Mayor Frank Guinta (GG file photo)
Back in January, we wrote:
It is no secret that Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta is one of our favorite Republican leaders in the state. While others pay lip service to the basic tenets of the Party’s platform that includes fiscal restraint, Guinta is actually putting such notions into practice, noting, "We’re not here to fleece the taxpayers."
In November, despite the electoral disaster for the GOP in NH, we noted that when conservatives run as conservatives, and can articulate that message backed up with action, they win. Exhibit A: Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. At that time, Scott Brooks, writing in the Union Leader’s City Hall column wrote,
Mayor Frank Guinta will run for higher office. Don’t take our word for it. Take his.
"You know, I’m not sure exactly where my political future will take me," Guinta said in a Nov. 8 podcast [click on Hour Two] on the conservative blog, GraniteGrok.com. "But I’ve said in the past, and I’ll say it in the future, that I am eager and willing to serve the people in this state.
"It’s a wonderful place to live. But there are a lot of value systems that we have to protect. So as I talk to people in New Hampshire, I’ll get a feel for how they would like me to continue to serve, and I’ll certainly take them up on their offer when the time is right."
Guinta has made no bones about his political ambitions, having flirted with a run for governor early this year. He backed out of the race in March, but told reporters, "When the time is right, you will probably see my name on the ballot for something else."
I guess the time IS right, because today’s New Hampshire Sunday News (dead tree version only) is reporting that Mayor Guinta will NOT seek reelection as mayor, opting instead to prepare for a run for higher office.
"I’ve been asked to run for governor, Congress, and the Senate, and I don’t think it’s fair to the people of Manchester to run for reelection knowing I do intend to be a candidate 9for another office) in 2010." Guinta told the New Hampshire Sunday News yesterday.
The story further reports he will serve the remaining 8-1/2 months as mayor.
This is good news for NH as the Dems continue to show their true wacky liberal stripes, manifesting itself in bad legislation at the state level and a huge and growing financial mess in Washington. Whatever seat Guinta decides to go for, we’ll be eagerly supporting him as an able, proven alternative to our present representation. This is more good news for the Republican Party here in the Granite State. First it finally found itself an aggressive leader in the form of former Governor Sununu unafraid to call a spade a spade with an ability to fundraise and get things done. That was step one. The next steps involve getting strong candidates to run for office. With Jeb Bradley stepping up for the Senate District 3 special election, and now Frank Guinta on deck, I’d say the NHGOP is definitely on an upward track…