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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
N.H. Republicans threaten to impeach high-ranking Democrat over emails helping partisan law firm
Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up The Elias Law Group, which represents Democrats and progressive causes, Advertisement Republican State Representative Joseph F. Sweeney of Salem, who serves as deputy majority leader in the New Hampshire House, said the emails show Liot Hill used her office to help a Democratic law firm recruit plaintiffs to challenge the new state law. 'That's not public service; that's political lawfare run out of a taxpayer-funded inbox,' he said in a statement. Advertisement Liot Hill is pushing back, however, saying her responsibilities as an elected official include advocating for the voting rights of her constituents. She said she offered to make some introductions and was 'happy' to disclose those emails publicly, adding that she doesn't have any further plans to make email introductions to anyone connected with the Elias Law Group. 'I will continue to use my official email address to do my job, including constituent services, which is standard practice for elected officials,' she said. 'It is outrageous but not surprising that Republicans are attacking me for doing my job and serving my constituents.' The emails in question — which The Boston Globe obtained via a public records request — were first reported Wednesday by the Liot Hill told the Globe that the support she lent to the Elias Law Group was uncompensated. 'I used the phrase 'working with some folks' in the sense of 'assisting in an effort,' not in the sense of 'receiving compensation,'' she said. 'My offer of assistance was to provide email introductions, which I did.' Liot Hill said she doesn't have an attorney-client relationship with Tina Meng Morrison, the Elias Law Group lawyer who was copied in her email messages. Sweeney, the state representative, said on Thursday that executive councilors can be impeached by the House and tried by the Senate for corruption, malpractice, or maladministration. Liot Hill's conduct clearly implicates the latter two categories, he said. Advertisement If she doesn't resign before the legislative filing period opens in September, then he will file articles of impeachment against her, he said. 'New Hampshire's message is simple: we protect the integrity of our elections, we don't outsource state policy to D.C. operatives, and no official, not even the highest ranking Democrat in state government, is above accountability,' he added. The new law at the center of Liot Hill's emails will require absentee voters to either bring a photo ID to their local election officials to request a ballot in person, or submit a copy of their ID or a notarized signature along with their application. While proponents of the change said it will better protect election integrity, critics said it will cause confusion and Liot Hill is the only Democrat on the Executive Council, which serves as New Hampshire GOP Chairman James MacEachern sent a letter on Thursday asking New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella to open an investigation into Liot Hill's conduct. Without citing a particular statute, MacEachern's letter claimed Liot Hill had engaged in 'taxpayer-funded electioneering.' To support that claim, he cited a New Hampshire Journal New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley said in a social media post that his GOP counterparts had misused the term 'electioneering,' and he called the New Hampshire Journal a ' Advertisement One provision of state law defines ' Michael S. Garrity, a spokesperson for the DOJ, acknowledged that Formella's office had received MacEachern's letter. 'We will assess the information provided and determine the appropriate course of action based on the facts and applicable law,' he said. Aside from the emails issue, MacEachern's letter also mentioned prior incidents for which Liot Hill has faced scrutiny: She was arrested in 2010 and 2018 for drunken driving (as was 'Granite Staters expect their elected officials to use their positions to serve the people, not to further their political interests,' MacEachern wrote. 'Liot Hill's decision to use her official capacity to communicate on behalf of a political law firm adds to the ethical concerns that have already been generated by her previous scandals.' Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump's anti-DEI orders were halted in court, but politicians in N.H. are still putting pressure on schools
Advertisement 'That is not the New Hampshire way,' said Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Republicans, who hold comfortable majorities in both legislative chambers, included the proposed DEI ban in the House-passed version of the state budget, which is now pending before the Senate. Those who support the sweeping state-level ban — which would apply to all executive branch agencies and every municipal government statewide — said they are aiming to curb waste and fulfill the public's wishes. 'The people of New Hampshire do not want to be using their taxpayer dollars to subsidize or in any way pay for any trainings or programs or preferential treatment that puts somebody's demographic information as the deciding factor in whether that individual is hired or chosen,' said Republican Representative Joseph F. Sweeney, deputy majority leader in the New Hampshire House. 'We should be blind to any demographic data when it comes to workforce training or an initiative to hire people.' Advertisement Beyond banning diversity quotas, this legislation would tell public schools they cannot 'implement, promote, or otherwise engage in any DEI-related initiatives, programs, training, or policies.' The proposal says 'DEI' refers to 'any program, policy, training, or initiative that classifies individuals based on race, sex, ethnicity, or other group characteristics for the purpose of achieving demographic outcomes, rather than treating individuals equally under the law.' What exactly such a ban might mean in practice depends on who gets to interpret and enforce it, as evidenced by recent DEI disputes between state leaders and school administrators. Victoria L. Sullivan, a first-term GOP state senator, complained publicly in late April about training materials at Manchester's McLaughlin Middle School, where a packet intended to help teachers navigate dicey conversations was instead distributed directly to eighth-graders. The packet included specific examples of racist stereotypes and microaggressions to avoid, such as telling an Asian person, 'You're all good at math,' or asking a Black person, 'Why do you have to be so loud/animated?' It also featured Sullivan, who declined The Boston Globe's interview requests, posted photos of Advertisement 'This has infiltrated all of our society,' she said on the radio, 'and in a place where we should be treating everybody equally, this does the exact opposite of that.' Jennifer Chmiel, superintendent of the Manchester School District, said the materials were intended to help teachers handle potentially wide-ranging reactions from students, but they were not written for students, so distributing them during 'That distribution was a mistake and should not have happened,' she said. 'Nevertheless, it is false to suggest that the teacher intentionally sought to indoctrinate students with these materials.' Paulina Murton, executive director of the 'Educators learning about how power and privilege show up in society is a critical component of the work to ensure that all students, regardless of identity or background, are treated fairly, feel a sense of belonging, and can have strong academic outcomes in their school,' she said. Chmiel said the documents do not constitute 'DEI materials.' Since the definition of 'DEI' is so vague, even anti-bullying efforts have been caught in the fray. In mid-March, outgoing Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut — a socially conservative former GOP gubernatorial candidate who has a track record of pressuring Advertisement Republican Governor Kelly A. Ayotte has not yet named New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut spoke during a Chuck Morse gubernatorial campaign kickoff event Sept. 28, 2023, at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club in Atkinson, N.H. Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe Olsen, who formerly served as school superintendent in Westford, Mass., said local leaders at the Merrimack School District had noticed a troubling uptick in inappropriate comments among students, so they hired a consultant who specializes in training on diversity and cultural sensitivity. 'She is addressing bullying and harassment between students,' he said. 'It is not DEI. It is not CRT.' Olsen said he has known the consultant for years, and her work with teachers and students has been appropriate and 'tremendously valuable,' but a local resident raised questions and relayed concerns to the commissioner. Even though Edelblut didn't explicitly ask him to halt the consultant's work, Olsen said he decided to suspend the training until there is greater clarity from state and federal authorities about what is permissible. When asked about the conversation with Olsen, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Education said Edelblut 'regularly engages with constituents and school leaders statewide to discuss a wide range of issues.' Those communications 'may also involve matters related to Title VI compliance,' the spokesperson said. Title VI is a federal law that Advertisement While some states, including Massachusetts, sued to block enforcement of this anti-DEI interpretation, New Hampshire aligned with the Trump administration. Edelblut's team directed local school leaders to certify their compliance, and the state published Nevertheless, several districts What impact the injunction might have on the New Hampshire Education Department remains unclear. Edelblut is This effort to purge certain ideas from New Hampshire classrooms echoes a still-pending legal dispute over the state's 2021 'banned concepts' law, which drew inspiration from a 'divisive concepts' executive order President Trump issued during his first term. That law, which prohibited teaching that anyone is 'inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive,' was Steven Porter can be reached at
