Attorney General Joseph A. Foster announced that twenty nine year old Zachary Cross was arrested two days ago by the New Hampshire Drug Task Force with the assistance of the Manchester Police Department on one count of Possession of a Controlled Drug. Apparently, Cross had Oxycodone. So, why do we care? Well, Cross is an Assistant Rockingham County Attorney. Bail was set at twenty five hundred dollars cash, which Cross has posted. He’ll be arraigned on July Fourteenth at the Manchester District Court. The investigation in this case is ongoing. Looks like the fun continues for at the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office, which, by the way, saw the “retirement” of embattled County Attorney Jim Reams, also two days ago. You may recall Reams was removed from office by Foster, whose office seized control of the County Attorney’s operation, only to be reinstated by the court on the grounds that Foster had no basis for the removal. Reams bailed with a forty two thousand dollar parting gift in a deal struck with the County Commission.
“The pledge” and “the record” don’t match up
Republican Second District Congressional candidate Gary Lambert of Nashua issued a statement announcing he’d signed the No Climate Tax Pledge authored by American’s For Prosperity. Signers pledge to the American people that they will quote oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.” End quote.
Garcia: Lambert votes violate pledge
That caused Tom Szold, the campaign manager of rival Marilinda Garcia, to accuse Lambert of making false claims. In a statement released to the press Szold wanted to know how Lambert could make such a pledge while refusing to renounce his support for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a k a RGGI, which is a regional cap and trade scheme he supported while a state senator. Said Szold, Lambert quote “has voted repeatedly to preserve this costly and expensive program, and even cast the deciding vote to prevent New Hampshire from ending its participation in RGGI. RGGI exists in New Hampshire because of Gary Lambert. Gary cannot have it both ways; he cannot make campaign promises to oppose new taxes, yet support policies that create those very same climate taxes.” He said Garcia, a state rep. from Salem, consistently opposed RGGI and could be trusted to continue to oppose any such climate tax schemes if elected to Congress. We’ve posted both statements for your review with this news read at Girard at Large dot com.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Smith: Unity Pledge premature.
Lots of news on the GOP US Senate contest. Both former Senator Bob Smith and former State Senator Jim Rubens took aim at state G O P Chair Jennifer Horn for attempting to force them to sign the party’s Unity Pledge. In an email to Horn, Smith said it was premature to sign a pledge in the heat of a primary campaign. He blasted rival Scott Brown for refusing to appear on any forum with his opponents and refusing his challenge to debate the issues so primary voters can make an intelligent decision as to who best represents Republican values. Smith stated he intended to win the nomination, saying endorsing himself will be easy, though he did state he would quote “under no circumstances” end quote endorse the Democrat nominee or any third party candidate in the race. We’ve posted his email to Horn on the topic.
Rubens: Says refusal to sign forced Brown to debate
For his part, Rubens said he refused to sign the pledge because he believed it was in the best interest of the party. Like Smith, he was critical of Brown’s refusal to engage in any meaningful debates. Saying he had nothing to hide, he would debate his rivals at any time an in any place. He said the only way to defeat Jeanne Shaheen is to have a strong Republican candidate who can debate and contrast her on all the issues where she is wrong and would endorse who the voters support as a result. Rubens cut to the quick stating quote “Shielding our candidates from debate leaves voters disengaged and does not prepare our nominee to defeat Jeanne Shaheen in November.” Rubens claimed his refusal to sign the Unity Pledge is the reason for our next story which is that Brown’s campaign announced yesterday he has agreed to add two debates to his schedule. Click here for Rubens’ statement.
Brown: Added debates to schedule, planning on interview with Girard at Large
In addition to a forum on WMUR’s Close Up program this Sunday and a televised WMUR debate in September, Brown will now appear in debates before the Mt. Washington Valley Economic Council and on New Hampshire Today with Jack Heath and John DiStaso. Campaign manager Colin Reed said Brown continues to run a traditional New Hampshire campaign and that debates are an important part of that process. “We’re taking nothing for granted and working hard for every vote that will carry us to victory in the fall and ensure that Jeanne Shaheen is a one-term senator,” said Reed. Click here for Brown’s campaign statement.
Also along these lines, Girard at Large was contacted by Brown Press Secretary Lizzy Guyton yesterday. She mentioned she’d heard parts of our interviews with Smith and Rubens and was looking forward to scheduling Brown in the near future. We’ve forwarded a series of available dates in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. It appears as if they are paying attention. We’ve posted everybody’s releases on the matter and will keep you up to date.
Kimall: Leading the charge for Smith
Finally this morning, we have one more item from the US Senate campaign trail. The Smith Campaign announced it has hired former Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball to be its campaign manager. Kimball, a businessman and former candidate for governor, had something of a tenuous tenure at the helm of the state’s GOP. However, he has been very active in the so called liberty movement, with nine twelve and Tea Party groups and on a number of conservative issues. Before Smith, he backed the candidacy of Karen Testerman,who withdrew from the race before filing and endorsed Smith. Smith said it was further evidence that conservatives were united behind his candidacy across the state. We have, of course, posted the release with this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is on the way.
