New Hampshire’s Legislative Ethics Committee will determine whether Tara Reardon, if elected to the state Senate, would have to recuse herself on legislation that her spouse’s firm lobbies on — but not until after the primary on Tuesday.

That means voters casting their ballots won’t have a clear answer about Reardon’s ability to participate in the legislative process due to a new law that takes effect in January.

Angela Brennan, a Bow Democrat running against Reardon, sent a mailer to voters over the holiday weekend saying that it will now be “illegal” for Reardon to work on bills that her spouse’s firm had lobbied on because of financial conflicts of interest. In response, Reardon filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office contending that the mailer was based on an incorrect reading of the law and therefore contained false information. That complaint was dismissed.

An independent legal expert contacted by the Monitor said the new law would obligate a legislator whose household member had a controlling position in a lobbying firm to withdraw from any activity on bills they had lobbied on. 

The third candidate in the race, Concord Democrat Rebecca McWilliams, wanted a definitive answer. She asked the committee responsible for enforcing the ethics code for New Hampshire lawmakers to render a ruling.

“Both of my opponents are misinterpreting the law and the process. On election day, we won't know if Reardon will be forced to recuse herself. There is no need to distort the truth or make false claims on either side,” McWilliams said. “That is a question for the Legislative Ethics Committee, and I look forward to seeing what they determine.”

The committee will not meet again until almost a week after primary voters in the Capital Region choose their nominee, which means the issue will remain open-ended until then. In the deep-blue district, the winner of Tuesday’s primary is heavily favored to win the Senate seat.

Decisions to come

The issue already caught the attention of a North Country environmental advocate, who worried Reardon’s close connections to the Dennehy and Bouley lobbying firm could prove harmful on pivotal votes – especially on landfill siting – in a closely divided Senate. Reardon has said she’s against landfill expansion and intends to vote that way.

“No matter what happens in November, a recusal could well be equivalent to electing someone of the other party,” said scientist Adam Finkel, who has rallied against trash hauler Casella’s attempts to establish a new landfill in his town of Dalton.

“This is far from a North Country problem alone,” he wrote Wednesday to the Monitor. 

At the beginning of August, Gov. Sununu signed HB 1388 into law. It adds a requirement for legislators to recuse themselves from the lawmaking process when they have a financial conflict of interest and defines more specifically what counts as such a conflict.

Based on the new law, Brennan sent a mailer to voters stating that, “Under a new law, on issues that matter, it will be illegal for Tara Reardon to represent us.” 

Reardon previously served seven terms as a state rep. She has been a member of the Concord City Council and School Board, and she is currently a Merrimack County Commissioner. Her spouse, Jim Bouley, is a lobbyist and partner at the Dennehy and Bouley lobbying firm. His clients include Casella, a waste disposal company looking to expand landfills in the North Country, associations of long-term healthcare providers, automotive dealers and veterinarians, and The Brook – the largest casino in New Hampshire and a top donor to Reardon’s campaign.

Reardon filed a complaint with state officials about Brennan’s ad.

In a letter to Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conley on Tuesday, Reardon said she contacted the Secretary of State, the Office of Legislative Services and Senate Legal Counsel. Following those conversations she determined “the allegations made by Angela Brennan are false and an inaccurate reading of the bill and statute,” she wrote.

“Please let me know next steps so that I can make public statements that accurately reflect, with authority, that her false statements are under investigation by your office.”

The Attorney General’s Election Law Unit determined Tuesday evening that the mailer did not violate any election laws. 

Anna Sventek, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office, said Tuesday that Secretary of State David Scanlan was not providing any guidance to candidates about what HB 1388 would mean in practice because it is not an election-related law.

Brennan said in an interview that she did seek advice prior to issuing the mailer, but she would not specify who she contacted. 

“I stand by it,” Brennan said. “I'm looking forward to hearing what the Legislative Ethics Committee has to say.”

The Legislative Ethics Committee isn’t scheduled to meet until Sept. 16. While it can issue opinions without holding a meeting, that won’t happen here, according to the chair. 

Ned Gordon, the chair of the committee, declined to comment on the dispute last week. He said Wednesday that, because the full committee would want to consider the request for a ruling, it would be discussed at the Sept. 16 meeting. 

‘Poison politics’

The prime sponsor of HB 1388, Rep. Vanessa Sheehan of Milford, has not responded to multiple interview requests.

“This is a complicated bill,” Reardon said Wednesday. “You need to understand how the lobbying business works to do a decent story.”

If the committee finds that Reardon would have to recuse herself on bills that Bouley’s firm has lobbied on, and she wins the seat, it could put Democrats in the Senate one vote behind on divisive legislation. Senate Minority Leader Donna Soucy declined to comment on the dispute or on the committee’s meeting date. 

“The parts of the bill that are being quoted have nothing to do with me,” Reardon said.

McWilliams criticized both of her opponents for their tactics.

 There is a real ethical debate on the table, she said. But Brennan’s mailer, using an edited picture of Reardon, took away from that question. 

“Distorting an image distracts from the actual ethical concerns voters need to consider,” McWilliams said. Especially given that there are three female candidates in the race, she said, “stop the poison politics.”

https://view.publitas.com/newspapers-of-new-england/hb-1388/