Gilford decides to join parade of lawsuits over House redistricting

GILFORD – The town's selectmen have decided to join a multi-community lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the latest redistricting plan for the 400 seats in the state House of Representatives.

The selectmen unanimously voted to join the suit during their meeting Wednesday evening. In taking the action, selectmen accepted the services of attorney Peter Millham, a long-time Gilford resident, and directed Town Administrator Scott Dunn to meet with Millham regarding the suit.

Dunn said Thursday that selectmen have also instructed him to negotiate Millham's fee in connection with the case.

Under the redistricting plan, Gilford and Meredith would share a House district which would have four seats in the lower chamber. All four could be residents of the same town.

Critics of the plan say that some communities which have enough population to guarantee them one or more seats in the House were instead placed into multi-community districts, in violation of the N.H. Constitution.

Millham, a long-time Gilford town moderator, who met with town selectmen April 11, has noted that based on the 2010 Census, the ideal population for each of the 400 seats in the House is 3,291. With a population of 7,126, Gilford qualifies for two representatives, leaving an excess population of 544, which represents a deviation from the ideal of 7.6-percent. Meredith, with 6,241 people, qualifies for one seat, but falls 341 people, or 5.4-percent, short of qualifying for two seats.

The redistricting plan addresses what the House Special Redistricting Committee took to be excessive deviations by combining Gilford and Meredith in one district that would elect four representatives at-large, all of whom could be returned by either town, leaving the other without a representative.

Millham said that the Legislature feared that deviation greater than plus or minus 5-percent would lead the federal government to reject the plan. However, he said that the federal courts have accepted "reasonable" and "substantial" deviations, particularly to satisfy a constitutional provision.

Gilford joins other communities which are suing the state over the plan. Two of the state's major cities, Manchester and Concord have filed the suit. Others potentially challenging the redistricting plan are Meredith, Sunapee and Deerfield.

In other business at Wednesday's meeting:

— Selectmen approved a plan to install two memorial benches in Lincoln Park in Glendale, which overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee. One bench would be dedicated to the memory of David Barrett, who for many years was director of the state Division of Safety Services which includes Marine Patrol. The park is a short distance from the Marine Patrol headquarters and so Barrett would often sit in the park for "a little quiet time," Barrett's widow Wendy Barrett wrote selectmen. The other bench would be dedicated to the memory of Dr. Richard Heidbreder another park regular who lived nearby.

— Selectmen authorized Parks and Recreation Director Herb Greene and Police Chief Kevin Keenan to testify at legislative hearings in opposition to House Bill 1341, which would repeal an existing law which prohibits shooting a firearm in more densely populated areas of a city or town.