‘Franking” may have helped boost Frank Guinta this election.
Despite criticizing the practice before becoming a congressman, the Republican has become one of the most prolific users of what’s known as “franked mail,” taxpayer-funded mass communications.
The official correspondence is sent using a representative’s actual signature, instead of a stamped one, to at least 500 addresses. Franked mail is meant to inform a member’s constituents and can include questionnaires, newsletters, press releases and information about voter registration.
But some watchdog groups say it can also provide an election advantage for incumbents, whose campaigns don’t have to cover the expense of such large-scale voter contact.
In the final three months Guinta could legally use the perk before his competitive Sept. 8 primary race, he spent $66,232 on the taxpayer-funded communication.
That’s nearly five times the $12,139 Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster spent on franked mail during the three-month span.
And it’s almost $10,000 more than what Guinta’s re-election campaign spent in total during the same time period, from April 1 to June 30 this year.
Franked mail has its roots in 17th century England, but has been used in the United States since 1775. U.S. Representatives pay the cost out of their office budgets, and the mass mailings must be reviewed and approved by a house franking commission. All franked material must prominently include the notice: “This mailing was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.”
While originally confined to letters and postcards, the definition of franked mail has expanded over the years to include Facebook, Google and Twitter ads.
Guinta, a Republican who represents New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district, has used the communication to send constituents fliers and pamphlets advertising job fairs, publicizing his town halls and highlighting his votes on various legislation, his office said.
In one franked mailing, Guinta announced his vote for H.R. 1725 the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act, “a common-sense, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize this successful monitoring program, which gives prescribers the ability to identify patients at risk for addiction.”
The bill passed the House in 2015, but stalled in the senate and was eventually included in a different piece of legislation.
There are protections in place meant to prevent members from using franked mail as a campaign tactic, including a 90-day black-out before elections and a ban on political or partisan messaging.
But a recent analysis by Washington D.C. publication Roll Call found that House members running for re-election in competitive districts disproportionately took advantage of the franking privilege.
Vulnerable members of Congress spent almost three times as much on franked mail as their colleagues in safe districts, the analysis found.
And Guinta ranked among the top four House spenders on franked mail between January 2015 and March 2016, according to Roll Call.
His office spent $135,162 on the mass mailings during 2015, according to U.S. House disbursements reports; compare that with the $24,753 spent that year by Kuster, who represents New Hampshire’s 2nd congressional district. Both are up for re-election this year.
When asked about the spending difference, Guinta’s spokesman Brendan Thomas said each office makes its own decisions about how best to address constituents’ needs for information.
“Our mail program connects them with new information about their top concerns, in addition to job fairs, town halls and other services,” Thomas said in a statement. “We’re proud to have assisted thousands of Granite Staters to find jobs, health care, Social Security and veterans benefits and a better understanding of issues that directly affect them.”
A Guinta campaign spokesman pointed out that the Republican voted in 2012 to cut House office budgets by roughly 10 percent.
Guinta’s re-election campaign has been largely overshadowed by a Federal Election Commission finding last year that the Republican accepted $355,000 in campaign contributions from his parents in excess of the legal limit.
Guinta has said the money came from a “family pot” he owned. But his rivals have blasted him over the report, and fellow Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, called on him to resign. The Union Leader ran a front-page editorial simply stating: “Frank Guinta is a damned liar.”
Still, Guinta was able to narrowly defeat Republican Rich Ashooh in a competitive primary race. He faces Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in November for the pair’s fourth match-up.
During their first battle in 2010, Guinta took aim at then-incumbent Shea-Porter for her use of franked mail, which amounted to $89,212 that year.
“There is a thin line between maintaining a rapport with one’s constituents and electioneering,” he wrote on his campaign website then, according to the Nashua Telegraph. “There must be a more efficient and most importantly, less costly way to distribute these papers.”
Back to Concord
The Senate will meet Thursday to consider overriding some of Gov. Maggie Hassan’s vetoes, including senate bills that require public schools give parental notificaiton before administering non-academic surveys to legislation allowing so-called constitutional carry. Republicans currently control the chamber with a 13 to 9 majority, but any override action needs 16 votes to carry.
Bernie’s back
Bernie Sanders is turning to other candidates to carry on his campaign’s progressive message.
Sanders’s new political advocacy organization last week endorsed Concord Executive Council candidate Andru Volinsky. Volinsky is the only candidate for council to get the backing of “Our Revolution,” which formed in August after Sanders left the presidential contest. It aims to “support progressive leaders” and address issues including income inequality and money in politics. The group has endorsed federal and local candidates across the country. In New Hampshire, “Our Revolution” has endorsed just four local candidates – Volinsky and three House contenders including current Democratic Rep. Renny Cushing.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com)