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By Chris Anu
New Hampshire Herald
New Hampshire Herald
Jack Kimball’s resignation as GOP Chair is no longer news. What remains news are the
circumstances leading to it –the backroom deals reached behind him and against him, the
double standards applied in his case and the role that the trio of Kelly Ayotte, Frank
Guinta and Charlie Bass played.
Kimball’s troubles at the GOP started the day he took over leadership of the party.
Coming from the Tea Party with its anti establishment message, he was no GOP insider.
This explains the war cry first heard from him when he took over.
In a rather prophetic headline in this newspaper, last November titled “Kimball’s War Cry,”
we reported that he was either going to “make or mar the GOP.” Apparently, it has come
to pass, but not without a twist of irony. He certainly didn’t mar the GOP; he marred his
job as NH head of the party. But just what transpired in the NH GOP and led to the firing
of Kimball? Was it really all about the incompetence of the now exchairman? Questions
arise, and many wonder why he wasn’t even given the grace to at least complete his term.
The Charges Against Kimball He was accused of the inability to win special elections. But
critics argue that historically, the party in majority usually loses the majority of off year
elections. Ironically, Republican Kevin Janvrin just won the special election in Rockingham
District 14. Will that victory be credited to Vice-Chairman (now Chairman) Wayne
MacDonald or to ousted chairman Jack Kimball?
Criticism has also been levied against Kimball for hiring a professional fundraiser. A state
rep who opted to remain anonymous said raising funds is the primary job of the GOP
Chair. The greater question , he said, should be, “Did he waste the money or did the
expenditure to hire this person produce the desired result?” Another party insider added,
“There is nothing in the by-laws that prohibits this action by the chairman.” According to
records, Kimball added $191,392.20 in total federal receipts, not including transfers from
affiliated party committees, thus retiring any carry over debt from the previous chairman.
In his statement to the press on Aug. 23, he said, “Everyone has been paid, and we are
retiring debts leftover from the past few years that totaled over $100,000 – serious debts
that haven’t been addressed. One of my commitments is to leave this party debt-free
when my service is complete. As a result, our cash on- hand is a bit lower right now as we
clear out these old debts, most of which are related to the phone-jamming scandal legal
fees and penalties in 2004 as well as an expensive audit required due to inaccurate
Federal Election Commission filings in 2007 and 2008.”
Carry-over debt from former “successful” John Sununu. Where has this been reported
before? Many Kimball suppoters wonder why no body called for Chairman Sununu’s
resignation or removal for lack of performance.
Kimball’s opponents have also accused him of not accepting advice or help from party
bureaucrats . However, when the majority of the State Committee elected the chairman,
“it was the responsibility of the staff and the Executive Committee to get behind the
chairman and work to achieve success.” Instead what occurred was an undermining
stream of back-biting and emotional complaints of a lack of communication.” said a former
gubernatorial candidate.
Next in question was the picture of Jack Kimball signing a petition that would allow a
Libertarian candidate access to the November 2012 ballot. The fact that the petition was
not filed because of the action of Kimball to remove it did not carry any weight, said a
GOP insider. Was this a statement of support of the democratic process or a violation of
the very vague application of the State Party By-Laws Article 1Section 4a? If it was a
violation of the By-laws, it would seem that the same action of removal should have been
levied against Senator Kelly Ayotte, who signed a similar petition in 2010 according to
petition collector Harold Wilson.
One has to question also the position of Wayne MacDonald as chairman of the NH GOP
whose job it is to hold the Democrat Governor John Lynch accountable. MacDonald is a
state employee who works at the Department of Health and Human Services as a Fraud
Investigator. It appears that there is a clear conflict of interest and yet the party
leadership headed by Senator Ayotte, Congressmen Guinta and Bass, State
Committeeman Steve Duprey and State Committeewoman Phyllis Woods seem to be
looking at the other direction.
There were complaints that Kimball was ineffective. That he did not communicate well with
the other party embers. Yet when these same complaints were levied against former
chairmen like Fergus Cullen, similar action was never taken. According to June 22,
Granite Status, an undisclosed source on the GOP State Executive Committee said of
Kimball, “He’s a great guy and is putting his heart and soul into it and embracing all
factions. But he’s got to pay more attention to blocking and tackling.” Such praises leave
many in the party wondering the source of thedisconnect that will later led to his forced
resignation.
According to Tom Fahey’s column in the Union Leader, “Disruption within the Republican
Party is nothing new. A big tent makes lots of room for big fights.”
A few blasts from the past: “March 1995. Three-time Chairman John Stabile takes the
GOP chairman’s post again when Steve Duprey resigns after business associates are
indicted in federal court. He fires GOP Executive Director Charlie Arlinghaus a year later,
then loses to Tom Rath in a race for the state’s national committeeman slot. “November
2000. Mike Dennehy, a national committeeman and former GOP executive director,
criticizes Duprey over his performance as state chairman, saying change is in order.
Duprey later steps aside for John Dowd, who sees the 2002 ‘Phone Jam’ scandal under
his watch.”
Maybe the failure of Jack Kimball really was his outspoken desire to fight for change in
the methods that were being employed by the business as usual crowd. The complaints
about his “Tea Party affiliation” do not appear to hold water. After all, Kimball was a
Republican before the Tea Party movement began. Additionally, there are constant
rebuttal statements defending the NH GOP establishment with “this is not about Tea Party
versus establishment.” However, given the above, it certainly appears there is more to the
squabble over “don’t change the way we do things.”
circumstances leading to it –the backroom deals reached behind him and against him, the
double standards applied in his case and the role that the trio of Kelly Ayotte, Frank
Guinta and Charlie Bass played.
Kimball’s troubles at the GOP started the day he took over leadership of the party.
Coming from the Tea Party with its anti establishment message, he was no GOP insider.
This explains the war cry first heard from him when he took over.
In a rather prophetic headline in this newspaper, last November titled “Kimball’s War Cry,”
we reported that he was either going to “make or mar the GOP.” Apparently, it has come
to pass, but not without a twist of irony. He certainly didn’t mar the GOP; he marred his
job as NH head of the party. But just what transpired in the NH GOP and led to the firing
of Kimball? Was it really all about the incompetence of the now exchairman? Questions
arise, and many wonder why he wasn’t even given the grace to at least complete his term.
The Charges Against Kimball He was accused of the inability to win special elections. But
critics argue that historically, the party in majority usually loses the majority of off year
elections. Ironically, Republican Kevin Janvrin just won the special election in Rockingham
District 14. Will that victory be credited to Vice-Chairman (now Chairman) Wayne
MacDonald or to ousted chairman Jack Kimball?
Criticism has also been levied against Kimball for hiring a professional fundraiser. A state
rep who opted to remain anonymous said raising funds is the primary job of the GOP
Chair. The greater question , he said, should be, “Did he waste the money or did the
expenditure to hire this person produce the desired result?” Another party insider added,
“There is nothing in the by-laws that prohibits this action by the chairman.” According to
records, Kimball added $191,392.20 in total federal receipts, not including transfers from
affiliated party committees, thus retiring any carry over debt from the previous chairman.
In his statement to the press on Aug. 23, he said, “Everyone has been paid, and we are
retiring debts leftover from the past few years that totaled over $100,000 – serious debts
that haven’t been addressed. One of my commitments is to leave this party debt-free
when my service is complete. As a result, our cash on- hand is a bit lower right now as we
clear out these old debts, most of which are related to the phone-jamming scandal legal
fees and penalties in 2004 as well as an expensive audit required due to inaccurate
Federal Election Commission filings in 2007 and 2008.”
Carry-over debt from former “successful” John Sununu. Where has this been reported
before? Many Kimball suppoters wonder why no body called for Chairman Sununu’s
resignation or removal for lack of performance.
Kimball’s opponents have also accused him of not accepting advice or help from party
bureaucrats . However, when the majority of the State Committee elected the chairman,
“it was the responsibility of the staff and the Executive Committee to get behind the
chairman and work to achieve success.” Instead what occurred was an undermining
stream of back-biting and emotional complaints of a lack of communication.” said a former
gubernatorial candidate.
Next in question was the picture of Jack Kimball signing a petition that would allow a
Libertarian candidate access to the November 2012 ballot. The fact that the petition was
not filed because of the action of Kimball to remove it did not carry any weight, said a
GOP insider. Was this a statement of support of the democratic process or a violation of
the very vague application of the State Party By-Laws Article 1Section 4a? If it was a
violation of the By-laws, it would seem that the same action of removal should have been
levied against Senator Kelly Ayotte, who signed a similar petition in 2010 according to
petition collector Harold Wilson.
One has to question also the position of Wayne MacDonald as chairman of the NH GOP
whose job it is to hold the Democrat Governor John Lynch accountable. MacDonald is a
state employee who works at the Department of Health and Human Services as a Fraud
Investigator. It appears that there is a clear conflict of interest and yet the party
leadership headed by Senator Ayotte, Congressmen Guinta and Bass, State
Committeeman Steve Duprey and State Committeewoman Phyllis Woods seem to be
looking at the other direction.
There were complaints that Kimball was ineffective. That he did not communicate well with
the other party embers. Yet when these same complaints were levied against former
chairmen like Fergus Cullen, similar action was never taken. According to June 22,
Granite Status, an undisclosed source on the GOP State Executive Committee said of
Kimball, “He’s a great guy and is putting his heart and soul into it and embracing all
factions. But he’s got to pay more attention to blocking and tackling.” Such praises leave
many in the party wondering the source of thedisconnect that will later led to his forced
resignation.
According to Tom Fahey’s column in the Union Leader, “Disruption within the Republican
Party is nothing new. A big tent makes lots of room for big fights.”
A few blasts from the past: “March 1995. Three-time Chairman John Stabile takes the
GOP chairman’s post again when Steve Duprey resigns after business associates are
indicted in federal court. He fires GOP Executive Director Charlie Arlinghaus a year later,
then loses to Tom Rath in a race for the state’s national committeeman slot. “November
2000. Mike Dennehy, a national committeeman and former GOP executive director,
criticizes Duprey over his performance as state chairman, saying change is in order.
Duprey later steps aside for John Dowd, who sees the 2002 ‘Phone Jam’ scandal under
his watch.”
Maybe the failure of Jack Kimball really was his outspoken desire to fight for change in
the methods that were being employed by the business as usual crowd. The complaints
about his “Tea Party affiliation” do not appear to hold water. After all, Kimball was a
Republican before the Tea Party movement began. Additionally, there are constant
rebuttal statements defending the NH GOP establishment with “this is not about Tea Party
versus establishment.” However, given the above, it certainly appears there is more to the
squabble over “don’t change the way we do things.”