Above, kindergarteners from Trinity Christian School entertained the Governor and Executive Council Wednesday. Paula Tracy photo
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Third Circuit Court Judge Melissa Beth Countway of Alton has been confirmed by the Executive Council to be an Associate Supreme Court Justice, replacing Gary Hicks who retired due to age limitations in November.
The council voted 4-1 with Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of Concord, the only councilor voting to oppose the nomination. Warmington is running for governor as a Democrat.
Previously a Republican Belknap County Attorney from 2011 to 2017 when her name was Melissa Guldbrandsen, she wrote in her application she has the ability to “think on her feet” has “a strong moral compass” and the ability to analyze cases and the facts to come to a decision.
Warmington said the Constitution vests the job of selection with the council and it is one of its most important roles as councilors to vote on such nominations.
The impacts of her nomination will be for generations to come, including freedoms such as reproductive rights, Warmington said.
Countway invoked the judicial code of conduct and did not answer questions on how she would rule on specific cases.
Warmington said she took the code “to a new level” and gave no insight into what might be her perspective.
“The judicial candidate owes this council more,” particularly their perspective on rights.
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney of Wakefield, a Republican, said he has seen support for Countway with law enforcement, public safety as a prosecutor “and I have always known her to do the right thing.”
Yes, this is a young nominee, he said, and perhaps the avenue to the highest court would most likely be from the private sector, but it is rare to have one come from the circuit court.
“She has the respect of her community, the respect of the chief justice,” and Kenney said he thought she would do a great job.
There was no other discussion prior to the vote.
Countway was a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1993 and did her undergraduate work at the University of New Hampshire, graduating with a bachelor degree in math in 1993 and a Master’s Degree in Education in 1994.
She was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar in 2002, served as a Republican in an elected post as Belknap County Attorney and became a Circuit Court judge in Ossipee in 2017.
This is Gov. Chris Sununu’s fourth nominee to the five-member Supreme Court. Only Justice James Bassett was on the bench before Sununu took office.
The 52-year-old will serve until the age of 70.
After the vote, the governor met with the press in his office and said he thinks Countway “is going to be terrific given her credentials. You know one thing that wasn’t really discussed at the table which I looked at, she was a prosecutor and having that experience on the Supreme Court is very important.”
She has a skill set that is not on the court now, Sununu said and he said he discussed with Hicks some of the skill sets needed before he selected her.
Sununu said she is young and energetic and that is important.
He said he would love to see the retirement age for justices go up to 75 and that will be on the ballot.
He said he did not ask questions of Countway on how she would vote on reproductive rights and supported her for not answering those questions.
“She really shouldn’t be pre-pontificating in any case,” he said.
Sununu said when he interviews for a justice he looks at their background, what is going on in their lives and “the job is not to create laws…just to uphold them” but to have an understanding of the Constitution.
“Anyone who is too much of a workaholic I get a little nervous about,” he said. “You have to be out there in the community.”
Laconia State School Sale Delay
While Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus was not at the meeting, his staff said he left a message that the former Laconia State School sale is “on track” to close Jan. 15.
Sununu said he spoke with the developer who assured him that the intention is to close on or about Jan. 15.
If there is no closing by the meeting of Jan. 31, Councilor Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, asked if the council would be ready to put the property back on the market. He charged that the state did not get a deposit that the developer couldn’t get back somehow and said he remains doubtful.
But Kenney said he would oppose anything like that saying that Laconia officials are feeling confident that the project is going forward and have confidence in the developer. The sale was originally supposed to be finalized in September.
CONTRACT FOR SCULPTOR IN HONOR OF CHRISTA MCAULIFFE
In time for what would have been her 75th birthday, the council approved a contract to build a monument on the state house lawn for the late Concord educator and astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
But two councilors voted to oppose it, Republicans Kenney and David Wheeler of Milford.
The $250,000 contract with Benjamin Victor Studios of Boise, Idaho comes from the state’s general fund and was approved by the legislature.
Kenney said he supports the project but said there should be private funding for it and education surrounding it should be at the McAuliffe/Shepard Discovery Center Science Museum in Concord. He also contended there are other people who should have such recognition including John Wingate Weeks and Mary Baker Eddy.
Wheeler said he opposed the location on the State House lawn.
Kenney said “it would be more meaningful for us,” to have money raised through private donations.
Sarah Stewart, commissioner of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the department is working to get donations and to educate and engage school children.
After the council meeting, Sununu said he was a bit surprised by the objections by Wheeler and Kenney to the effort.
“Look, Christa McAuliffe is an absolute hero of New Hampshire and absolutely deserves a statue recognition and there is no better place to put it than on the front lawn of the State House. I won’t decide exactly where that is. This committee is going to do that, the legislature approved the funding, approved this process and when you talk about the educational aspects of understanding who she was what she was about why she was so important to the State of New Hampshire, here at the State House is exactly where it should be given that every fourth grader gets to pass by…and learn about her in that process,” he said.
INVESTNH AWARDS MORE GRANTS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The council approved five new contracts to help incentivize developers to create affordable housing through the INVESTNH grant award program which uses federal funds.
In this case one approved in Laconia will increase units by 86; one in Franconia will build four units; another in Berlin will develop 15 units; another in Lebanon will create 44 new units and 20 in Whitefield for a grant fund total of $1,640,000.
REGULAR BREAKFAST MEETING HAD A CHRISTMASSY FEEL
If you saw the governor at a scratch ticket machine jamming dollar bills into it, chances are you were not seeing things.
Sununu bought and distributed scratch tickets to all the state’s commissioners at the Breakfast Meeting of the Executive Council at Bridges House Wednesday morning, which doubled as a Christmas party of sorts.
It was hosted by the Lottery Commission.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver asked if hers was a winner.
The department tries to get catchy graphics to attract buyers and introduces the program to folks who get scratch tickets as gifts.
About a quarter of every $1 raised goes to the Department of Education.
They have also distributed scratch tickets which supposedly smelled like bacon, but it was hard to tell as there was bacon at the breakfast.
The official Governor’s house was decked for the holidays but the caffeinated coffee ran out and had to be replenished.
Still, there were plenty of smiles as Charles McIntrye, executive director of the Lottery Commission gave an overview of scratch ticket successes and kicked the day off with a few corny elf jokes, which Gatsas said were bad.
“Don’t quit your day job, Charlie,” Gatsas said.
Interestingly, you can go online and find out what tickets to play in terms of how many tickets are left and the various odds.
The lottery commission has found that holiday scratch tickets need to be red and green or they don’t sell.
Each council meeting is hosted by one state department and they pay for the catering for the council and staff. Though the breakfast was nothing fancier than others there was a holiday vibe to it.
At the meeting, the festive mood continued with the Governor reading a passage from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” He read it to a group of kindergarteners from the Trinity Christian School in Concord who came to sing and read poems before the meeting began.
“I’m the governor. Santa is coming,” he assured, noting that the Department of Transportation would ensure his safe transportation for the old man in red.
SPECIAL ELECTION CALLED FOR HOUSE SEAT
Democratic State Rep. Robin Vogt resigned earlier this month and that vacancy in the House has resulted in the council approving a special election for Rockingham County District 21 including Portsmouth’s Ward 1 and Town of Newington.
The filing period will be from Dec. 25 through Dec. 29 with a primary set for Jan. 23, 2024 and a special election on March 12. If there is no contested primary, the special election will be held on Jan. 23.
TILLEY NOMINATED TO MOVE UP IN HHS
The governor also nominated Patricia Tilley of New London to be associate commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, succeeding Morissa S. Henn of Concord who was promoted to deputy. There are three associate commissioners.
Tilley is currently director of public health, a position she has held the past two years and has been with the department since 2005.
DOORWAYS
Warmington noted there was an evaluation of the Doorways program to fight substance abuse. Katja Fox, director for the HHS division of behavioral health noted it was 192 pages of finding “and lots of positives as well as some challenges.”
Access and transportation are challenges for those awaiting treatment at a treatment center. Facilitated referrals and destigmatizing substance abuse areas and challenges including standardizing information from all nine hospitals across the state.
Will recommendations for improvement be implemented in Manchester, Warmington asked?
Fox said this was a statewide evaluation.
Gatsas said he is hearing from constituents that say that when they call the 2-1-1 hotline no one is there.
Fox said her staff monitors that site and is working with the 2-1-1 crisis line providers.
MONEY APPROVED FOR STUDY ON PFAS IN MERRIMACK
Tilley addressed a $500,000 contract which was approved with Dartmouth College that will study why there is a particularly rare strain of kidney cancer in the Town of Merrimack and possible exposures.
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics announced earlier this year it would be closing its Merrimack plant where PFAS pollution is alleged to have seeped in well water.
The state contract in House Bill 2 called for the emergency funding to study the problem and the money comes from the state’s general fund and will be used through June, 2025.
Dr. Megan Romano, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, said in a previous interview that PFAS blood testing would help those chronically exposed to the chemicals, like the citizens of Merrimack, make proactive decisions with their healthcare providers and give them peace of mind as they continuously heard about the risks of drinking their own water.
MEDICARE CONTRACTS TABLED
The council tabled more than $1 billion in Medicare contracts to allow for more questions to be answered.
$11M CONTRACT FOR YDC STAFF TRAINING APPROVED
The council approved a $11.3 million contract with UNH to provide federally required training and professional development services to DCYF staff, caregivers, providers and stakeholders, including family leaders for four more years.
JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS
The Executive Council held three public hearings for judicial nominations Wednesday afternoon.
James W. Kennedy of Concord has been nominated for Justice on the Superior Court by the governor.
No one opposed the Kennedy nomination and many spoke about his temperament being for a good judge.
He is Concord City Attorney and has been active in the practice of law in the state for more than 20 years. He was a teacher and counselor and received a master’s degree in Education prior to going to what is now the University of New Hampshire Law School.
“I believe I am well qualified,” Kennedy said.
Sununu has also nominated Jared J. Bedrick of Portsmouth and Benjamin E. Leduc of Bow to serve on the circuit court.
The council will likely vote on the nominations after the holidays in January.