Posted on 11/19/2014 6:34:52 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
CONCORD – By four votes, House Republicans decided to give William O'Brien, another term as House Speaker as he promised a more inclusive and less confrontational approach than in his first stint.
O'Brien defeated former House Speaker Gene Chandler on a 116-112 vote before Chandler asked the caucus to make O'Brien their unanimous choice as speaker.
Chandler said after the vote he would not accept a nomination for speaker on Organization Day, Dec. 3, when the full House elects a speaker.
“Under no circumstance would I not support the nominee of the caucus,” Chandler said.
O'Brien, who did not address the media after the caucus, nor return phone calls, told the caucus, “It is the highlight of my life to look out over all of you. I appreciate your votes and I will work to earn that support from all of you.”
The two candidates represented different approaches to the position. Chandler promised a more cooperative approach, saying that is what is needed if the legislature is going to accomplish anything in the next two years.
O'Brien was critical of Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan in his floor speech and did not mention reaching across the aisle to Democrats, although he did say House Republicans would speak with a united voice and that Chandler would be part of his leadership team.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, former Govs. Steve Merrill and John H. Sununu and other Republican activists and office holders backed Chandler in the race, while O'Brien had the backing of his coalition from the 2011-2012 term, as well as more conservative members.
After the caucus, Ayotte's spokesperson Liz Johnson said, “Senator Ayotte supported Gene Chandler in this race, but ultimately it was up to the House to decide. She has reached out to Rep. O'Brien to congratulate him.”
O'Brien's supporters said they were thrilled with his nomination, saying he, like current Democratic House Speaker Terie Norelli, learned to be more inclusive the second time they held the post. They also predicted the next two years would not be dominated by social issues, as occurred during his first term as speaker.
Rep. Dan Tamburello of Londonderry backed O'Brien for the post and said he expects O'Brien will be more careful with “how things are played out in the media,” but noted the House Republicans were more conservative two years ago than those elected this time.
“You will not see social issues pushed anymore,” he said.
Another O'Brien backer, J.R. Hoell of Dunbarton, was excited he will be leading the House and predicted there would be a greater level of cooperation across all levels of the Republican Party.
“Gene Chandler is a good friend,” Hoell said. “Bill O'Brien is a leader.”
Key Chandler backer Rep. Shawn Jasper of Hudson said he is not looking forward to the next two years.
“I very disappointed, it was a very close vote,” Jasper said. “I wish him the best, and I hope he uses a new approach, as Speaker Norelli did her second time.”
During the caucus, O'Brien said together, “We can make New Hampshire the crown jewel of New England.”
The GOP choice for speaker is the prohibitive favorite to become House Speaker, with Republicans holding 239 seats and Democrats 140, plus one independent.
While the GOP winner is expected to be the next House Speaker, there have been exceptions in the past. In 2004, Mike Whalley was the caucus choice, while Doug Scamman finished second. However, Scamman was nominated for speaker on Organization Day, and with the backing of Democrats, took the gavel he surrendered 14 years earlier to run unsuccessfully for Congress.
Chandler said after the vote he would support O'Brien on Organization Day.
The state Republican Party praised O'Brien's selection as the presumptive speaker, saying he will hold Hassan's feet to the fire.
“Speaker O'Brien is a proven conservative, a tireless advocate for limited government and an outstanding leader who will stand up for fiscal responsibility in Concord,” said party chair Jennifer Horn, who moderated the caucus. “The Republican State Committee looks forward to working with Speaker O'Brien to hold Governor Hassan accountable for her reckless tax and spend agenda and promote responsible Republican policies that will benefit all Granite Staters.”
However, the Democratic Party sent a fundraising email soon after the vote calling his selection by the Republican caucus Back to the Future, with “Draconian cuts to higher education, but cheaper cigarettes, Right-to-Work for less, repeal of marriage equality, block access to women's healthcare.” party chair Raymond Buckley writes. “We've worked too hard to let the extreme ideology of Bill O'Brien stop the progress we've made. We've stood up and stopped him before and we're going to have to do it again in 2016.”
Chandler is a 14-term state representative from Bartlett, where he serves on the Board of Selectmen. He served as Speaker from 2001 to 2004.
O'Brien was first elected to the House in 2006 and served as Speaker from 2010 to 2013 after a Republican tsunami in 2010 gave the party a three-to-one majority in the House.
Also during the caucus, Paul Smith was chosen as the GOP's nominee for House Clerk and Walter Sword as Sergeant-At-Arms.
House members return to Concord on Dec. 3 for Organization Day when they are sworn into office, and select the Speaker, House Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, and with the Senate decide who will be Secretary of State and State Treasurer.
Yes, what the world need now is MORE conciliatory Republicans to join Democrats in socializing America.
Read some of the comments by the loony Liberals that post on the Union Leader website. They are quite entertaining.
For those of you unfamiliar with NH politics, Bill O’Brien is a Tea Party candidate that is hated by liberals because of his conservative leadership the last time he was elected Speaker of the NH house. They called him a bully, because he made the dems cut spending. The horror.
And all this time I thought Boehner was a shoo-in.
I had to read the thing twice to figure out where it was.
/johnny
I did not think we were supposed to alter the exact title of an article when posting.
Sorry, for the confusion.
Funny how Dems are never urged to be ‘inclusive’ or “reach across the aisle”.
And congrats on NH moving to more conservative.
/johnny
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