In Laconia to meet with GOP faithful, Chandler says he won't make deal with Democrats to win race for House Speaker

LACONIA — Addressing the Belknap County Republican Committee last evening, Rep. Gene Chandler of Bartlett, one of four candidates vying to lead the new Republican super-majority in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, told party members that "the Speaker's race has gotten very contentious" and vowed "I will not stoop to that level."

Chandler did not elaborate. But, many gathered in the back room of the Shang-Hai Restaurant caught his allusion to insinuations that appeared yesterday on Granite Grok, the conservative blog hosted by Skip Murphy of Gilford, that if Chandler failed to corral enough votes in the Republican caucus, he would turn to the Democrats to win the speakership.

Both Republican and Democratic members of the House will nominate a candidate for Speaker, who will be their party leader. There are 302 Republicans and 98 Democrats. The Speaker is elected by all 400 House members.

Chandler's chief rival is Rep. Bill O'Brien, an attorney from Mont Vernon beginning his third term in the House. O'Brien chairs the GOP platform committee and, more significantly, serves as co-chair of the House Republican Alliance, the conservative wing of the party caucus. He is running for speaker to fulfill "the promise of conservatism — freedom based on limited government, local control and individual liberty — because I have not seen Republican House leadership that has worked to achieve these goals and I don’t see the prospect of anyone else stepping forward to provide it."

A veteran legislator, Chandler served as Speaker from 2001 to 2004, but did not seek a third term when his failure to report $64,000 in gifts from "Friends of Gene Chandler," which staged an annual "Old Fashioned Corn Roast," triggered an investigation. Although the ethics committee recommended expulsion, the House chose to censure him and his successor restored him to a place in leadership.

The other candidates, Representatives John Reagan of Deerfield and Susan Emerson of Rindge, are both considered dark horses.

The insinuations about Chandler originated with a blog post by pundit James Pindell, who speculated that since Chandler had stressed his ability to work with Democrats, they could throw their 98 votes to him, which with 103 of the 298 Republicans would give him a majority of 400 House members. O'Brien, on the other hand, Pindell said must win his majority within the GOP caucus.

Pindell went on to quote Teri Norelli, the Democratic leader in the House, who coyly remarked that she doubted either O'Brien or Chandler had enough Republican support to become Speaker.

Early yesterday morning Tim Condon, an attorney active in the Republican Liberty Caucus, posted Pindell's speculations on Granite Grok. And shortly after 1 p.m. posted his own musings — "The plot THICKENS! Is Chandler plotting with the Democrats to seize the Speakership?" According to Condon, O'Brien proposed that all candidates for Speaker pledge not to oppose the choice of the Republican caucus, but Chandler refused to agree. Condon quoted a GOP lawmaker as saying "Gene Chandler will never promote an elected leader unless that person is devoted head-to-toe to Gene Chandler first, before either the Caucus or Republican principles in general." Condon closed by remarking "uh oh. Houston Republicans, we have a problem."

At the same time, Representative Bob Mead of Mont Vernon, a staunch supporter of O'Brien, circulated Pindell's remarks in an e-mail, to fellow Republicans. He urged them to withdraw their support from any candidate other than O'Brien and reminded them "understand that your support would be thrown in with the Democrats in order to elect Gene Chandler as their Republican Speaker, despite who the Republican caucus elects."

By mid-afternoon, Chandler was dousing the fire in an interview with the N.H. Union-Leader, the states largest newspaper. Seeking to scotch any speculation that he would court Democrats, he declared "I'm running in the Republican caucus to be the Republican nominee for Speaker. It's as simple as that. I'm not running for any other position or for any other party." Last night he assured Beknap County Republicans that all four candidates for Speaker pledged to support the choice of the GOP caucus. "We assured (party chairman John H.) Sununu of that on Monday," he said.

The House Repubican caucus will meet on Thursday November 18 to choose its nomineee for Speaker.