County GOP leadership change likely after state committee election

A sea change in GOP power in Belknap County — first in the form of a county delegation leadership flip in September, furthered by notable upsets in Statehouse primary contests and cinched by the outcome of November elections — has arrived on the shores of the Belknap County Republican Committee.

The county party elected its representatives to the state party committee at a meeting Wednesday night. The new state party makeup will likely mean new county organization officers, currently chaired by former Gilford Rep. Norm Silber.

The 19 state committee members elected are Don Ewing, Rep. Harry Bean (R-Gilford), Priscilla Bean, Rep. Juliet Harvey-Bolia (R-Tilton), Gregg Hough, Richard Littlefield, Ronnie Abbott, Belknap County Commission Chair Peter Spanos, Alan Glassman, Sen. Tim Lang, Jade Wood, Rep. Dave Nagel (R-Gilmanton), Kyle Sanborn, Rep. Mike Bordes (R-Laconia), Doug Lambert, Sue Higgins, Sheriff Bill Wright, Rep. Travis O’Hara (R-Belmont) and Paul Lange.

“Republicans in general all believe in the party platform. We disagree on how to make that come to fruition,” said Hough, a former Laconia representative, who has repeatedly clashed with current leadership. “What happened at the meeting was indicative of how, when you’re not happy with how things are going, you get a chance to change them.”

Hough affirmed that he plans to run for BCRC chair.

Committees are the infrastructure of political parties as organizations. At the state and national level, they help promote and raise money for candidates and develop a policy platform. In New Hampshire, there are also committees at the county and city level, which, in addition to supporting candidates, elect members of the state committee.

With every election cycle in New Hampshire, new members of the state committee are elected and the NHGOP convenes. In addition to their responsibilities with the state party, state committee members elect the officers for the county committee.

The 19 state committee members from Belknap are elected by a group comprised of the elected party delegates and local party nominees, this year totaling 43.

Critics of Silber’s leadership team celebrated Wednesday night as their favored candidates for state committee prevailed from the pool of 35 on the ballot. 

“We went 19 for 19,” said Lang. “Traditional Republicans got elected over extreme Republicans.”

Silber had no comment for this story.

Tension on the BCRC boiled over in the fall election season as hardening factions and lingering bad blood over sides taken in the Gunstock Mountain Resort debacle over the summer combined with mounting complaints about the BCRC’s primary endorsements and alleged membership exclusivity.

BCRC leadership has asserted that no applications to join had been intentionally stalled and that, as a private organization, it has the authority to determine who attends meetings.

The slate of new state committee members appears united against the current leadership. 

Members of a faction opposing Silber handed out a voting guide to those voting for the state committee. Each of the candidates listed on that guide were elected.

“A group of such disaffected Republicans have worked together and developed a slate of State Committee members who have agreed to work in the best interest of our Republican Party to ‘right the ship,’” the guide reads. “We ask that you vote for ALL candidates listed, because every person you do not vote for is a possible vote for the other team. If THEY win, we will have two more years of the same as we have just experienced. Or worse.”

“The leadership in Belknap County had clear distinctions about who was a real Republican,” Hough said. Going forward after a leadership change, he said, “everyone will be welcome under the tent.”

All local Republicans should be encouraged to participate and share their vision in the committee, Hough said. Including, he continued, those he has vocally criticized this fall — just not as officers. 

The Wednesday meeting was run by NHGOP Executive Director Elliot Gault, who described the election as smooth and transparent. It is standard practice for the state party to run such election meetings for county and city committees.

Because of the local party’s role in supporting candidates, who runs the committee and how can weigh heavily on what kind of candidates are empowered to run for office and the success of their bids.

“Belknap County is a political bellwether in every election, whether it be for president or in state elections,” said Spanos. “If the Republican Party here is inclusive and well-run, it bodes well for the party statewide.”

“It’s hard getting good people, especially young people, to run for local office,” Spanos continued. “When people hear about all this controversy and conflict and read about it in the media ... who’d want to be part of that?” 

“The goal is to restore the big-tent philosophy of the Republican Party and invite all [county] Republicans and conservatives in,” Lang said. “I look forward to the nomination process in January for our new county party leadership.” 

State committee members will elect county party leadership at a meeting that will take place in January.