Story Archives of 'Fran Wendelboe'

2006 was a bad year for the GOP, and this year’s elections proved even worse, with Democrats winning the White House and greater majorities in Congress, and state Democrats holding their seats in Congress and picking up a Senate seat. We’ll talk to a roundtable of Republicans about what happened and where the party goes from here.

Guests

• Charles Bass, former congressman from New Hampshire's 2nd District and chairman of the Main Street Partnership, a centrist Republican organization
• Fergus Cullen, Chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party
• Fran Wendelboe, Republican state representative from New Hampton and member of the Finance Committee

We'll also hear from

• Judd Gregg, Republican U.S. Senator from New Hampshire

Governor John Lynch says cuts could reach $50 million. As Democrats point to a slowing national economy, Republicans point to overspending.

To the critics, Lynch’s way of governing is overly safe, driven by political polls and prone to flip flop. To his supporters, he’s open minded, bipartisan and an excellent manager. We’ll examine the Lynch way of governing, see how it’s different from his predecessors and how it effects our public debates on the issues. Laura's guests are Jeff Feingold, Editor for the NH Business Review and Brad Cook, Manchester Attorney and former counsel for the New Hampshire State Republican Committee. We'll also hear from Rep. Fran Wendelboe, (R) from New Hampton; Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, (D) from Concord and House Majority Leader; Gene Chandler, Former Speaker of the House and currently the Republican Policy Leader in the House and Mark Fernald, Former Democratic State Senator and Gubernatorial candidate.

Democrats are the majority party in the New Hampshire House for the first time since the 19th Century.

But with the majority comes the responsibility of balancing their new power with the agenda of the overwhelmingly popular Governor John Lynch.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports Democrats are already trying to figure out how to handle the new role.

House and Senate leaders have begun their final budget negotiations. A point of friction is the department of heath and human services -- both the department's funding level, and the authority the senate wants to grant Commissioner John Stephen.