Politics & Government

NHDP Seriously Questions LGC Hiring of Bragdon

Democrats seek LGC records of the Local Government Center's hiring process.

State Senate President Peter Bragdon has accepted a new role at the Local Government Center (LGC), but New Hampshire Democrats are crying foul.

The NHDP sent a Right-to-know request to the LGC regarding their hiring of Bragdon on Tuesday. The decision was announced before the boards had gone to a vote, and was done “in secret,” according to the NHDP.

“Serious concerns were raised across the state about both the substance and process of the LGC hiring of Senate President Peter Bragdon,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Communications Director Harrell Kirstein.  “With an elected official taking a $180,000 job controlling a publicly funded body with a checkered history, the people of New Hampshire deserve to know if the hiring process was skewed in Bragdon’s favor, if other candidates were considered, and when this process began. Almost every single issue and or piece of legislation that comes before the State Senate impacts the LGC and its affiliated organizations, and Bragdon and the LGC have created an enormous conflict of interest that leads to a host of ethical questions.”

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Bragdon will be paid $180,000 in a one-year contract starting today.

The NHDP suspects that there is a conflict of interest surrounding his new position and his current role as Senate President. Bragdon had appointed fellow Republican Senator Jeanie Forrester to a committee reviewing “potential changes to the state law that regulates the LGC.”

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“Had Bragdon begun talking to the LGC about the highly paid Executive Director position when he appointed Forrester to the committee reviewing changes to state law regulating the LGC?” asked Kirstein. “The secretive nature of his hiring raises questions about every decision Bragdon has made benefiting the LGC, especially when it comes to oversight and regulation of the LGC.”

Bragdon has denied any conflict of interest and said that the democrat’s attacks show “a lack of understanding of the LGC and the New Hampshire Municipal Association.” He told Patch that he had spoken with Senate legal counsel before accepting the position, and would recuse himself if an issue arises.


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