Committee chair answers O'Brien, says he asked Jasper to remove lawmaker with felony conviction
The chairman and vice-chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee asked Speaker Jasper to remove Rep. Albert “Max” Abramson (R-Seabrook) from the committee after learning of his 2012 felony conviction.
In an email to House lawmakers, Rep. John Tholl (R-Whitefield) wrote that he was compelled to set the record straight after reading the open letter from former Speaker Bill O'Brien that criticized Jasper for the action.
“I felt then, as I do now, that a member of the Criminal Justice Committee should be free from convictions or other actions that would diminish the moral and ethical position of the committee,” wrote Tholl. “This applies not only to Republicans but Democrats, Libertarians, or Independents. The committee’s reputation should be above reproach, and as it deals with criminal legislation, the members should be free from serious violations of the law that we are asked to create.”
Tholl said that he and Vice-Chairman David Welch (R-Kingston) requested Jasper remove Abramson from the panel after they confirmed the details of his conviction. The Seabrook Free Stater was found guilty in 2012 of firing a gun recklessly during a party at his home. In 2013, the state Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
“At no time did I suggest that the representative’s status as an elected representative be questioned or that the representative should be expelled,” Tholl explained, “only that the representative’s service in the house would be better served in a different capacity.”
Tholl ended his message with a parting shot at O'Brien and his efforts to replace Rep. Jack Flanagan (R-Brookline) as Majority Leader. “I will have served in the House since 1997, some 9 terms, and during that time the speaker, with one exception, has always appointed the majority leader,” he wrote. “This attempt by some to rewrite the rules, can only weaken the Speaker’s office and its ability to perform its duties.”
“Let’s not allow an extreme viewpoint associated with this action to fracture the republican majority and lead to the loss of our ability to put forward true republican ideals,” Tholl concluded.