Sununu set to nominate MacDonald to serve as chief justice
Gordon MacDonald AP
Modified: 1/6/2021 3:51:29 PM
Gov. Chris Sununu will nominate Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to serve as the chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, a year and a half after first nominating him, and after a year of keeping the position vacant when Democrats voted him down in 2019.
“Gordon has served this state with distinction as attorney general for the last four years, and I am honored to nominate him to lead our state’s highest court,” Sununu said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Sununu cited MacDonald’s work as attorney general in filing lawsuits on behalf of the state to combat companies responsible for PFAS contamination, and the Department of Justice’s recent action brought against Massachusetts over the Bay State’s collection of income tax for New Hampshire workers who have stopped commuting south during the pandemic. Those actions, Sununu said, would put MacDonald
Credit Jack Rodolico/NHPR
Gov. Chris Sununu announced Wednesday that he will re-nominate Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to serve as the next Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.
MacDonald was previously nominated for the job by Sununu in 2019, but Democrats who controlled the majority on the Executive Council at that time blocked his appointment, citing concerns about his previous work in Republican politics, his position on abortion rights, and his lack of judicial experience.
Sununu has left the chief justice seat vacant since then, declining to bring forward another nominee.
In November’s elections, Republicans won a 4-1 majority on the Executive Council, making MacDonald’s nomination much more likely this time.
Sununu once again nominating MacDonald to NH Supreme Court lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NH governor cancels outdoor inaugural ceremony, citing mask protests at his home
Armed protesters have been gathering outside New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu s home in the weeks since he issued a mask order.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020 file photograph, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu wears a protective mask, due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, at a polling station in Windham, N.H. New Hampshire joined three dozen other states, including the rest of New England, in enacting a statewide mask mandate as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies. Sununu issued an executive order requiring masks to be worn in public spaces, indoors or outside, when social distancing isn t possible, which goes into effect on Thursday Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Mark R. Clermont s obituary photo
Recovering Trooper Matthew Merrill from his Go Fund Me Page where $149,301 has been raised as of Jan. 1, 2021.
By R.C. REIS, Special to InDepthNH.org
WHITEFIELD, N.H. – A detailed review of police logs in the small town of Whitefield from May through December chronicle public complaints and police action involving 45-year-old Mark R. Clermont, the man who allegedly shot and critically wounded New Hampshire State Trooper Matthew Merrill on Dec. 23.
Clermont died in an exchange of gunfire with Merrill, according to a news release from Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, who is heading the investigation. The attorney general said Clermont was armed with a rifle and a handgun and that the deadly exchange happened after Clermont’s car was stopped at around 9 p.m.