State House Dome: Warmington facing more coverage over ties to opioid firms

Dec. 2—DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATE for governor Cinde Warmington of Concord got the kind of national media attention last week no one wants.

HuffPost wrote a lengthy story about Warmington's past legal work on behalf of PainCare and Granite State Pain Associates, which were implicated in the state's opioid crisis.

One of her Democratic primary opponents, little-known Newmarket restaurant owner Jon Kiper, had launched attacks against Warmington about this matter on social media.

During her two runs for the Executive Council and governor, Warmington got $49,000 in campaign checks from either the past owner of the clinic or the business, PMC Medical Group, HuffPost reported.

"I like Cinde a lot, but I am convinced it will be an issue. Republicans will just make a big issue of it, because New Hampshire has had such a problem with respect to opioids," Kathy Sullivan, former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair, told Huff Post.

Sullivan is backing Warmington's primary opponent, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.

Christopher Clough, a PainCare physician assistant, was convicted of accepting illegal kickbacks from a fentanyl spray manufacturer as he overprescribed that company's product to patients. He received a four-year federal prison sentence in 2019.

"Cinde spent over 20 years as a respected attorney working for hundreds of health care clients including hospitals, mental health centers, abortion care providers, nurses, and doctors in all different specialties," Philip Stein, Warmington's campaign manager, responded in a statement.

"On the Executive Council, Cinde has been the leading advocate for expanding access to substance abuse treatment and mental health services and, in her personal capacity, she has served on multiple community mental health and substance use disorder treatment program boards."

One thing is for sure: Many lawyers represent clients whom they don't personally agree with.

The timing for the national attention to this race was curious, coming 10 months before the primary contest.

The story followed by a few weeks the election of a Republican activist Jay Ruais to succeed Craig as mayor, suggesting Craig has her own vulnerabilities as a candidate for statewide office.

The Union Leader first reported in June that Warmington had represented OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma in the early 2000s and had lamented that the product received unduly negative media coverage.

The Union Leader confirmed Kiper used the moniker Bruce Brannigan and @bonnyjoston as his handle on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Last summer, as Warmington ramped up her campaign, Kiper often responded to her tweets with attacks about her past association with Purdue Pharma.

Kiper has since deleted the account containing those tweets.

"You should drop out of the race before everyone knows you contributed to the opioid epidemic," he posted. "It will ruin your reputation. You will be done in N.H."

Kiper, who announced last month that he would seek the Democratic nomination, could not be reached for comment.

Money milestone marker

We'll get more of a glimpse into the governor's race with the filing of campaign finance reports this week.

Former U.S. Sen. and GOP candidate Kelly Ayotte turned out a big crowd late last week at the Artisan Hotel in Salem.

Gov. Chris Sununu holds the modern-day record for fundraising to date, having collected $850,000 by this time when he first ran.

This race likely will set a record for campaign spending. All four major candidates — Warmington, Craig, Ayotte and ex-Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem — are capable of putting seven figures together in their primary bids.

House Dems lose another

House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, got a little more breathing room for his narrow majority when another House Democrat stepped down Friday.

State Rep. Robin Vogt, D-Portsmouth, had been in his first term.

Vogt, who served on the House Environment and Agriculture Committee, reportedly is moving out of his district, which requires that he resign.

Vogt, 30, is sure to be replaced by another Democrat once a special election is held in that district, which includes Portsmouth Ward 1 and the neighboring town of Newington.

In 2022, Vogt won by nine votes against ex-Rep. Jacqueline Cali-Pitts, D-Portsmouth, who had served in the House for nearly two decades.

No one opposed Vogt in the general election.

Last spring, Vogt was in the news for being on vacation in Florida during a key vote on a parental rights bill opposed by House Democratic leaders.

Although Vogt missed the vote, the bill narrowly died in the House anyway.

House Republicans now have a three-vote edge over Democrats, 198-195, with three independents and four vacancies.

Last week, the Executive Council set a March 5 special election to replace Democratic Rep. Hoy Robert Menear, D-Lee, who passed away last month.

With Vogt's retirement, this means that even if House Democrats were to win special elections in Coos County on Jan. 23, they would still be one short of the majority.

Biden write-in bid builds

With more than 1,000 people already signing pledge cards, the Biden write-in campaign is ramping up.

The liberal Kent Street Coalition endorsed the campaign, and U.S. Rep. and Democratic rising star Ro Khanna, D-California, will be joining the grassroots organizing call this Thursday.

Patrick Conway has joined the team as lead organizer after managing the successful reelection campaign of Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess.

Biz tax refunds rising

Although not a big month for state revenues, November continues a trend of much higher business tax refunds than in past years.

Through Nov. 28, the state reported refund requests of $13 million, compared to $4.5 million during the same month a year ago.

Business tax refunds have totaled $60 million so far this year, compared to $28.5 million by this time in 2022.

State revenues remain healthy, with collections up $30 million, or 4.1% over the forecast.

Richard's day in court

Conservative voting rights activist Daniel Richard argued his challenge of electronic voting machines and the enforcement of election laws before the state Supreme Court last week.

The Auburn man, who is not a lawyer, has been able to put together a reasoned view that his state and federal constitutional rights were violated because his ballot had to go through the voting machine.

Chief justice to lead study

Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald has been named to lead a 12-person study panel to examine legal education and bar admission, as well as a decline in lawyers going into public sector and public interest practices.

The National Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators commissioned the 18-month probe by this Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform.

"The American justice system stands at a critical juncture. Our profession is falling short in meeting the public's needs," MacDonald said in a statement.

Sununu aide moves up

With his time in office growing short, Sununu continues to find permanent homes for many of his staffers.

Last week, he nominated Policy Director Adam Crepeau of Concord to become assistant commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services, a post that pays $113,800 a year.

If confirmed, Crepeau would replace Mark Sanborn of Laconia, who recently resigned to take an executive position with a Seacoast environmental company.

Before joining Sununu's office as a policy adviser in 2020, Crepeau had worked in the office of former Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage.

Gov nominates ex-foe

When Sununu first ran for governor in 2016, he faced three major rivals in the GOP primary that he narrowly won over now-Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.

Executive Councilor Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, finished third, and then-state Sen. Jeannie Forrester, R-Meredith, came in fourth.

Last week, Sununu nominated Forrester to join his administration as the director of intergovernmental affairs in the Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

Forrester, who currently serves as the Tilton town administrator, started her government work as an executive assistant to Sununu's father, former Gov. John H. Sununu, in 1987.

The post pays $94,800 annually.

Two judicial nominees

Sununu has brought to the council two more picks for circuit court judgeships — Portsmouth criminal defense lawyer Jared J. Bedrick and Bedford Police Prosecutor Benjamin LeDuc.

Sununu said he is keeping track of the number of upcoming vacancies that he will fill before leaving office in January 2025.

Circuit Court Chief Administrative Judge David King told the Executive Council last week that by the time Sununu departs, he will have named a super-majority of those justices on the lowest court system.

When the council likely confirms the promotion of Circuit Court Melissa Countway, that will give Sununu four of the five justices on the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

These justices will decide on whether to uphold the stunning education funding decision that would require the Legislature to increase state aid to public schools by more than $500 million.

As the former attorney general, Chief Justice MacDonald will no doubt recuse himself from this appeal, but it still leave three Sununu-picked judges involved in making the call.

Pushing pot proposals

Leaders in public health and civil rights groups stressed at a news conference last week that legalizing adult use of marijuana should only happen with strict limits against youths obtaining it and harm reduction standards, such as restrictions on the potency of the product sold to the public.

The Cannabis Policy Coalition for Public Health and Social Justice also is pursuing reforms that promote equity measures, such as allowing citizens to have their possession offenses automatically annulled once cannabis use becomes legal.

"New Hampshire's war on marijuana undermines community safety and racial justice, wastes taxpayer dollars, and ruins lives," said Frank Knaack, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire.

For this bill to become law next year, Sununu will have to use some of his political capital to bring along senators who have been reluctant to embrace this change.

Another top spot for NH

New Hampshire was judged as the top state for people to move to, according to a report by Shoreline Immigration.

The study looked at the quality of health care, job openings, schools, average house prices, salaries and the rate of violent crime.

"With New Hampshire being named the best state to live in, this study suggests the location should expect high levels of migration in 2024," said Lindsey Harris, managing attorney with the report author.

Prescott adds backers

Republican First District Congressional candidate Russell Prescott announced another round of endorsements, which included Belknap County Sheriff Bill Wright of Belmont, retired Strafford County Sheriff Wayne Estes of Dover, 603 Alliance founding member Diane Bitter of Rye, and House Deputy Majority Leader Jim Kofalt of Wilton, who doesn't live in the 1st CD.

Kevin Landrigan is State House Bureau Chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Contact him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.