State House Dome: Redistricting gun goes off, and counties look at gaining, losing ground

Aug. 15—THE RELEASE OF U.S. Census data by counties last Thursday revealed how ticklish a job the House Special Committee on Redistricting will have redrawing election maps over the next several months.

So much of the politics has been focused — rightly so — on the redrawing of the state's two congressional districts.

State GOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek declared his hope that the Republican-led Legislature will use its majority to make it more difficult for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., to win re-election in the 1st Congressional District in 2022.

Gov. Chris Sununu has said he will veto any redistricting map that is obviously gerrymandered to put someone out of office.

Translation: GOP map-drawers need to make sure any changes to those districts make sense by the numbers, as well as show how towns that are moved in or out of a district belong in a "community of interest" with other towns in their new home.

The initial county-by-county figures demonstrate why some of the committee's work will not be about partisan politics, but plain political turf.

One of the committee's top-line assignments will be deciding how to apportion the 400 members in its own body, the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

The state Constitution requires all House members serve within their own county.

When we look at the population shifts of the past decade, it quickly becomes a very sticky question how many state reps each county should receive.

Based on the 2020 population, the average number of people per House member is 3,444, up from 3,292 in 2020.

How many representative each county gets is determined by a relatively simple formula, but even that won't be a layup.

—By simple math, Hillsborough (at least two), Rockingham and Strafford County (one apiece) along the Massachusetts and Maine borders look to be entitled to more reps than they have had over the past decade.

Hillsborough has 120 reps right now, and by the numbers it has every right to three more (122.8).

—Coos County to the north and Cheshire County to the south, along the Vermont border, appear close to losing one rep each. Coos has 10 now and under the formula deserves 9.1, and Cheshire, with 23 now, computes to 22.2.

Those numbers don't add up, with some counties gaining at least four or five reps, and two counties clearly losing a couple.

Where will the extra reps come from?

Our analysis reveals the panel may start with Grafton County, which has 27 reps and is entitled to 26.45 (ouch!).

Then there's Carroll County in the Lakes Region and Merrimack County, with Concord as its seat. Carroll has 15 reps vs. 14.54 under the formula, and Merrimack County has 45 reps now vs. the calculated 44.66.

You can bet reps from both parties in those counties will mount a unified push to maintain their strength of representation.

However, these population shifts will produce less fallout than a decade ago.

After the 2000 Census, eight counties gained or lost seats in the House with Coos County the biggest loser (three seats) and Carroll, Rockingham and Merrimack counties all picking up two.

Sununu reassures towns

Sununu said he will decide in the coming week whether to let towns apply for federal COVID-19 relief funds after Wednesday's deadline.

As we reported last week, many of the state's towns have yet to apply for $20 million worth of per capita dollars they're entitled to under the American Rescue Plan.

Sununu said Thursday the state has the authority to grant a blanket extension to that deadline or to grant more time on a case-by-case basis.

A week ago, the number of towns that hadn't signed up was nearly 75. It's now down to about 50.

"There are no plans to extend that deadline now. If we needed to, we could always do that," Sununu said

The governor understands why some towns with few staff are reluctant to apply, since they can be audited and forced to pay the money back if they don't spend it in compliance with the regulations.

"That is their choice. If the town chooses not to want the money, they don't have to take it. We aren't going to try and sneak it under their door," Sununu said.

Morse says he misspoke

Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley last week raged against Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, who said the state needs to be "very careful" about putting vaccines into "young people," defining them as "25 and under."

Morse made the comments on the NH Today radio show with Chris Ryan on WGIR-AM.

Buckley called on Sununu to condemn Morse.

"At a time when our vaccination rate is decreasing and COVID cases are rising because of the new delta variant, it is unacceptable that anyone — especially someone with the leadership role Morse has — would discourage Granite Staters from getting vaccinated," Buckley said.

Morse explained his slip of the tongue and, as someone who may run for governor in 2022, fired back.

"Apparently Ray Buckley doesn't get up as early as I do. I had already worked a four-hour shift at the nursery before going on the radio and I just misspoke. I meant to say children younger than 12," Morse said, adding he's been vaccinated.

"I hope everyone gets vaccinated, but if an adult doesn't want to get a vaccine, that is their choice. However, I don't agree with the Democrats' heavy-handed approach to vaccine mandates, vaccine passports and mask mandates."

In response, Sununu said in a statement he's been "crystal clear" on the topic of urging everyone 12 and older to get vaccinated.

Executive Council agenda

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, is hosting this Wednesday's council hearing, which she's arranged for the performing arts center at Salem High School.

The council's breakfast meeting will be at Tuscan Kitchen.

On Tuesday, the council's venue is the Division of Motor Vehicles' auditorium in Concord for public hearings on Sununu's two nominations for circuit court judgeships.

Up first is Christine Casa of Portsmouth, who has 23 years experience as a lawyer in the firm of Boynton Waldron Doleac Woodman & Scott, specializing in family law and practicing in state and federal courts in New Hampshire and Maine.

Then there's Kevin Rauseo of Hudson, who since 2014 has been president of the politically prominent Hamblett & Kerrigan law firm in Nashua.

His practice too has been focused on family law since 2019, but over the past 25 years Rauseo has been lead counsel in 90 trials, including personal injury, probate and real estate matters. He also served on the state bar association's board of governors.

Councilor Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, has picked his on-the-road location. The council will meet Sept. 1 at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the campus of Saint Anselm College.

Group pushes school choice

The fiscally conservative Club for Growth said its National Campaign for Parental School Choice will start in New Hampshire Aug. 31.

The pick was obvious since New Hampshire kicks off its voucher program — Education Freedom Accounts — next month.

Betsy DeVos, Trump's education secretary and a big booster of school choice, will be here for the effort.

"Education freedom is the future. Students desperately need it, and parents across the country are demanding it," DeVos said in a statement.

"After enduring more than a year of union-driven school lockdowns, parents are more aware than ever before that their kids need the freedom, flexibility and individualized education experience school choice provides."

Also joining the campaign rollout here will be ex-Secretary of State and potential 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pompeo.

The event will be made-to-order for protests from leading Democrats who have opposed this voucher effort at every turn.

Buckley on Cuomo scandal

As the first openly gay state party chairman in U.S. history, Buckley has plenty of credibility in the LGBTQ community.

So when early last week he tweeted that Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, should step down because of his ties to the sex harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, it quickly got national attention.

The New York attorney general's report said David, who served as a former chief counsel to Cuomo, helped try to discredit a former Cuomo adviser who accused the governor of sexual misconduct.

On the same day Buckley fired off his tweet, the HRC announced it was conducting its own independent internal probe into David's conduct.

Vaccine rate drop explained

Dr. Beth Daly, state director of the bureau of infectious disease control, was asked why the percentage of fully vaccinated Granite Staters dropped twice in the past few weeks.

The adjustments occurred because Daly's team was able to separate out the number of out-of-state residents who had come here to get their shots.

Now the 53.8% rate reflects only New Hampshire residents who are fully vaccinated.

You may recall when the rush of those seeking shots died down in late May, Sununu issued an open invitation to any out-of-state resident to come get surplus vaccine available here.

klandrigan@unionleader.com

Kevin Landrigan is the State House bureau chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Reach him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.