McGuires turn down committee leadership positions
Reps. Carol and Dan McGuire turned down committee leadership positions offered by Speaker Shawn Jasper “because they do not agree with the Democrat-elected speaker,” says Rep. Guy Comtois (R-Center Barnstead).
In an earlier interview with the Concord Monitor, Jasper had admitted that two representatives turned him down but he declined to name names. Comtois identified the McGuires during this week’s episode of GrokTalk! hosted by Granite Grok.
Carol McGuire is a four-term representative from Merrimack District 29, a floterial district comprising Allenstown, Epsom and Pittsfield. Comtois said she turned down Jasper’s offer to chair the Executive Departments and Administration committee, which she chaired in 2011 and 2012. Dan McGuire, who represents Epsom and Pittsfield, rejected Jasper’s offer to serve as vice-chair for one of the Finance subcommittees, Comtois said.
The McGuires moved to New Hampshire from Washington state in 2005 as part of the Free State Project. “We decided if the Free State Project failed and we hadn’t moved, we couldn’t live with ourselves,” Carol told Mother Jones.
Carol McGuire made national headlines in 2011 when she fought to eliminate the state’s minimum wage. “[S]he said she would like to repeal all minimum wage laws and have corporations pay workers whatever rate they desire,” reported ThinkProgress. “She also said the $7.25 minimum is overly generous to young people who are ‘not worth the minimum.’ ”
Dan McGuire was in the news that same year for his efforts to dismantle the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority. Both chambers of the legislature passed his proposed legislation but the House failed to override a veto by then-Gov. John Lynch.
Comtois dismissed the idea that the McGuires’ constituents will pay a price for their refusal to accept the leadership positions. “In New Hampshire, the committee chair doesn’t have much power,” he explained. “There’s no backroom deals, so you can be a regular rep out in committee and get just as much done as the chair with half the work.”