By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
NORTH HAVERHILL — Troy Merner walked into the Grafton Superior Court Wednesday as a former state Representative, and walked out as a convicted criminal stripped of his right to vote for the remainder of his life.
Merner, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of wrongful voting and one count of theft by deception, both misdemeanors, as part of the agreement reached with the state. Felony charges of wrongful voting, unsworn falsification, and tampering with government records were dropped under the terms of the deal.
Merner, a Republican, was forced to resign his House seat last year amid a controversy over his address. Elected to represent Lancaster in 2022, Merner had been living in Carroll since before the election. He made matters worse by voting in the 2023 Lancaster annual town meeting election, even though he had been interviewed by state investigators about his living arrangement. When New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella wrapped up his investigation it was revealed Merner had been taking mileage reimbursement checks from the state using his bogus Lancaster address to calculate the distance.
Neither Merner nor his attorney, William Dolan, offered any explanation in court for the illegal voting and mileage reimbursement theft. Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General David Lovejoy hinted at a possible reason. Merner’s wife died in 2021 and he remarried in 2022, moving in with his new wife in her Carroll home, Lovejoy said.
Merner is now sentenced to six months in jail on each misdemeanor conviction, but he’s not going to jail. The sentences are suspended for the next two years on the condition he stays out of trouble, and politics. Merner is barred from any elected or appointed office during the two-year suspension.
Merner’s voting privileges are revoked permanently. Merner could theoretically hold office after he serves his suspended sentence while being unable to vote for himself. Merner’s voting rights can be restored by action of the state Supreme Court if he chooses to seek that remedy at some point.
Merner is also ordered to repay $1,100 to the state for the mileage reimbursements.
Who knew what about Merner’s living situation — and who did what — consumed the State House last year.
Attorney General Formella’s office began investigating Merner in November of 2022, and an investigator even interviewed the representative at the Carroll home he then shared with his now wife. In December of 2022, the Attorney General’s Office informed House leadership about Merner’s living situation, including House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry.
Merner was allowed to continue serving in the House despite the fact he did not live in his district. Packard claims he was waiting for the Attorney General’s investigation to finish. The investigation appeared to have gone dormant, however, until March of 2023 when it was learned Merner voted in Lancaster’s municipal elections.
Once Formella’s investigation concluded in September, Packard says he was able to force Merner to resign. But, Merner continued to serve in the House for the full session after he moved out of his district, contrary to the state Constitution.
Rob Christie of Lancaster was concerned because he couldn’t watch Merner’s sentencing hearing via WebEx, which the court system says on its website is available to remotely view Superior Court hearings.
Christie said he has previously used WebEx but was told by the court Wednesday that Merner’s hearing was not available.
Merner was sentenced in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill, not Coos Superior Court in Lancaster.
“I feel like the citizens of Lancaster and Coos County are being disenfranchised,” Christie said, adding WebEx should be available for every court hearing.
Christie said Merner defrauded the town of Lancaster as well although he faced no criminal charges regarding the stipend he accepted for serving as selectman after he moved to Carroll from Lancaster. Merner reportedly participated in the selectboard meetings after he moved.
Christie, who is the Lancaster representative to the Mount Washington Regional Airport Commission, and active on other boards, ran unsuccessfully against Merner in 2021 to be a selectman. Merner received 246 votes and Christie 179.
The Lancaster selectmen have asked Merner to repay the $3,575 stipend he accepted while serving as a selectman after he moved out of Lancaster to the time he resigned, but he hasn’t done so.
Court spokesman Av Harris responded to criticism about lack of WebEx in Merner’s hearing in general terms.
“New Hampshire Courts are committed to total public transparency, and other than those that are sealed, any court proceeding is open to any member of the public to observe, as well as any member of the media to cover for a wider audience. The Judicial Branch takes great strides to accommodate any media who want to cover court proceedings and trials, opening all of our courts to those who wish to film, record and photograph the proceedings in order to report on those for greater public consumption, as well as providing any publicly available documentation related to any particular case to all those who request it,” Harris said.
Merner is not the only House member with residency problems. In February, Rep. Dan Hynes, R-Bedford, resigned suddenly the day Formella’s office sent a letter to House leadership about his living situation.
Hynes had moved out of the district while renting out his Bedford home sometime in 2023. However, Hynes reportedly claimed the Bedford home was still his address, and stated he lived in a recreational vehicle on the property. Hynes told investigators he and his wife were in fact living in various locations outside of the district during that time.
Reporter Nancy West contributed to this report.
