7 hours ago
N.H. tourism office deletes post, webpage of Pride-related events after Republican complaint
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Maidment tagged
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'It's the low level bureaucrats that are drowning us,' he
Update - it's been deleted.
— Chris Maidment (@ChrisMaidmentNH)
Along with the social media post, the VisitNH
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Caswell and a division spokesperson did not directly answer questions from the Globe about who decided to delete the Pride-related content, why they made that decision, and what policies govern their editorial decision-making regarding which events to feature.
'We regularly promote events throughout New Hampshire, and the webpage you mentioned is active,' division spokesperson Kris Neilsen said in an email Sunday, after the webpage was restored.
It's not entirely clear why the complaint yielded such a prompt response, since VisitNH had made similar social media posts for Pride events in
Caswell was first appointed in 2017 by Republican Governor Christopher T. Sununu. He was reappointed by Sununu in 2021 to a second four-year term. That term will expire
Some other Sununu appointees have already been shown the exit on Ayotte's watch. The governor announced that Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut
The deletion of this Pride-themed content also comes at a crucial stage in the budget process, as state lawmakers finalize their spending plan for the next two fiscal years. Although the House and Senate have
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That ideological lens has been applied to individual line items. In advocating deep cuts in funding to the University System of New Hampshire, some have argued the reductions are appropriate to curb left-leaning '
At least one lawmaker drew a direct connection between the budgeting process and the Pride-themed post from VisitNH.
'This is why we tried to strip away their funding,' Republican Representative James Spillane of Deerfield wrote
Spillane called on Ayotte to 'get the department under control' or face legislative intervention.
The New Hampshire House and Senate are likely to form a committee of conference this week to reconcile the differences between their versions of the budget, with a June 26 deadline to act on the committee's compromise.
Steven Porter can be reached at
