Citizen group sees political maneuvering behind Gunstock appointment

Controversy over the apparent effort of the Belknap County Delegation to wrest control over the Gunstock Mountain Resort by stacking the Gunstock Area Commission with its political allies has come to a head as the Delegation sets to fill the vacancy on the Commission when it meets Tuesday.

Last November, suspecting the Delegation intended to replace three of the five commissioners, a petition collected more than 2,200 signatures over a weekend to thwart the move. But since then, Commissioner Brian Gallagher has resigned, creating a vacancy and with it the opportunity for the Delegation to capture a majority on the Commission.

Citizens for Gunstock, a group formed in the wake of the petition, has come together to urge the delegates to remove David Strang, one of three candidates, from the ballot and is supporting the candidacy of Heidi Preuss of Gilford, once an Olympic skier and since experienced in business.

In an advertisement published in today’s edition of The Laconia Daily Sun, Citizens for Gunstock has revealed that Strang was among the 37 people who in December 2020 signed a document – a manifesto of sorts – filed with the New Hampshire Secretary of State calling for the dissolution of state government and declaring “the State of New Hampshire is, and Right ought to be a Free and Independent State.”

Reps. Mike Sylvia of Belmont, who chairs the Delegation, and Ray Howard of Alton, his vice-chair, were among six House lawmakers to sign the manifesto, which was patterned after the language of the Declaration of Independence.

The advertisement contends that signing the document contradicts the oath of office required of the Gunstock Area Commissioners to “bear faith and allegiance to the United States, the State of New Hampshire and support the Constitution thereof.” It continues “he cannot burn the candle at both ends. He has disqualified himself from honestly applying for the Commission.”

Framed as an open letter to the Delegation, the advertisement asks its members to deny Strang’s application, “be guided by respect for the office and the people of Belknap County” and “not let your conscience be overridden by the views of a vocal minority.”

Strang, a resident of Gilmanton, is a physician trained at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College who has practiced emergency medicine at several hospitals in central New Hampshire and is treasurer of Central New Hampshire ER Associates, PLLC. Speaking to a legislative committee last November, he said, “If the vaccines don’t protect against contracting the virus, prevent deaths from the virus, then what good are they.”

Strang is one of three candidates along with Preuss of Laconia and Doug Lambert of Gilford. All three are skiers, but there the similarities end. Preuss, who was raised in the Lakeport neighborhood, skied for the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 before pursuing a business career first as an officer with an investment firm and later as owner of a real estate company. Lambert, the founder, owner and president of DGF Industrial Innovations Group, Ltd. of Gilford, has been a strident conservative voice in both local government and media.

Opposition to Strang’s nomination arises from his close ties with the Republican leadership of the Convention, particularly Rep. Norm Silber of Gilford, who is a member of the Executive Committee, and Sylvia. Strang serves as treasurer of the Belknap County Republican Committee, which Silber chairs. Silber sponsored legislation (HB 1078) that would vest authority over the budget — and with it effective management — of Gunstock Mountain Resort with the Belknap County Convention. The House Municipal and County Government Committee is scheduled to act on the bill on Feb. 22, the same day the Convention is scheduled to meet to appoint the new commissioner.

The furor over Gunstock erupted last summer following the Delegation’s appointment to the Commission of Peter Ness, a lawyer and entrepreneur from Belmont, and Jade Wood of Gilford, who managed a field office for the Trump campaign and represents the county on the State Republican Committee. Both were recruited by Silber.

Ness refused to sign the code of ethics and repeatedly sought to persuade Gunstock to purchase a software package he developed in violation of both state law and the Gunstock Enabling Statute forbidding commissioners from holding a financial stake in the resort. The three other Commissioners — Brian Gallagher, Gary Kiedaisch and Rusty McLear — asked Ness to resign. When he refused they asked the Delegation to remove him, a request it summarily rejected. Soon afterwards Sylvia openly contemplated removing the three commissioners, only to demur in the face of the groundswell of opposition expressed by the petitioners.

“We’re working to keep the politics out of Gunstock, to save it from being politicized," said Al Posnack of Alton, speaking for Citizens for Gunstock. He stressed that the statute establishing the Gunstock Area Commission was intended to ensure the resort operated as a commercial enterprise free from politics.

Posnack said that Gunstock could not be operated as a county department as Silber has proposed with HB 1078. Nor, he said, is there any indication that the performance of the resort would be improved by leasing it to a private entity as Silber has also suggested.

Posnack pointed to the troubles of Mount Sunapee, the state-owned slopes operated under a 20-year lease by Vail Corporation, where the overselling of passes and shortage of staff have led to traffic congestion, long lift lines and mounting complaints. He added that Vail remits 3% of its net receipts to the state while Gunstock remits 1.75 of its gross receipts to the county, which amounted to $250,000 last year and are projected to surpass that this year.

Neither David Strang nor Mike Sylvia responded to requests for comment.