Manchester state representative resigns after announcing move to Weare
New Hampshire State Representative Ross Berry (R-Manchester) has announced his resignation from the New Hampshire House of Representatives. According to the New Hampshire House of Representatives website, the resignation became official on May 15.
CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire State Representative Ross Berry (R-Manchester) has announced his resignation from the New Hampshire House of Representatives. According to the New Hampshire House of Representatives website, the resignation became official on May 15.
Berry provided a copy of the letter to Ink Link that he sent to House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) announcing that his resignation, noting he has moved to Weare.[see below].
Colin Booth of the Granite Post reported on May 14 that Berry was removed as chair of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Election Law Committee, which was confirmed in a letter obtained by the New Hampshire Bulletin where Democratic members of the Election Law Committee expressed their concerns over what they claim was a violation of House rules.
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley released the following statement.
“Representative Berry resigned from the State House today in disgrace after he betrayed the trust of his colleagues on the Election Law Committee and the people of New Hampshire. Time and again, New Hampshire Republicans have blatantly abused their power in a desperate attempt to cling to their ever-slimming majorities — and Granite Staters have had enough. I hope we see Jon Stone, Ken Weyler, and Jess Edwards’ resignations next.”
New Hampshire House of Representatives Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester) provided the following statement.
“Congratulations to Rep. Berry on his new home. I wish him the best.”
Until his resignation Berry represented the 39th District of Hillsborough County, which includes Wards 6, 8, and 9.
This brings the makeup of the House to 199 Republicans, 194 Democrats, 2 Independents and five vacancies, with those vacancies unlikely to be filled given signups for the next term are set to begin in early June.
The other current vacancies came from the resignations of Tina Harley (R-Seabrook), Dan Hynes (I-Bedford) and the deaths of Sharon Nordgren (D-Hanover) and Arthur Ellison (D-Concord).
Below is the letter from Berry:
Mr. Speaker,I have relocated my family to Weare, NH and as of today I will no longer reside in my district. I therefore must resign my position as State Representative of the Hillsborough 39th District effective upon receipt of this letter. Of course, I would like to thank the voters of Manchester Wards 6/8/9 and formerly the voters of Litchfield for entrusting me to fight for them in Concord. While I will miss the Queen City, my wife and I wish to raise our son Maverick in a more rural environment, which Manchester cannot, understandably, provide. I fully believe that Manchester’s brightest days are ahead of it. Thank you for entrusting me with two chairmanships this term. I would like to say to my colleagues on Election Law that despite our acrimonious final meeting, we did manage to accomplish a lot and a committee known for its partisanship was unusually and thankfully congenial. This is largely due to the good faith effort of Rep. Lane who is a calming force on the committee. I believe we made significant progress on addressing the childcare crisis facing our state and I would like to thank Rep. Wallner for being a partner in finding solutions to ease the burden on New Hampshire’s working families. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Sammi for being an amazing mother, wife, and business partner. Being 34 years old and still working means she has picked up my slack when I am in Concord, and I will be forever grateful to her. I wish you and the rest of the members well and go give the Senate hell in Committee of Conference!
Best, Ross Berry
