New Hampshire House Speaker Sherman Packard said his office was unwilling to launch its own inquiry into where a former state representative was living on concerns it could have jeopardized an ongoing criminal review led by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Packard’s remarks came during an invitation-only press briefing Wednesday, where he largely reiterated what his office has maintained in official statements since September, when Troy Merner was arrested on allegations of voter fraud and for submitting false mileage reimbursements for travel to the State House. Merner, a Republican, allegedly moved from Lancaster to Twin Mountain in late 2022, but failed to resign his seat in the Legislature, casting votes in a narrowly divided House.
In his first extended comments on the matter, Packard defended his office’s handling of the situation, and said he aimed to put the matter behind him as the State House begins a new session next week.
“I'm convinced that we didn't do anything wrong,” said Packard, who was joined by Deputy Speaker Stephen Smith.
Democrats have criticized the speaker’s office for failing to take action or alert the House when it first learned of the criminal investigation into Merner in December 2022 in a phone call and subsequent email from the Attorney General’s Office. That email, sent by Deputy General Counsel Myles Matteson to Terry Pfaff, the Legislature’s chief operating officer, outlined what it labeled “facts” concerning Merner’s inconsistent statements about his residency.
More than nine months later, the Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Merner, prompting his resignation from the House and the Lancaster Selectboard, where he continued to serve despite allegedly not living in the town.
Packard told reporters that after receiving the email from prosecutors, Aaron Goulette, his chief of staff, confronted Merner, who attested that he still lived in a rental unit in Lancaster.
“We took the man at his word,” Packard said. “We had no reason not to.”
Packard said he never broached the subject directly with Merner, and that he believed he needed to let the Attorney General’s Office continue to investigate.
“I'm not going to act on accusations and rumors,” he said. “I'm going to act when we have proof. Once proof was given to us by the DOJ, we acted immediately.”
Packard and Smith handed reporters a printout of a 1990 House Journal entry detailing a resolution regarding a state representative from Portsmouth who also faced questions regarding her domicile while in office. In that matter, a House subcommittee was assigned to investigate the situation after the local Board of Registrars rejected a challenge to Rep. Cynthia McGovern’s eligibility to serve. On a 14-0 vote, that committee found there was no evidence conclusively contesting her seat and that the question of “how long is too long” for someone to not be physically present in their district before they lose their right to represent it in the Legislature remained unclear.
When asked by a reporter why Packard didn’t follow a similar playbook and launch a House inquiry into Merner, he again pointed to the ongoing criminal investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.
Merner was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Coos County Superior Court, but waived the hearing. His next hearing, a dispositional conference, is set for March.
Voters in Lancaster will head to the polls on Jan. 23 – the same day as the presidential primary – to select his replacement. Republicans currently hold a 198-195 advantage in the House, with three Independents. Four special elections in the coming weeks, including for Merner’s seat, will solidify the balance of power in the House this session, where lawmakers will take on a host of divisive topics, including bills related to abortion rights and gun legislation.
In an op-ed published last week in the Union Leader, Rep. Matt Wilhelm, the top Democrat in the House, accused Republican leadership of turning a blind eye to both Merner and Rep. Ben Bartlett, who was found to have violated the Hatch Act during his brief tenure in the Legislature.
“These incidents show a willingness, both individually and collectively, of New Hampshire Republicans to take whatever liberties with the law they believe are necessary to obtain and retain power,” Wilhelm said.
When asked by a reporter if Packard had concerns that his handling of the Merner investigation could cost him his position as Speaker, he noted that he has “been in politics a long time.”
“I can't control what everybody thinks,” he said.
He added that his office “tried to put this to bed, and every time we try and put it to bed, somebody puts a report out or something of that nature and blows the whole thing up again.”
After 45 minutes with reporters on Wednesday, Packard said, “This is the last time we're going to be talking about it.”
