Tuesday’s electoral earthquake in New Hampshire didn’t just shake up legislators. It also took the most unusual political body — the Executive Council — from 4-1 Republican control to 5-0 Democratic for the first time in history.
The five-person council, which is unique to the Granite State, has a grab-bag of executive-level tasks that are usually described as operating as a check on the power of the governor. Most notably, the group has veto power over many appointments, including judges, and approval over all state contracts over $10,000.
Since the Council mostly responds to appointments, legislation or budgets from other elected or appointed officials, rather than initiating them, the effect of political change isn’t always straightforward. For some topics, however, it could be profound.
One area where Democratic control is likely to make a change is funding for Planned Parenthood and other family planning services. The GOP-controlled council has over the past decade repeatedly rejected federal funds for that agency as part of political debates about abortion.
All five of the new councilors were endorsed by the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund PAC and ran on commitments to restore funding for family planning. The last time the council had a majority who favored reproductive health funding was 2018.
Passenger rail could also get a boost. Connecting Lowell, Mass., with Nashua, Manchester and even Concord — an idea called the Capitol Corridor — has been floated in various forms for two decades but consistently blocked by the Executive Council, including the 2022 decision by the Council to end an engineering study and preliminary design for extending Boston-area commuter rail services north from Lowell.
The lack of federal support for passenger rail from the Trump administration might limit how much the Executive Council could do to resurrect the idea.
It’s not clear what Democratic control will do the Council’s approach to the high-profile job of approving judges, which has become more heated since Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald resigned this year following ethics violations concerning a $50,000 payout to an employee.
Candidates for the Council from both parties said they want to increase their oversight of prospective judges with a greater emphasis on ethics and transparency.
Councilors serve two-year terms with a salary of $18,700 and $4,000 stipends for expenses, slightly more for the councilor who serves the huge district that covers the North Country.
The state is divided into five districts with one councilor in each; Concord is part of District 2, which covers most of the Connecticut River valley with an arm extending to Concord. Towns east of Concord are in District 4.
In the Monadnock region, District 2 includes Dublin, Hancock, Peterborough and Sharon. Other towns in the area are covered by District 5, which stretches east to Nashua.
