The New Hampshire Democratic party is calling for an independent investigation into a state contract worth almost 900-thousand dollars. The contract was awarded to the Manchester firm, ChoiceLinx, to help the state save money on its health insurance. Democrats say the contract was awarded without competitive bidding. New Hampshire Public Radio?s Raquel Maria Dillon reports.
At the heart of the Democrats? case is a letter sent to the Executive Council last June. It came from the Department of Administrative Services and asked the council to approve an 885-thousand dollar contract with Choicelinx. The letter stated that information from 5 other firms had been requested, and ChoiceLinx was the only company to respond that it had the resources to meet the state?s needs.
But Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan says that letter was misleading, because there?s no evidence the state contacted other bidders.
SULLIVAN :21 This administration?s penchant for secrecy may be influencing state contracts and taxpayers? I was particularly taken aback by Benson?s reaction last week to this, which was that it was saving taxpayers money. Perhaps more money saved if we had open competitive bidding.
Sullivan called for an independent investigation into the role of one of the governor?s unpaid volunteers, Linda Pepin. A top manager in the state?s Office of Personnel says he relied entirely on Pepin in the selection of ChoiceLinx.
The Democratic Party also filed a Right to Know request, asking for a host of documents pertaining to the ChoiceLinks contract and Linda Pepin.
The governor?s spokesman, Wendell Packard, says if the Attorney General?s office chooses to investigate, Benson and his employees will cooperate fully.
PACKARD :08 it?s also important to note that the Democrat party has laundry list of Right to Know requests. This is just another one on top of that.
The governor?s office did not provide documents related to the bidding process. It did provide a list of the advantages of the ChoiceLinx contract, including savings of 24-thousand dollars a month.
Linda Pepin herself appeared for the first time since the controversy emerged last week. She refused to take questions but gave a brief statement.
PEPIN :17 I?m working on bringing state?s health program out of 19th century into 21st, using same business acumen, due diligence, and professionalism that I used throughout career.
Pepin says she welcomes an investigation by the Attorney General.
For NHPR News, I?m RMD.
