Budget: July 2009 Archives

By Lloyd Jones
Editor, Conway Daily Sun

Lloyd@conwaydailysun.com

[emphasis by Skip]

CONWAY — Former governor John H. Sununu, the head of the of New Hampshire Republican Committee, calls John Lynch the nicest governor in the history of the state — and the worst.

"He is the worst governor we've ever had because he cannot make a decision," Sununu said at a recent house party hosted by Maryann and Ray Shakir on Birch Hill in North Conway. "He's a great follower. He lets the radical left leadership of his House and Senate move things forward, but he will not give guidance, he will not tell them what he accepts or doesn't accept. He will not draw the line, he will not go back and cut spending, he will not be honest with what he is saying yet he still goes around smiling and yet is continually well-received around the state. We have to replace the governor."

Sununu served as New Hampshire's governor from 1983-89 and was White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. When he first took over as head of the New Hampshire Republican Party in January, he said he refrained from labeling Lynch the worst governor in the state's history because "he had such good political capital." However, "By St. Patrick's Day I was doing (former executive councilor) Bernie Streeter's roast where they raise money for charities in Nashua, and the governor and I were both speakers. He came in and made a couple of jokes about me calling him the worst governor in the history of the state. I got up and said, 'Governor, I've got to admit, you're the nicest governor we've ever had, but the fact is nicest and worst are not mutually incompatible.'"

Victoria A. Bonney, communications director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, offered a response Wednesday, saying, "Mr. Sununu may yearn for his glory days as governor but the reality is our state is better today than it was yesterday. Under Governor Lynch’s leadership we’ve seen significant gains for education, the environment, clean energy, small business and an overall improved quality of life. That’s why Governor Lynch is not only the most popular governor New Hampshire has seen in decades, but the most popular governor in the nation.”

At the house party Friday, July 17, attended by approximately 55 staunch Republicans, Sununu talked about what brought him back into the world of politics as chairman of the N.H. Republican Committee.

"It really is important to understand that this state in particular and certainly the country as well is at a very critical crossroads," he continued. "We've had Democratic governors for 10 of the last 12 years. By the way, I am not running for anything, let's get that clear from the start. I am not going to run for anything. We have had Democratic governors for 10 of the last 12 years. With Lynch, the Democrats will now have it 12 out of the last 14 years. Over that period of time, what has happened to New Hampshire is horrible. It wasn't quite a tsunami but it was a tide so you may not have noticed the individual change, the incremental change. Over a period of time it piles up to make a healthy sandwich of problems for the state of New Hampshire."

Sununu said the rate of growth in New Hampshire has "virtually disappeared" over the last 12 years.

"We're down to about a half of a percent per year over the past few years," he said. "Last year, for the first time in almost 50 years, more people moved out of the state than moved in. Investment has stopped coming to New Hampshire. Jobs have stopped coming to New Hampshire. Our economic structure is deteriorating because we have adopted principles that are anti-job, anti-family, anti-business and anti-growth. We used to be rated in terms of a business environment in the top five, six, seven states. We are now rated in the 40s."

Sununu continued blasting away at Lynch.

"We have had in this last session 38 increases in taxes and fees and new taxes imposed on us," Sununu said. "We have a governor that has no sense that this is not the way to go.  We have a governor who has no capacity to lead or to stand up or to communicate to the legislature what he will or won't accept. Instead he sits there and waits for them to send him whatever they want to send him and 99 percent out of a 100 he signs the garbage they present to him. The Democrats are ruining the state of New Hampshire."

Sununu is attending a number of house parties across the state this summer looking to rally Republicans. He told the enthusiastic audience two weeks ago the political ball is essentially in their court.

"It's up to us to talk to our friends and our neighbors; the people who work for us; the people that we work with; the people that we meet at our post-retirement parties," Sununu said. "It is only by us communicating what has really happened that people will get angry enough to fix what has to fixed in 2010."

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ryan Williams
July 30, 2009   
(603) 225-9341


Embattled Governor Without A Backup Plan As Court Decision To Block JUA Theft Plunges State Into Another Budget Crisis

CONCORD – One day after a Superior Court ruling blocked his attempt to steal $110 million from the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association (JUA), Governor John Lynch is frantically scrambling to address the state’s latest budget crisis. Despite repeated warnings that the court would rule against the state’s claim, Governor Lynch has failed to develop a contingency plan since the court initially froze the funds in June.

“Its time for Governor Lynch to finally stand up and take responsibility for his failure to produce a balanced and fiscally responsible budget. The Governor was fully aware that his attempted theft of the JUA funds would likely be blocked by the courts - even before he approved this disastrous budget,” said NHGOP Communications Director Ryan Williams. “His irresponsible actions further prove that during these challenging times, John Lynch is incapable of providing responsible and effective leadership for the State of New Hampshire.”

Republican leaders in the House and Senate repeatedly warned Governor Lynch that his attempt to steal private money to balance the state budget was unconstitutional and would likely be overturned by the courts. After the Superior Court initially froze the JUA money on June 29, 2009, Republican senate minority leader Peter Bragdon immediately called on the Governor to veto the budget and work on a new plan that excluded the disputed funds. Lynch ignored his warning and signed his irresponsible budget on June 30 – knowing full well that it would be out of balance on day one.

Lynch has “deflected repeated questions from reporters about contingency plans,” (AP, 6/30) in the event that the court would halt his irresponsible revenue scheme. Despite obvious indications that the state wouldn’t be able to claim the surplus funds, Lynch has “repeatedly declined to detail alternatives and instead emphasized his belief in the rightfulness of the state's claim to the money.” (Concord Monitor, 7/30)

Lynch’s silence has drawn criticism from non-partisan budget watchers including New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies executive director Steve Norton, who said that as a result of the court ruling, “Plan B needs to be developed, and to date, we haven't heard any Plan B," from the Governor. (Concord Monitor, 7/30) Since the decision was announced, Lynch has continued to dodge questions about how he plans to address the staggering deficit and has merely pledged to appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court.

“John Lynch’s only solution to this budget crisis is to cross his fingers and hope that it will somehow fix itself. That’s not leadership – that’s a dereliction of his duties as New Hampshire’s chief executive,” said Williams. “During these tough economic times its becoming increasingly obvious that now more than ever New Hampshire needs a new governor.”

Governor Lynch’s crumbling state budget faces additional challenges as even more lawsuits threaten to unravel his irresponsible revenue schemes. Local government leaders are moving forward with a separate lawsuit to stop the Governor from reducing the state’s share of the retirement contribution rate for municipal employees and downshifting costs to local taxpayers. A court has also issued an injunction requested by the New Hampshire Health Care Association that halts Lynch’s attempt to rescind an $8.8 million dollar payment to Granite State nursing homes.

As a result of his failed leadership and fiscal mismanagement, Governor Lynch’s favorability ratings have plummeted in recent months and his disapproval ratings have reached all time highs. Governor Lynch’s problems only look to get worse in the future as he begins to make plans for the FY 2012-2013 budget. This budget will start off with an immediate $500 million deficit due to his irresponsible use of one-time money in the current budget, and will present the Governor with an even worse fiscal crisis than the one he currently faces.

Concord, NH – Today, Senate Minority Leader Peter Bragdon released the following statement regarding the Belknap Superior Court ruling that Governor Lynch's plan to seize $110 million dollars from the private Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) to balance the budget was unconstitutional.

"Senate Republicans applaud the Court's ruling to prevent the unconstitutional raid on private funds.

"Responsible leadership would have held the line on spending, just as New Hampshire families are doing with their own budgets.  Instead Governor Lynch and the Democrat-controlled legislature raised total spending by $1 billion.  If tough but necessary spending cuts were made, there would have been no need to try to steal money from a private organization.

"I once again call on Governor Lynch and the Democratic Leadership to immediately bring the legislature back into session to deal with this $110 million hole in the state budget. Delaying this process through appeals will only exacerbate disastrous fiscal problems facing the State of New Hampshire.”

Statement from Rep. Sherman Packard, House Republican Leader:

“I am obviously not surprised by the ruling for the JUA today.  Questions about the raiding of this fund came the moment Governor Lynch suggested it in February and has been echoed by Republicans ever since.  It once again shows that Democrats could not make the tough decisions to cut spending and instead relied on more than $400M in one-time money to balance their outrageous budget.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ryan Williams
June 29, 2009   
(603) 225-9341


CONCORD – Today, former New Hampshire Governor and Republican State Committee Chairman John H. Sununu released the following statement on the Superior Court’s decision to block Governor Lynch’s attempted raid on the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) Fund:

“It’s not surprising that the court did the right thing and blocked Governor Lynch’s attempted theft of the JUA surplus funds. The court’s decision confirms that the Democrats’ budget is a real disaster for the State of New Hampshire.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE COURT’S DECISION TO BLOCK LYNCH’S THEFT OF THE JUA FUNDS