Remember New Hampshire colonial president John Cutt? Remember Fast Day?
Cutt became the first president of the royal province of New Hampshire in 1680. He fell deathly ill the next March and the Provincial Assembly designated March 17 as “Fast Day” to fast and pray for Cutt. A concurrent comet sighting also caused concerns for the populace re: possible “divine displeasure.” Sadly, Cutt died on April 5.
Although Cutt passed away, Fast Day endured. Subsequent legislatures made it an official Granite State holiday, to be observed the fourth Monday in April. Then, in 1991, Fast Day was abolished to make room for Civil Rights Day, which later became Martin Luther King Day.
I mention Cutt to raise awareness about Granite State governors and CACR1, a proposed constitutional amendment concerning gubernatorial succession.
The civics-challenged may not realize that New Hampshire has no lieutenant governor. If our governor cannot perform necessary duties, our Senate president becomes our acting chief executive—which creates huge potential problems.
Currently, at least 43 states already have lieutenant governors. While that is not a reason for us to establish such a position here, there is a strong case for doing so—and for doing it the New Hampshire way.
Our Senate president has assumed chief executive status several times, most recently in 2016 when Senate President Chuck Morse replaced Maggie Hassan briefly when the latter was sworn in as U.S. senator.
The same thing happened when Senate President Ralph Hough replaced Judd Gregg briefly in 1992 when the latter was also sworn in as U.S. senator.
But what if a governor dies in office, as Cutt did?
In December 1982, Democratic Gov. Hugh Gallen passed away. Republican Senate President Vesta Roy was then sworn in as governor. But Gallen was a lame duck, in that he’d lost his reelection bid the month before to John H. Sununu. Our first female governor’s tenure was very short.
But assume Gallen had won that election before passing away. The people would have elected a Democrat, but then a Republican would have taken over. And that poses major problems. Does the new governor continue to serve as Senate president? How could he or she simultaneously head both the legislative and executive branches? That’s a serious separation of powers question—an extra-constitutional situation that really demands attention.
Sens. Morse, Hough, and Roy did not resign their Senate seats when sworn in as acting governors. But their tenures of office as chief executive were all very limited and created no short-term issues.
But what if a Senate president had to serve several months as chief executive? We conceivably could have someone who sponsored a bill in the legislative branch then later sign the same bill into law as chief executive. Or perhaps veto a bill they’d earlier voted against as a legislator.
It utterly goes against Civics 101 and the separation of powers. And New Hampshire is the only state in this sorry situation.
Ponder what would have happened had (Heaven forbid) Republican Gov. Chris Sununu been struck by lightning in 2019 or 2020. Democrat Senate President Donna Soucy would have become governor to finish his term. Would she have maintained Sununu’s existing staff, or replaced its members? Who would run the Senate? Could she serve simultaneously in the legislative and executive branches? That’s what Sens. Roy, Hough, and Morse did. They did not resign their Senate seats before being sworn in as acting governors. But even if the Senate president removed himself or herself from the Senate, they’d retain influence and relationships with Senate colleagues that could be untoward.
Secretary of State David Scanlan and I looked into this situation, and it appears that if a governor dies in their first year, a special election would be arranged. If the governor dies in their second year, the Senate president would be chief executive until a new governor was elected and inaugurated.
Further, in 2019 the Democrats had both U.S. Senate seats, both congressional seats, the state Senate, the state House, and the Executive Council. Taking over the governor’s Corner Office would have made our very purple state a one-party state, like Massachusetts. A similar but opposite dynamic existed earlier when the Republicans controlled most of the government under Democrat Govs. Gallen and John Lynch. Had something (Heaven forbid) happened to Lynch, Republican Senate President Peter Bragdon would have become governor and inherited Lynch’s staff.
It’s crazy!
For many years,, New Hampshire governors served one-year terms,,. Today, New Hampshire is one of only two states with governors who serve two-year terms, which mitigates the problem a bit. But action is still needed. Perhaps if a Senate president were elevated to governor, they would resign their seat. But that would disenfranchise around five percent of New Hampshire citizens. And what if the senator didn’t want to resign?
Prudent, proactive, and pre-emptive action is needed.
And that action involves amending our constitution to create a lieutenant governor position.
But we should do it the New Hampshire way. We should have a citizen lieutenant governor, the way we have citizen legislators. CACR1 calls for the lieutenant governor to receive the same salary as that of the Senate president, which is $125 a year. And as prime sponsor of CACR1, I’ve offered to pay the $125. So, this could be a wonderful example of improving government in the best way—essentially doubling our gubernatorial manpower at virtually no cost. Two governors for the price of one? That’s not bigger government, that’s better government! That’s the New Hampshire way.
Beyond addressing the troubling extraconstitutional succession problem, getting a lieutenant governor for free creates all kinds of exciting deployment opportunities for a new governor. A governor has a scheduler to parcel out precious time. Most invitations get turned down. But a lieutenant governor could represent the governor and the state at so many civic events, funerals, ribbon cuttings, school visits, and on and on.
I’ve reached out to every living governor regarding CACR1. One reply shared a concern about governors and lieutenant governors fighting with each other, as was witnessed occurring in other states. Some states do elect governors and lieutenant governors separately, which can create issues. But CACR1 calls for the governor and lieutenant governor to run as a ticket or team. The governor would pick the desired running mate. The possibilities are exciting in terms of complementary skills and ticket balancing.
This proposal has gone to a House committee before, where the sponsor faced weighty questions as to whether a lieutenant governor would get a phone or a desk. Who would pay for the lieutenant governor’s stationery and business cards?
The answer is that the governor would manage his or her staff as they saw fit. That’s the New Hampshire way. The Governor’s Office budget is currently $2,140,039 for FY25 according to the latest HB1 budget. The governor would have to pay for the lieutenant governor’s business cards out of existing allocations. No extra money for a lieutenant governor
When this measure came up the last time, it died in committee. The committee report claimed we’ve done just fine over the many years and our current succession plan is “perfect.”
But our current extraconstitutional succession arrangements are not perfect. We have the worst succession plan in the country by far.
Consider a story shared by legendary former Secretary of State Bill Gardner. As a new SOS, Gardner had to serve as acting chief executive when the governor and others were out of state. As acting governor, Gardner signed official documents and even swore in a judge. But political foes pounced and claimed the documents were invalid and the judge illegitimate because Gardner was under 30 years of age, the constitutionally mandated minimum age for a governor.
Perfect succession plan indeed. Not.
So, we’re trying again with CACR1. It’s a heavy lift, but the right thing to do. If the hearing committee gives it fair consideration it still needs 60 percent House approval and then likewise in the Senate. It would then go to the people, where 67 percent would need to approve. (The governor is not part of a constitutional amendment process.) Most recently a proposed amendment to raise the judicial retirement age to 75 from 70 got only 66 percent support in November falling just short.
Maybe we’ll be lucky and never again have a governor unable to serve out their term. But some of us will still keep trying to fix things, just in case, as via this NHJournal piece. (Most legislators are inveterate NHJournal readers.)
As that famous Massachusetts Republican Gov. (and later President) Calvin Coolidge said, “Persistence is omnipotent.”
The ghosts of John Cutt and Hugh Gallen don’t get to vote now. But if they did, I think they’d vote for CACR1.
