Tom Thomson comments on the Secretary of State Election to be held December 5, 2018.
His remarks are presented below with his permission.
We Need a Non-Political Secretary of State’s Office in NH
For the past 42 years NH has had just that; a non-political Secretary of State’s Office under the leadership of one of this state’s most respected “Public Servants”, Secretary of State Bill Gardner.
Former Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) through his political action committee and is spending this to run against Secretary Gardner; both are Democrats. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, why is Colin Van Ostern spending over a quarter of a million dollars to try to become the next Secretary of State when Secretary Bill Gardner has never accepted political donations to run?
Bill Gardner promised early on when he ran for Secretary of State that he would not run for higher office; I don’t remember seeing a news report that Van Ostern is pledging the same to NH. What I believe is that Van Ostern, if elected, will turn the Secretary of State’s office into a political office that will put much in jeopardy for our state including the crown jewel for NH our “First in the Nation Primary” which Secretary Gardner has successfully fought for over 42 years and defended and for that reason alone he should be reelected without question. Further more, I believe Van Ostern, who lost in the recent gubernatorial primary, is looking at the Secretary of State’s position as a stepping-stone for another run for Governor, US Congress or US Senate. Ask yourself again, why would one spend over a quarter of a million dollars to run for this position?
Five NH Governors have endorsed Bill Gardner in the past week. They are Governors John Lynch, Stephen Merrill, Craig Benson, John H. Sununu, and Judd Gregg. Former Democratic Governors Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan are not endorsing Colin Van Ostern and have decided to remain neutral. Ask yourself this question: out of the seven NH Governors listed above not one of them are supporting Colin Van Ostern, why?
Former Governor Meldrim Thomson served our state from 1973-79, during the time that Bill Gardner first ran and became Secretary of State. Governor Thomson worked with Bill Gardner and was impressed with his knowledge and support as a solid Constitutionalist and defender of both our election laws and the First in the Nation Primary. If my father, Governor Thomson, were alive today, I know without a doubt the recent article in the Union Leader would have read like this: “6 Governors Stand Behind Gardner”.
To all NH voters please call or e-mail your newly elected State Legislators and Senators who will be voting on Dec. 5th and ask them to support Secretary of State Bill Gardner.
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Tom Thomson
Orford, NH
Tom Thomson is the son of GST co-founder Gov. Meldrim Thomson.