So much for fiscal responsibility.
The splinter House Republican caucus led by Rep. Bill O’Brien has been evicted from its Concord office after allegedly failing to make monthly rent payments.
Court documents filed by the landlord claim the group was delinquent on more than $7,800 in rent, and stopped paying the nearly $1,500 monthly bill in December 2015.
Until recently, a bright orange sticker broadcasting the eviction was plastered to the office’s glass door. In black, capital letters the note – posted by the Merrimack County Sheriff’s office – warned that people entering the property without authorization would be arrested for trespassing.
The notice has now been torn down. But the decal above it, identifying the office as the “Republican Majority Caucus,” has not. Inside the floor-level space at 57 N. Main St., a couple dozen chairs are organized into rows. A printer sits on top of a filing cabinet. White shades are drawn in all the windows.
The office closure is a quiet and defeating end to the group that challenged Republican leadership in the House and threatened to divide the party.
O’Brien formed the House Republican Majority Caucus after losing a bitter speaker’s race in 2014 to fellow Republican Shawn Jasper.
The caucus staked a claim as the true House conservatives and pledged to fight against Medicaid expansion and efforts to increase taxes or fees.
O’Brien and Rep. Steve Stepanek opened the office in March 2015 with plans to hire a staff, run representative mentor programs and actively recruit candidates for the 2016 election.
But few of those efforts played out. Now, neither O’Brien nor Stepanek are running for reelection.
Stepanek disputed the eviction, saying the caucus simply moved out by April this year.
“Apparently the landlord wanted to go through (the eviction) process, but we said we no longer need the space and turned the keys over,” he said. “We were moving out in late-March.”
When asked why the group allegedly stopped paying the rent months before it vacated the office space, Stepanek said the caucus “made a settlement offer to the landlord that would have paid all the rent, and he rejected that.”
Stepanek’s cell phone lost service before he could say more. He referred further questions to O’Brien, but the Mont Vernon Republican did not return a call for comment.
Records show Maple Valley Manchester Partners LLC began the eviction process in May in Manchester District Court. The property management company, affiliated with Brady Sullivan Properties, did not seek back-rent in the proceeding. The court issued an order in July that gave the landlord freedom to take over the Concord property.
When reached by phone, Arthur Sullivan, a principal with Brady Sullivan and registered agent of MVMP, said he wasn’t familiar with the specifics of this particular case.
The tenant, listed in court documents as the House Republican Victory PAC, did not participate in most of the proceedings, records show. The political committee is run by O’Brien and Stepanek, and in 2015, Stepanek told the Monitor it would fund most of the caucus activities.
The committee has been a source of intrigue among state Republicans, who have privately questioned where the PAC gets its funding. The answer remains largely a mystery.
The last time the House Republican Victory PAC reported its finances was in November 2014, when it showed a $6,681 balance, according to a filing with the New Hampshire secretary of state. Documents revealed the committee had received contributions from the NRA Political Victory Fund, among others.
Now, 18 months later, there is no updated report. According to the secretary of state’s website, the House Republican Victory PAC did not submit a financial disclosure form by this year’s June deadline. Political committees must report if they spend more than $500.
Looking ahead
On Tuesday, advocates including New Futures plan to outline five policy initiatives meant to stop substance abuse. The group will ask lawmakers to endorse the agenda during a press conference in Concord. Legislators approved new money this year meant to curb addiction. But voters continue to name heroin and opioid abuse as a top issue facing the state. New Hampshire is on pace to reach nearly 500 drug overdose deaths this year, according to state projections.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com.)