County releases list of 350 documents pertaining to Lori Chandler's departure from county attorney's office in 2006

LACONIA — In response to a Right-to-Know request seeking information about the 2006 departure of former Asst. County Attorney Lori Chandler, county officials have provided a list of nearly 350 documents that cannot be released to the public in order, they say, to protect the lawyer's privacy.

Chandler is now one of two applicants still under consideration for the county attorney position recently vacated by James Carroll IV, who accepted an appointed to the judgeship of the Laconia District Court shortly after his re election last year.

The unreleased documents include inter-office communications between Chandler and former Interim County Attorney Wayne Coull, witness statements from unknown individuals, payroll information and other written and electronic communications between the County Attorney's Office and former County Administrator Nancy Cook.

Chandler, who was an assistant prosecutor in the County Attorney's Office until 2006 and went by the name of Christmann, departed suddenly in October of that year after an alleged falling out with Coull, who had assumed leadership of the county attorney's office when former County Attorney Lauren Noether joined the state Attorney General's Office.

The volume of the paperwork involved suggests the drama surrounding Chandler's leaving was considerable. And the public was non the wiser.

Although one of the terms of her departure was never again to seek employment with the county, she can be a candidate for an elected position.

Information that was released as a result of the Right-To-Know request was that Belknap County agreed to pay up to $3,000 in legal fees for the attorney handling Chandler's departure and also paid $8,398 to its own lawyers.

The Belknap County Convention will choose between Chandler or Alton Prosecutor Melissa Guldbrandsen at its March 7 meeting.