Dating back to the days of King Charles II in the 1600s, the Executive Council has long been a powerful and unique force in New Hampshire's state government, acting as a watchdog over the activities of the Executive Branch. We'll look at why it was created, how it has changed over the years and just exactly what the breadth and scope of the Executive Council's powers are. Laura's guests are Lou D'Allesandro, Democratic Senator from Manchester, Deputy Democratic Leader and former Executive Councilor who served from 1974-1980 and Stu Wallace, Professor of History at New Hampshire Technical Institute. In the past Stu has served as Director of New Hampshire's Division of Historical Resources. We'll also hear from Bernie Streeter, an Executive Councilor for thirty years before he went on to become the Mayor of Nashua, and Peter Vickery, An Executive Councilor with Massachusetts' Governor's Council.