Warmington Pitches Ethics Overhaul As Campaign Enters Final Days

By Leonard Robinson, NH Journal

Democrat Cinde Warmington is closing her campaign for governor with a last-second assault on Gov. Kelly Ayotte, raising questions about ethics and corruption.

With polls showing the issue of corruption near the top of voters’ concerns, Warmington told reporters at a Wednesday press conference she will pursue an anti-corruption agenda and pass tighter ethics standards known as the “Granite State Integrity Commitment” if elected.

“I will support legislation requiring governors when they take office to either sell their individual stocks or place their assets in a blind trust run by an independent trustee,” Warmington said. “While they serve as governor, governors should only hold mutual funds or index funds outside the trust.”

Warmington also committed to backing legislation that would add more comprehensive information to financial disclosures, such as all assets and debts outside of a blind trust, and require that such disclosures be made available online.

The former executive councilor used the pledge to attack her opponent, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, as building an environment of corruption that can be traced back to President Donald Trump.

“Just look at Donald Trump, who has pocketed over $2 billion according to his latest financial disclosures,” Warmington said. “This corruption and self-dealing from Washington has made its way to New Hampshire.”

Warmington has consistently trailed in the polls, sometimes by double digits, and she has struggled to raise money for her campaign. Political professionals tell NHJournal that raising the ethics issue with just days left in the campaign is likely too little, too late.

The allegations raised Wednesday aren’t new.

“When Kelly Ayotte left the United States Senate, the first thing she did was to cash in. She joined the board of Blackstone, America’s largest predatory landlord,” Warmington said. “This is how she made her millions: buying up housing, jacking up the price of rent and leaving families on the street.”

Warmington made the same charge during a recent debate at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. Ayotte rebutted it by pointing out that Blackstone owns just three properties in the state. The real driver of high home prices, Ayotte said, was a lack of supply.

Warmington raised questions about Ayotte serving on corporate boards, suggesting it raised ethical concerns. However, many prominent Democrats, including popular former Gov. John Lynch, serve on corporate boards. And Warmington’s proposal to force governors to give up their assets while serving would have been particularly problematic for Lynch, who was a multimillionaire businessman when he was first elected in 2004.

Warmington also targeted the ongoing controversy surrounding the state Supreme Court and Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald’s resignation.

Warmington has called for the Judicial Conduct Committee to publicly disclose the scope and status of its investigation and for the remaining three justices involved to temporarily leave the court during the investigation.

“I’ve called on the other three justices who admitted to participating in the conduct that forced MacDonald’s resignation to step aside immediately pending investigation,” Warmington said. “Kelly Ayotte has refused to issue the same call.”

Asked about the principle of separation of powers and the need for an independent judiciary, Warmington said that her call for the remaining three justices to step aside while under investigation is not unprecedented.

Warmington referenced the 2000 New Hampshire Supreme Court ethics investigation and impeachment proceedings involving Chief Justice David Brock. Three other justices involved stepped aside during the impeachment proceedings and ethics investigation. Brock was ultimately acquitted, and the three justices returned to the court.

Ayotte also addressed the Supreme Court issue during the NHIOP debate.

“I’m deeply disappointed by, you know, what came forward from the Judicial Conduct Committee that prompted the resignation of Chief Justice MacDonald. I think it’s important that our justices conduct themselves in the highest standards and make sure that we have people who are very qualified to serve on the court,” Ayotte said.

“I also believe that there is this separate branch of government, and there is a process that, through the Judicial Conduct Committee, that is looking at all of those matters, and that process is clearly conducting itself in the way that it should be.

“We need to respect that it’s a separate branch of government. But I think it’s important that people have confidence in our institutions.”

In the final stretch of the campaign, Warmington said voters have raised concerns about the judicial branch scandal and perceived corruption within the Ayotte administration, prompting her to back these efforts.

“Granite Staters deserve public servants who are in this fight for a reason: to make life better for those they serve, not to pad their pockets, not to look out for their corporate donors,” Warmington said. “This November, Granite Staters have a real choice: more of the same cost, chaos, corruption, or a real change.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.