A contentious discussion about a proposed appointment by the Attorney General’s office dominated the Governor and Executive Council meeting at the Peterborough Town House Wednesday morning.
Attorney General Gordon MacDonald and Deputy Attorney General Jane Young urged the Executive Council to appoint David Mara as an Assistant Attorney General in order to “control, direct, and supervise” the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office. Mara currently serves as the Governor’s advisor on substance use and behavioral health, and is the former Chief of Police for Manchester. Mara’s appointment was not approved. Only two council members – Theodore L. Gatsas and Russell E. Prescott – voted to appoint Mara. Andru Volinsky and Debora Pignatelli voted against the appointment and Michael J. Cryans abstained.
qMacDonald invoked the AG’s authority to protect the people of New Hampshire, who he said were in danger due to the inadequate leadership of the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, which is headed by Michael Conlon. MacDonald and Young framed Mara as necessary to achieve the direct supervision of the Hillsborough office, citing him as the most qualified candidate, and immediately available.
“I can’t get another call at 5 a.m. that someone else has been beaten to death because of the inaction of that office,” Young said.
She also cited Francestown as one of the Hillsborough County police departments that have lodged complaints about the County Attorneys Office.
“[Conlon]’s had nine months to take [the office] forwards. He’s bringing it backwards. Law enforcement is here because they know it,” Young said, referring to the twelve police officers from throughout the state who stood in the back of the Town House’s upper hall while the factions deliberated.
“That was politics at its best,” one officer said on the Town House steps after Mara’s appointment was rejected.
“Our democracy should be very careful when we seek to overturn an election,” Councilor Pignatelli said before the vote, and listed the changes and actions Conlon took since assuming his elected position in an “extremely dysfunctional” office.
Councilor Volinsky expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest in putting someone with a police prosecution background in a position of power over a judicial office, and stated his belief that a third, neutral party was necessary to mediate the conflict between the county office and that of the Attorney General.
The Executive Council unanimously voted to appoint David Rotman as an Assistant Attorney General immediately after the Mara vote. Young said in a recent statement that Rotman will take over as training attorney in the Hillsborough County office.
Local business
At the start of the meeting, Gov. Sununu honored Peterborough resident Roland Patten for “decades of exceptional community service to the town of Peterborough.”
Patten has lived in town for 55 years. Sununu cited him and his varied roles as a local business owner, foster parent, president of the Sunshine Fund, ballot counter and member of the capital improvement and recreation committees, among others. Sununu said Patten additionally founded the Peterborough football program and served as a football and baseball coach. Currently, Patten said he is working with the Budget Committee and the Lions Club, and described the vision checks the Lions Club administers in local schools.
As part of the proceedings, Gov. Sununu nominated two area residents to state committees: Sam Rosario of Peterborough to the newly-established Council for Responsible Gaming, and Sara Germain of Dublin to the NH State Council on the Arts.
Town Administrator Rodney Bartlett delivered updates on Peterborough area issues and answered questions from the Governor and Executive Council at the start of the Governors Breakfast Meeting in the morning.
Bartlett also told the council about the town’s solar array and his hope for a change in net metering policy that could lead to substantial energy cost savings. Sununu suggested a carveout for municipalities on net metering size and told Bartlett that someone from his office would reach out on the issue.
Bartlett delivered updates on the Cold Stone Springs development project to the assembly and that the town is seeking funds. He referenced the 200 jobs that the company SoClean created this year. Sununu praised the company’s entrepreneurial spirit. When Sununu asked about the town’s library, Bartlett told the assembly that the library’s renovations are scheduled to begin April 1 even as fundraising continues.
Activists gathered on the steps of the Town House representing a number of regional organizations that are united under the banner of climate action. The activists cheered sympathetic members of the Executive Council as they arrived for the breakfast meeting. There was no discussion of the environment aside from Bartlett’s list of green initiatives the Peterborough community had taken on, and signs at the breakfast buffet, catered by Aesop’s Tables, which included “Supporting local farms helps fight climate change.”
Guitarist Gordon Peery of Nelson and Francestown fiddler Keegan Zelko played a selection of reels and jigs used for contra dancing at the start of the meeting.
The next Governor and Executive Council meeting will be at the Seacoast Center in Rye on Oct 2.