Also on today’s menu:
Former Sanbornton Welfare Officer Indicted For Theft
AG Releases Updated Right-To-Know Guidance
The New Hampshire Executive Council has confirmed Andrew Livernois, 57, of New Hampton as a superior court judge in a 3-2 vote. Livernois has served as Belknap County Attorney since 2017, and his legal advice during the shutdown of Gunstock Mountain Resort in 2022 led at least one executive councilor to vote against his confirmation.
Livernois provided a legal opinion that a majority of the members of the Belknap County Delegation could convene an emergency meeting to deal with the Gunstock crisis. District 5 Executive Councilor David Wheeler said he did not believe the matter was so urgent that the normal seven-day notification period for a delegation meeting would not be sufficient. “I think that was a violation of the public trust. It seems so rushed and unnecessary that I’m just not comfortable at this time supporting his nomination.”
District 3 Executive Councilor Janet Stevens also voted against confirmation, but did not speak of her reasons. District 1 Executive Councilor Joe Kenney said, “For me, I did my research and my homework. He was giving an advisory opinion. That was his role as county attorney. That’s what his job was to do.”
Livernois told the Laconia Daily Sun, “I’m humbled and I’m honored that the governor nominated me and the Executive Council saw fit to confirm me. It is a privilege and an honor to serve this way. I’m going to do everything in my power to show that that trust was well-placed.”
In the coming weeks, before formally resigning and taking his oath of office as superior court judge, Livernois will be transitioning out of his role as lead prosecutor for Belknap County. His term as county attorney would have lasted until December, leaving the county delegation to appoint someone to fulfill the rest of his term. This November, Belknap County residents will be voting for the next county attorney.
The Executive Council also confirmed Patrick McGonagle of Gilford as Belknap County’s representative to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission, replacing Marc Lachance of Gilmanton.
Discussion: Livernois, originally from Sanbornton, has distinguished himself as an effective and impartial county attorney, unswayed by partisan political pressures.
Former Sanbornton Welfare Officer Indicted For Theft
Melanie Van Tassel, who served as Sanbornton’s overseer of public welfare from 2005 to 2022, is facing eight felony counts of theft by unauthorized taking, amounting to more than $10,000, between October 10, 2018, and February 26, 2020. Five of the charges are Class A felonies alleging the theft of more than $1,500 each, with the other three charges being Class B felonies alleging the theft of amounts of greater than $1,000 but less than $1,500.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but a Belknap County Superior Court Grand Jury, after hearing from prosecutors, concluded that sufficient evidence exists to warrant a court trial.
The indictments allege that Van Tassel “obtained or exercised unauthorized control over money that was the property of the Town of Sanbornton” and “acted with the purpose to deprive the Town of Sanbornton of said property.”
Discussion: Attorney Keith Cormier, who is prosecuting the case for Belknap County, declined to say how the alleged thefts were discovered because the case is pending. It appears, however, that the town’s annual audits did not pick up on the missing funds.
AG Releases Updated Right-To-Know Guidance
The state has published the 2024 edition of the Attorney-General’s Memorandum on New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know Law, RSA 91-A, updating the document to reflect the 27 statutory amendments to the law and 17 new court decisions about the public’s right to know.
Attorney-General John Formella says the new document offers a reorganized meetings section with a “more robust” discussion about remote meetings and remote participation. It also has revised the guidance on nonpublic sessions and nonpublic session minutes and updated the procedures for reviewing and withholding law enforcement records. It also provides better guidance on privacy analysis and balancing tests.
“Citizens can use this memorandum to learn about the provisions of this statute and to better understand how they may exercise their rights,” Formella said. “Public officials may use it to better understand their responsibilities and what restrictions they may, and what restrictions they may not, place on citizen access to records and meetings.”
Discussion: The new memorandum was issued during national “Sunshine Week” which emphasizes the importance of government transparency. There has been a lot of pushback against right-to-know requests, with many public officials claiming that answering those requests keeps them from doing their jobs, but, in fact, as public servants, their job includes answering questions from the public. The greater the amount of public awareness, the greater the chances are that the right decisions are being made. I have not yet had a chance to review the lengthy document, but hope to see that it satisfies the statement in the preamble to RSA 91-A: “Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussions and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.”
Beyond Café Chatter
This space usually serves to present readers’ reactions to the news, but today, I’m going to offer a couple of observations by Steve Schmidt, in his Substack post, “United States Senator Chuck Schumer is not a member of the Knesset”. Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, and he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel” and went on to say, “The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7,” essentially calling for Netanyahu’s replacement. Schmidt writes:
Benjamin Netanyahu is the corrupt and immoral leader of a moral nation. He heads a government filled with extremists that depends on the war to survive politically. The second that the Israeli government announces it has achieved its strategic goals in Gaza, the Netanyahu government will fall, as the focus turns towards accountability. Hamas is responsible for the danger and murder. Netanyahu is responsible for the selfishness and weakness that invited the attack….
[However] What Schumer did was unwise, sloppy and ineffective, so par for the course. Usually, his incompetence manifests itself through missed electoral opportunities and being outmaneuvered by Mitch McConnell, but in this case it will prolong the war, intensify the combat, embolden Tehran, embarrass Secretary Blinken and corner Biden.