By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Executive Councilor David Wheeler said Gov. Kelly Ayotte has “no respect” for the Executive Council and its Constitutional job to be a check on the Executive Branch as a battle rages on related to the council’s paper packets and their delivery to councilors’ homes, which has been a 40-year tradition that ended this past week.

The fellow Republican of Milford said an executive branch decision was made to no longer have the State Police deliver the large paper “packets” of contracts to the homes of the five-member council before meetings.

The practice of delivering the stacks of papers in plastic boxes, through a relay system among various State Police troops to the homes which are also located in Lebanon, Rye, Wakefield and Manchester started when William Flynn was commissioner of safety.

Ayotte said she is moving to a virtually paperless system which she believes will be more transparent and accessible online to the public. 

Wheeler wants it to be available both online and for him in print. Ayotte assured the council that “change is coming.”

Ayotte noted that state police are down more than 50 officers and it is taking time away from their vital work in safety. But there was no notice or discussion about the change in practice, Wheeler said on Friday.

“It was a total surprise,” Wheeler said. He said it will take him two and a half hours round trip to drive to Concord to get a paper packet now and that will “eat” into his expense stipend.

Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, said he placed a call in to Commissioner of Safety Robert Quinn about the decision to stop deliveries but had yet to hear from him.

Kenney noted he said he lives 16 minutes from the Troop E barracks and said “to not communicate is a failure of this administration.”

During the last meeting, Kenney, Wheeler and Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester voted to table a record 21 contracts for lack of supporting documents in the packets such as proof of insurance or non-profit organization board of directors, and proof of good standing with the state.

One particular contract lacked a proof of insurance, and that was for an urgent road project on Route 12A in Charlestown.

Ayotte called for an Executive Council meeting for Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Bridges House in Concord where the contract was passed after the proof of insurance was included.

Wheeler said in prior administrations, all that information was available in the packet but he claims Ayotte has taken that away.

“The governor just doesn’t have any respect for the council,” Wheeler said. “She doesn’t have any respect for the institution of the council. She tells us how to do our jobs.”

Fellow Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, said he “gets it” that Wheeler is demanding full transparency in the interim and wants paper and not to have to go dig or call others for that information with such a short time frame before the meetings.

He said he supports the governor’s wishes to have the packet available online in its entirety and to have just one printed packet available as backup at the council meeting.

Wheeler said the council is under a time crunch to review all the documents for a Wednesday meeting and getting the packet on Friday afternoon at home sets up the time frame. At times, he said he is at a place where he can’t get online and could review the contracts if they were in paper before him.

The supporting documents, including previous contracts “really belong with the item.” He said having to research to find them is ridiculous and time consuming. 

“And there is a reason that the state police pick this stuff up. There is confidential homeland security information in those contracts,” he said. “It is something you wouldn’t want a courier to do. You want someone, just like we trust the state police to bring all the ballots back after an election. They are the courier for the certified results from 250 towns,” Wheeler added.

Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, shared a memo she received about the changes from Allison R. Cook, business supervisor for the Department Administrative Services’ Budget Office.

She said she had not “digested how this will change things” and take effect immediately, for November 12th agency contract submissions.

Liot Hill, whose district includes Charlestown, expressed anger that Route 12A project was tabled at the previous meeting and accused councilors of holding the project hostage over an argument some councilors are having with the governor.

The Executive Council is meeting this Wednesday at the State House at 10 a.m.

Ayotte said she was pleased that the council was able to meet Oct. 18 and “happy that the Council will be getting back to conducting the State’s business as we continue to work towards modernizing our Governor and Council process.”

“In Washington, politicians are shutting down our government and critical funding is being held in limbo. Here in New Hampshire, our leaders come to the table to deliver for Granite Staters despite any disagreements we may have. I hope that Washington can look to New Hampshire and learn a thing or two about settling disagreements.”

A copy of the agenda is here https://www.sos.nh.gov/meeting/october-29-2025-gc-agenda

Wheeler said Friday that while he had not read all 78 items, many of the supporting documents he would need to vote are included.

Asked whether he might also vote to table many of the contracts this week if not included, he declined to comment.