Ray Buckley, who’s leadership and planning helped propel the New Hampshire Democratic Party into a majority of both houses of the NH Legislature for the first time in about 130 years, was on an easy course to become our next party chair. He had received endorsements from every prominent Democrat in the state, and a majority of our State Democratic Committee had publicly endorsed him.
Why then, did he suddenly retract his name from consideration?
A politically motivated attack by a Republican friend of Buckley’s, bitter over the new legislative realities of a Democratic Majority, destroyed his candidacy.
More over the flip...
From the Concord Monitor
Longtime Democratic official Raymond Buckley, who had been all but anointed the next party chairman, quit the race yesterday, as word spread that the Manchester police are investigating him. [...]
The probe was set in motion late Dec. 29, when "a letter making accusations" arrived at Gov. John Lynch's office, said Lynch spokesman Colin Manning. Due to the holiday on Monday, the letter was not forwarded to the attorney general's office until Tuesday. The accusation was then sent to the Manchester police, law enforcement officials said.
A police probe was launched against Ray Buckley, from a letter that was sent to the Governor’s Office. How many people report a crime by telling the Governor?
Apparently, a Republican State Representative with a rather bloated opinion of himself.
Several of Buckley's close friends said that the letter was the work of Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, a Manchester Republican. Years ago, a close friend of Buckley's said, Buckley was a tenant of Vaillancourt's.
No one has reported on the contents of the letter sent to the Govorner’s Office. There are several wild accusations, which I will not report here.
What is important, however, is that this is not the only politically motivated letter that Rep. Vaillencourt sent this week. He sent a rather bitter letter to NH House Speaker Norelli, expressing his anger at not getting his favored committee assignment in the NH House. Blue Hampshire has the scoop:
At 11 a.m. this morning, I received a call from Rep. Anne-Marie Irwin welcoming me to the Executive Departments and Administration Committee. As I told Donald Manning, your chief of staff, last Thursday and again Friday in an attempt to set up a meeting with you, I have no intention of serving on the EDA Committee. Of the 20 House committees, that would be my 18th choice. Serving in my sixth term, I believe I deserve to be placed on a committee of my choice. Is that not the purpose of sending out a card asking members to name their top three choices? I made it quite clear to Republican Leader Michael Whalley that I would be perfectly happy with either Finance, Judiciary, or Criminal Justice; Finance because I believe I possess talents which would benefit the House and the State; Judiciary and Criminal Justice because I have personal concerns which will most likely go to those two committees. I never pressured the Republican leader to be placed on Finance, but certainly never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that you would, contrary to all precedent in this great institution, over-rule his decisions, not even display the simple decency to call and consult me about which committee other than Finance I would prefer; and place me on a committee I have no interest in, a committee which by the way already has no fewer than five Manchester Representatives on it.
Emphasis mine.
The letter was accompanied by a rather unusual reminder of the state of the Democratic Majority; HUGE font expressing the simple calculation for the percentage of the NH Democratic majority, and how many seats Rep Vaillencourt feels NH Republicans deserve on the Finance Committee.
It’s the timing of these letters, however, that is most interesting. Apparently, Rep. Vaillencourt learned of his committee assignment last Wednesday. He sent this letter on Monday, the 26th. It was not until a few days later, presumably after Rep. Vaillencourt received a reply from Speaker Norelli, that he launched his attack on the NHDP by discrediting the heir apparent to the party chairmanship.
Ray Buckley’s Statement:
"These politically motivated allegations are completely false," wrote Buckley, who didn't return calls for comment. "I have no doubt that the allegations will be proven baseless, but I am angry beyond belief that the politics of personal destruction have come to New Hampshire."
So am I, Mr. Buckley.