On Friday, Governor Sununu called for the resignation of state senator Jeff Woodburn, saying:
[His] morally reprehensible, violent behavior has no place in public service, or anywhere else. Domestic violence will not be tolerated in New Hampshire. Senator Woodburn must resign. Immediately.
The problem, of course, is that Senator Woodburn has been accused of violent acts (including throwing a cup of water at someone’s face, and striking her in the stomach), but not convicted of anything. He says that he intends to fight the charges, which means that we must presume that he is innocent unless and until he is found guilty in court.
I would hope that, if the governor had given it a little more thought, he would have issued a somewhat different statement, like:
Violent behavior has no place in public service, or anywhere else. Domestic violence will not be tolerated in New Hampshire. If convicted of the charges against him, Senator Woodburn must resign.
In the current political and cultural climate, the crucial line between accusation and conviction is rapidly becoming blurred. To have the sitting governor of a state throw gasoline on that fire harms our society, and everyone in it.
Now, maybe this was just a case of speaking too hastily. That happens sometimes. But just a day earlier, Governor Sununu issued a statement about some comments made in a private social media account by an employee of the state, Anthony Schinella. The governor called the comments ‘wrong and unacceptable’, and called for the employee to be disciplined.
Of course, the 1st and 14th Amendments to the federal constitution, and Part 1, Article 22 of the state constitution, say that Mr. Schinella has a right to say whatever he wants on his own time, without fear of government reprisal. And RSA 98-E removes any doubt about whether that protection applies to public employees in the state of New Hampshire — going so far as to provide explicitly for civil action as a remedy, a provision that been successfully exercised at least once.
So again, maybe after a little more thought, the governor might have changed his statement to something like
While I disagree with Mr. Schinella’s statements, I also recognize the essential role that free speech plays in our society, and realize that the proper response to his comments is to use reason to refute his errors, rather than to abuse authority to censor or punish him.
But I doubt it.
The more I hear the governor issue statements like these, and the more he calls for the elevation of expedient outcomes over foundational principles, the more it seems to me that, although Mr. Sununu ran for and was elected to the office of Governor, the job he actually wanted was something more like Lord Protector of the State.
Perhaps he should turn the governor’s office over to someone who is more familiar with, and respectful of, such fundamental principles as presumption of innocence and freedom of speech.
