NH Executive Council unanimously confirms Ayotte’s YDC administrator pick

The New Hampshire Executive Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Gerard Boyle as administrator of the Youth Development Center settlement fund, a pool of money established to compensate victims of abuse in New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system.

The fund was established after an avalanche of allegations emerged describing assaults, rapes, and emotional abuse perpetrated by staff against young detainees. The state has now distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements to victims. At its onset, the fund was overseen by an administrator appointed by the judicial branch and endorsed by both lawyers of the victims and the Attorney General’s Office. However, in June, when the state passed its new budget, lawmakers inserted a provision that turned the position into one appointed by the governor. Gov. Kelly Ayotte later appointed Boyle, a former circuit court judge in Concord.

“This guy’s got it all,” Councilor Joe Kenney said during Wednesday’s council meeting. “A family, public service, character, integrity, and everything that we need in this role right now for a very difficult time that we have to deal with the settlements to these young people, these victims. I think Jerry’s the man to do it, and I believe he wants to do it quickly. He wants to do it fairly. He wants to get this stain off the back of New Hampshire and move forward in a positive direction.

The transition from independent administrator to political appointee was a controversial one that has been lambasted by critics as a broken promise to victims and an attempt by the state to influence how much the state has to pay victims. In addition to changing the process for appointing an administrator, the legislation also gave the attorney general veto power over settlements.

Aside from serving as a circuit judge for 21 years, Boyle presided over the Merrimack County Teen Court, is a Marine Corps veteran, and is involved with the Scouting America youth program.