Story Archives of 'Governor'

New Hampshire and Vermont are the only two states that have a two year term for the Governor's Office. Some say that this provides for better accountability and forces the Governor to act more expeditiously on matters while others say that the short term weakens the office, requiring the Governor to spend a lot of time campaigning for their next term and not allowing them to get things done. We'll look at the history behind the New Hampshire and New England style of government, why it is the way it is and why it has not changed despite several legislative attempts over the years to expand the governor's term from two years to four years. Laura's guests are Drew Cline, Editorial Page Editor for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News; Stu Wallace, Associate Professor of History at the New Hampshire Institute of Technology and Dayton Duncan, Historian, longtime NH political observer and Chief of Staff to Democratic Governor Hugh Gallen from 1979 to 1982. We'll also hear from former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is currently Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

We rebroadcast for you highlights of Monday night's Governor's summit. Laura Knoy hosts a summit of six former New Hampshire Governors along with current Governor John Lynch to talk about the issues facing New Hampshire companies. This event, put on by Business NH Magazine, will look at the legacies of these governors, what they did during their time that affected the state's current business climate and looking forward to New Hampshire's business future. Attending Governors will be Gov. Walter Peterson, Gov. John H. Sununu, Gov. Judd Gregg, Gov. Steve Merrill, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Gov. Craig Benson and Gov. John Lynch. This will be a taped show, we will not take any calls.

The Center for Women in Government revised its 50-state survey of women in top state policy-making positions today. New Hampshire had ranked at the very bottom, but when Governor Craig Benson?s office submitted new numbers, the state jumped to seventh place. New Hampshire Public Radio?s Raquel Maria Dillon has more.

Craig Benson has never been shy about wanting to "run government like a business." The Governor's stated goal is to reduce bureaucracy and protect taxpayers. But, as NHPR's Josh Rogers reports, the Benson approach has raised questions about whether Linda Pepin gave a local firm a leg up on a lucrative contract.

NHPR's series on Linda Pepin and the Choicelinx contract earned a 2004 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Radio Investigative Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists.

New Hampshire?s 79th Governor took office today in a brisk ceremony at the State House in Concord. In his inaugural address, Republican Craig Benson pledged to reinvent government and encourage an entrepreneurial approach to the state?s challenges. NHPR?s Trish Anderton reports.