New Hampshire

NH House bill seeks to repeal change to Strafford County Commission election

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2024

NH House bill seeks to repeal change to Strafford County Commission election

DOVER — An effort to overturn a bill passed last year to change the way citizens vote for Strafford County commissioners received a public hearing before a New Hampshire House committee last week.

House Bill 1210 would repeal House Bill 75, which passed by one vote, 186-185, in the House and the Senate 14-10, along party lines. The election for the county’s three commissioners has long been countywide, meaning the top three vote getters were elected. The new bill breaks the towns and cities of Strafford County into three districts, with each voting for a commissioner. It’s set to take effect for the 2024 election in November.

The change means County Commission Chairman George Maglaras of Dover, who has served on the commission since 1983, would have to run against Commissioner Deanna Rollo in a Democratic primary, if both seek reelection this year. Democrats have long controlled the commission, which holds elections every two years, with a Republican last serving in 2011-12.

One of the proponents of House Bill 75, state Sen. Jim Gray, R-Rochester, in 2023 argued districts should be created to give smaller towns in Strafford County more representation. He also pointed out nine of 10 county commissioner elections in the state have districts. Strafford County is the only one that does not.

“That is taking away the people’s right to vote for all three commissioners,” Maglaras countered. “With that vote the new law lets people in the county only vote for one and divides the two major cities in half, disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters.”

Constitutional argument for and against districts in Strafford Counlty

Democrats who opposed the bill to change the election called it gerrymandering. Another argument Democrats made was redistricting of voting maps happens nationally every 10 years, following the once-a-decade Census. Gray helped lead that process in New Hampshire with Republicans in majority control. Numerous election districts were changed in the state, but no changes were made to the Strafford County commissioner election at that time.

Maglaras and other Democrats said state lawmakers need to wait for the next 10-year cycle and argued making changes would be unconstitutional. They said it would set a precedent the party in majority control could make changes at any time.

Gray defended the constitutionality of House Bill 75. In 2023, when House Bill 75 was being debated, he said an attorney told him “districting is different than redistricting,” meaning this change isn’t part of the redistricting because there are no districts for Strafford County commissioners. Gray said another attorney advised him since no action was taken on Strafford County commissioners during the redistricting process, “we still have our once-in-10-years opportunity.”

In addition to the constitutionality of the bill, Maglaras pointed out that one of the House votes that passed the bill was cast by former representative Troy Merner, ousted from the legislature after it was shown he was still voting even though he no longer lived in Lancaster, the town he represented.

“He was charged with fraud and casting votes illegally,” said Maglaras. “That will certainly be one of the pleadings in support of the new bill.”

House Bill 1210 was heard by the House’s Municipal and County Government committee, which is scheduled to vote on it by March 21. The bill will then go to the full House with the committee’s recommendation. It is sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Tim Horrigan, Cam Kenney, and Allan Howland, all of Durham, as well as Chuck Grassie of Rochester and Heath Howard of Strafford.

Maglaras said HB 1210 is the last attempt to repeal what he says is an unfair law. It if fails, he reiterated his stand the county will take its argument to court.

“The courts prefer you make all efforts to work through the legislature so that’s what we are doing,” he said. “But we firmly believe this is wrong and we will take it as far as we have to.”

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New Hampshire

Cher’s son heads to court over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home

Published

6 hours ago

March 11, 2026

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Cher’s son heads to court over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home

The son of Cher is scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a hearing over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home earlier this month.

It was the second arrest in a matter of days for Elijah Allman, 49, of Malibu, California, who was detained Feb. 27 after allegedly acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire. It was unclear if Allman had any connection to either St. Paul’s School or the home in Windham, New Hampshire.

Allman remains in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections in what is called preventive detention, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.

Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, faces two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it .

In the incident at the prep school, Allman was charged with four misdemeanors: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime.

At about 7 p.m. that day, Concord police responded to reports that Allman was disturbing people in the dining hall of St. Paul’s School. After charging Allman, police said he was released on bail as his case works through the court system.

Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working. It was unclear from the court records if Allman has an attorney.

In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman struggles with mental health issues and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.

The petition from the singer and actress said Elijah Allman is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.

A few weeks later, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he is in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his previously estranged wife.

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New Hampshire

Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Senate panel endorses reporting exemption for players on New Hampshire Fisher Cats

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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

Anne Bryson

For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson

Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.