still a pile of bills

Even after the session unofficially ends, legislative drafting details need to be worked out that can take weeks to complete.

Assistant Secretary of State Paula Penney said about 60 bills passed by lawmakers are still in process, getting enrolled and receiving the required signatures of legislative leaders before they get to the governor's desk.

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