New Hampshire Senate President Sharon Carson accused fellow Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of fiscal irresponsibility and political arrogance in the debate over the budget and Group II pension benefits.
“I tried to talk with her and she sat there, looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I will not negotiate. I will not compromise.’ That’s not the New Hampshire way. That’s not how we work here.”
Carson made her remarks on Tuesday morning on the same Jack Heath radio show, where, a day earlier, Ayotte had hammered legislative leaders over the compromise budget that came out of the House and Senate Committee of Conference.
Soon after Carson’s appearance, Ayotte announced she will request a special legislative session when the Executive Council convenes on Wednesday.
“The General Court has not passed a budget or adopted a conference report for State Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027. If the budget fails to pass and does not become law by the end of the day on Thursday, June 26, I request the legislature convene in special session,” Ayotte said.
Open political warfare between leaders within the same party is unusual in New Hampshire politics, and it rarely makes an appearance on the airwaves. But Carson did not hold back.
“I have no idea what she’s trying to do. I really don’t. She is threatening the 1.4 million people in the state of New Hampshire for the benefit of 1,550 people. Do the math on that.”
The 1,550 people are the Group II retirees who had their benefits reduced in a 2011 deal to save the state’s endangered pension system. Ayotte has promised to restore benefits to pre-2011 levels, including restoring the ability to “spike” retirement benefits.
Carson explained that “spiking” is when workers boost their annual salary at the end of their careers to create an artificially high number used to calculate pension benefits. She gave the example of a state employee with a base salary of $87,000 who was able to “spike” their salary the last few years on the job to more than $272,000. Their pension was then calculated using the “spiked” number.
“This is one of the reasons why we got into (pension) trouble in the first place. And we are saying, ‘No, governor, we’re not going to let that happen.’”
Ayotte and other supporters of the pension fix argue it is needed to help police and fire departments, which are already shorthanded, recruit and retain employees.
“The language passed by the Committee of Conference is generating real frustration among firefighters and police officers across the state,” Manchester Fire Chief Ryan Cashin wrote in a letter to his state delegation.
“Morale is deteriorating, and the committee’s failure to pass language that addresses this problem adequately is likely to lead to a mass exodus of experienced personnel. The Manchester Fire Department will lose 27 senior members, comprised of five Chiefs, three Captains, seven lieutenants, and twelve senior Firefighters.”
Carson dismissed these complaints, pointing out that giving away pension “golden parachutes” is likely to lead to more departures, not fewer.
“We heard the same threats back in 2011, and guess what? They didn’t go anywhere,” Carson told Heath. “We do not operate government on emotions or threats.”
As for police and firefighters threatening to flee their departments, Carson said, “What these folks are looking for is that golden parachute that they want, so they’re going to leave. But I guarantee you that, if this passes the way the governor wants, they’re leaving anyway, because they got their golden parachute and they’re going to move on.”
In her call for a special session, Ayotte said that taking care of the people’s work means the continuing resolution to fund it should be for no more than 90 days while a new budget deal is reached.
However, in her most surprising comment, Carson claimed Ayotte may veto a continuing resolution.
“We are currently working on a concurrent resolution that will keep the government open. We have had conversations with the attorney general, as well as the head of the Department of Administrative Services — and she is threatening to veto a continuing resolution,” Carson said. “That will shut down state government.”
The governor’s office rebutted Carson’s claim.
“Gov. Ayotte has made it clear that we must keep the government operating with a clean, short-term CR that does not include new policy,” said spokesman John Corbett. “The governor is requesting a special session so we can keep the government open and running during the summer to ensure certainty for New Hampshire citizens and continuity for our tourism industry during this critical revenue period.
“We must continue to do the people’s work and deliver on our promises to all of New Hampshire.”
Several State House veterans on both sides of the aisle said they could not recall a public battle between two leaders in the same party here in New Hampshire.
“This is D.C. stuff. We don’t do that here,” one State House insider said. “Trump just made peace with Iran and Israel. Maybe he can do Ayotte and Carson next.”
A legislator said the problem is that the debate has gone from policy to the personal, and it’s harder to make a deal under these circumstances.
“It’s obvious they don’t like each other, but they still have to work with each other. This is a small state. They can’t avoid it.”
One GOP legislator said what’s got Carson really angry is that Ayotte is poaching members of her caucus to vote against the budget deal she crafted. And it appears to be working. If Carson can’t get her own budget through her own caucus, that would be a blow to her leadership.
Carson hinted that Ayotte’s efforts are an issue during her radio appearance.
“The governor is having a luncheon for only certain senators at the Bridges House,” she complained. “It’s invitation only. Not every senator received an invitation. Myself included.
“So, you tell me what’s going on.”
