John Milne
Gov. John H. Lynch says he's too busy running the state to think about politics, but his behavior this month makes it abundantly clear that he's in campaign mode and running for a third term as governor.
Lynch, a Democrat, stressed his support for the widening of Interstate 93 during a meeting with The Eagle-Tribune's Editorial Board on Tuesday. When George Campbell becomes the new commissioner of transportation, takes office, Lynch said, "I plan to talk to him about accelerating the widening of Interstate 93."
Lynch declined to speculate on whether an accelerated construction schedule will mean that the widening will be finished sooner than 2017. He will consider an expanded bonding program to pay a bill now estimated at $800 million. He is confident the state can obtain rights of way for expanding the road between Salem and Manchester and building several new bridges. At present less than 10 percent of the 360 rights-of-way needed are under state control.
"I strongly support the widening of Interstate 93," Lynch said. Commuter rail travel will not be in the Interstate 93 widening plan; instead the state will consider a rail line from Manchester to Boston through Nashua and Lowell. "I think that it's appropriate that we look at it over there," the governor said.
There's no question that improving this transportation artery is of critical importance. Today's Southern Tier residents are commuting to downtown Boston as well as technology jobs along Rte. 128. The state ought to be working on an integrated transportation plan instead of building a highway now and thinking about commuter rail service much, much later.
Some of the best evidence that Lynch is campaigning comes from the governor's suggestion that the widening has been delayed by opposition from the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy group that wants rail service included in the plan. The case is still in court and CLF has not stopped construction at Exits One and Three on the Interstate.
A number of southern New Hampshire Republicans have rebuked CLF for delays, and Lynch now echoes them. But the real problem is that the Department of Transportation low-balled the cost and changed the project several times. The state made the highway unaffordable, not any opposition.
Lynch said he could not address planning decisions that were made before he took office in 2004. And today, motorists should realize that "the widening of Interstate 93 is happening," he said. "It's not prospective in nature. It's happening." Lynch hopes to have a plan by this fall to speed construction up even more, and although delays will arise, "we are going to go forward as quickly as we can."
An equally urgent issue, the governor said, is balancing the state budget as the national economy crumbles. Lynch's number-crunchers currently estimate a $75 million shortfall on a state general fund budget of $6 billion. Lynch has instituted a hiring freeze and stopped purchases of all but the most necessary items for serving individual citizens.
And he has boxed himself in tightly on the tax issue. "We are not going to have a sales tax," he said. "We are not going to have an income tax. I am not interested in raising business taxes." Lynch will not slam the door on gambling but he regards it with severe skepticism. That leaves more intensive marketing of liquor in state stores and charging a fee for the poker game Texas Hold-em at charity tournaments.
Lynch is campaigning but he's not alone. His likely opponent, state Sen. Joseph D. Kenney, a Wakefield Republican, last week calculated deficit figures twice as high as the governor's — $150 million and more — accusing Lynch and the Legislature of excessive spending.
"Instead of standing up and taking responsibility," Kenney said, "the governor singled out the national economy for the revenue woes in New Hampshire. In reality, spending has been out of control under Lynch because of his weak leadership. He has been run over by his party."
Kenney's assertion is hard to swallow in the light of Lynch's April 16 speech urging Seacoast business leaders to lobby their legislators to pass a constitutional amendment that would let the state target aid to needy communities without court interference.
"I need you to call your state representatives and tell them we have to pass a constitutional amendment and not get bogged down in partisan politics," Lynch said in Portsmouth.
The partisan politics are a bit mixed up. Kenney's GOP allies in the House favor Lynch's effort to take education policy away from the Supreme Court, but passage of his amendment has run into such intense opposition from House Democrats that few impartial observers give it much chance of passage.
John Milne is a veteran New Hampshire political reporter and analyst. Reach him at jmilne@mcttelecom.com.
