Executive Councilor Tries to Rewrite History

Yesterday, Dean Barker documented the Executive Council’s rejection of a two-year $1.8 million Planned Parenthood contract to provide health care services for New Hampshire women.

Steve Trombley, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England CEO, said he will continue to pursue the contract including the possibility of a legal challenge.

“We obviously don’t believe this is a settled issue at this point,” he said. “We intend to challenge this at every level we can possibly challenge it.”

Beyond asking the council to rehear its request, Trombley said the organization is looking into filing a lawsuit.

The likelihood of a court battle (and Planned Parenthood win) may have just increased. In a similar case, a federal judge ruled Friday that Indiana cannot cut off funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.

Indiana is not allowed to cut off Planned Parenthood’s public funding for general health services solely because the organization also provides abortions, a federal judge said Friday in blocking parts of the state’s tough new abortion law.

This may explain why Executive Councilor St. Hilare told Kevin Landrigan that his vote rejecting the contract had nothing to do with the fact that Planned Parenthood performs abortions.

St. Hilare said it wasn’t abortion rights that moved him to turn down the pact. Instead, it was the $250,000 salary for the executive director and the fact that the group isn’t based in New Hampshire.

But soon after the vote, St. Hilare told Dan Gorenstein that was precisely why he voted again the contract.

“Actually funding an agency that performs the actual event is something that I would object to, and I have objected to. That’s why I voted against it.”

The so-called ‘event’ is abortions.

Hilaire and two of the other councilors rejected the $1.8 million dollar federal and state contract because they oppose taxpayer money supporting organizations that provide abortions.

You can listen here:

NHPR: A Very Busy Day at the State House

With one day to go before Crossover Day — the deadline for the New Hampshire House to send all its legislation to the Senate and vice versa — both legislative chambers were in session all day and voted on a number of high-profile bills.

The proposed legislation dealt with education funding, taxes, public worker pensions and the environment. NHPR’s Josh Rogers spent the day at the State House covering the marathon sessions in the House and Senate. He joins Taylor Quimby for a review of the highlights.

Guinta “Mystery Bank Account” Timeline

After documenting how unlikely it is that Frank Guinta was able to earn the funds he loaned to his campaign, NHPR’s Jon Greenberg filled in some of the gaps and proposed a potential source for the funds, Guinta’s parents. We can now construct a plausible timeline of events documenting that scenario.

December 5, 2008. Guinta’s parents, Richard and Virginia Guinta, sell a second house in New Jersey for $820,000.

January – April, 2009. Greenberg speculates Guinta’s parents give or loan Guinta up to $500,000 for his congressional race which Guinta deposits in Bank of America.

May 11, 2009. Guinta officially announces his candidacy for the 1st District Congressional seat.

June 30, 2009. Guinta loans his campaign $20,000.

March 28, 2010. Guinta loans his campaign $100,000.

May 15, 2010. Guinta files a financial disclosure statement covering 01/01/2009 – 12/31/2009, reporting three bank accounts with assets totaling between $17,000 and $80,000, an annual salary of $72,000 as Manchester mayor, and various stocks and mutual funds.

June 27, 2010. Guinta loans his campaign $125,000.

July 11, 2010. Nashua Telegraph’s Kevin Landrigan first asks, “Just where did Republican congressional candidate Frank Guinta get $125,000 to loan to his own 1st District campaign?”

Late July, 2010. Guinta files an amended financial disclosure statement to report a bank account worth $250,001 - $500,000 and changing the reporting period from 01/01/2009 – 12/31/2009 to 01/01/2009 – 04/30/2010.

August 18, 2010. In an interview with Union Leader’s Drew Cline, “[Guinta] reiterated that the money was his own and did not come from family members.”

October, 2010. Guinta refuses to answer Greenberg’s question whether Guinta’s parents are the source of the funds he loaned the campaign.

Cross-posted to Blue Hampshire

NHPR’s Greenberg Assesses Frank Guinta’s Finances

Investigative journalism is alive and well in New Hampshire after all.

Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Frank Guinta claims the $355,000 he loaned his campaign came from earnings and investments — and he just “inadvertently” overlooked the bank account when he prepared his financial disclosure statement.

NHPR’s Jon Greenberg provides an in-depth account of Guinta’s real estate investments and salary history that certainly casts doubt on Guinta’s credibility. Greenberg also adds two previously unreported details. In 2008, Guinta’s parents sold a house for $820,000 — some believe they provided the funds (although Guinta has specifically denied it). When Guinta amended his financial report he also increased the disclosure period by an additional four months, “which raises the possibility that the account was opened during that time.”