Maglaras vows court battle to fight HB 75, but declines to say who'll pay for it

DOVER - Strafford County Commissioners Chair George Maglaras decried the governor's decision to sign HB 75 last and vowed a legal battle, though he refused to disclose the source of the funding for such.
In response to a question from The Rochester Voice regarding the "funding mechanism" to cover legal expenses, he replied, "The methods to be used are attorney client privilege and have yet to be determined."
HB 75, which passed in June by a single vote, 186-185, puts Strafford County in line with how every other county in the state elects its county commissioners, which is by districts.

Republicans say the new law brings an end to the Democrat stranglehold that has pervaded county government the past 40 years, and it puts the county in line with how every other county in the state elects its county commissioners.
Strafford County had been the lone county in the state to elect its commissioners through at-large voting.
Maglaras told The Rochester Voice on Monday that he was disappointed but not surprised thatGov. Chris Sununu failed to veto the bill.
"His record along with the sponsors of this bill have been extremely partisan," Maglaras said. "We still believe this action is unconstitutional. I have been bombarded with calls from my constituents who will no longer be able to vote for me from the very communities the proponents of this bill say the commission doesn't represent."
The three new districts would include:
District 1: the towns of Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, wards 1, 5, and 6, of the city of Rochester, and wards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the city of Somersworth;
District 2, wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the city of Dover, and the towns of Durham, Lee, and Rollinsford;
District 3, Barrington, wards 5 and 6 of the city of Dover, Madbury, wards 2, 3, and 4 of the city of Rochester, and the town of Strafford.
Strafford 4 Rep Len Turcotte, who sponsored HB 270, the precursor to HB 75, told The Rochester Voice on Friday its passage has historic significance.
"For the last four decades (20 election cycles) where three commissioners were elected each term, only a single Republican was elected," he said. "That's one out of 60 possible slots, the other 59 went to Democrats in a county that is approximately 40/60 Republican to Democrat citizenry."
Turcotte said the Democrats had tried everything in the book to buck coming into line with the state's other nine counties, who all elect their commissioner by district.
"Throughout the seven-month process, Democrats have dispensed propaganda, fear grenades and outright lies in op-eds as well as during hearings and in the House Chamber," he said. "To be clear, their strong opposition came down to a single issue: 40 years of complete Democrat rule in a Gerrymandered-by-default county without Republican oversight could now come to an end."
The last time a Republican was on the county board was 2012.