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A TRIBUTE TO MIKE WHALLEY
LEGISLATURE-LEADER-LISTENER-FRIEND
Mike Whalley (1953-2008) Concord State Capitol - Flags at Half-Mast 3/6/08
A generosity toward adversaries is rare in politics. We know from our own observations how energetic,
inflammatory and inconsiderate political argument can be. Debate, the gathering and counting of votes and the
deal making that momentarily brings factions together usually obscures principle and the reasons why voting
coalitions rapidly form and then quickly dissolve. The individuals who make up those voting coalitions
frequently find friends on the opposite side of critical votes. Votes weigh policy and move government.
Moving government empowers some and hurts others. Empowerment and disenfranchisement often causes
longstanding political associations to be come unraveled. Even longstanding personal friendships suffer over
insignificant matters having to do with tactics and policy. Such disagreements sometimes cause individual
relationships to become sour and remain adversarial even unto death.
Mike Whalley, Republican Leader in New Hampshire’s House of Representatives, who died last Saturday,
was a rarity in the legislative arena. He was a quiet, reserved and calm man, successful in business, who was
able to keep personality separate from the adversarial environment where he served with 399 other volunteers
in public service. His overarching interest as a political leader was to see that government in New Hampshire
worked and that it evolved without sacrificing the fundamental rights of individuals to be able to act
independently in the interest of themselves, their families, and their neighbors.
Where ideologues and heliotropes worked the press, Mike Whalley worked unassumingly and without fanfare
to move New Hampshire forward. He sought neither notice nor acclaim for his many quiet accomplishments.
Adversaries grudgingly accepted that he could not be driven off the high road and dragged into hot,
unharmonious debate. He believed that others could always be persuaded to see reason and to take the
sensible course. He provided House Republicans considerate leadership worth emulating and he provided his
adversaries an example of how to conduct respectful discourse. His family and friends will feel deep pain and
sorrow.
His constituents, his party and the people of New Hampshire will greatly suffer his loss.
Hon. Paul Mirski
Welcome to the Merrimack Republican Town Committee Website. This is an exciting and important political season! Visit our site frequently for the latest town, county, and state news. We hope to keep our Republicans informed and involved! * * * * * * * |
For Immediate Release Juanita Dangel 603-429-4302
May 1, 2008 juanitadangel@comcast.net
FURGUS CULLEN TO SPEAK
AT MERRIMACK REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MEETING
(Merrimack, NH) - The MRTC will hold their May Meeting on Monday, May 5, 2008, 7:00 pm at the Town Hall on
Baboosic Lake Rd in Merrimack . Our guest speaker will be Fergus Cullen, Chairman of the Republican Party for the State of
New Hampshire. All registered Republicans are invited to attend. This is a FREE event. For more information about the MRTC,
please see our website at merrimackgop.com or contact Juanita Dangel at 429-4302.
Fergus Cullen, 35, is a small business owner, high school coach, and former newspaper columnist. He is the second youngest
Republican state party chairman in the country. He interned in former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith’s Washington office in 1992; worked
as Deputy Press Secretary for former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland’s winning campaign in 1994 and later was an aide in the
governor’s office; was a member of Sen. Phil Gramm’s NH presidential campaign staff in 1995-96; and was Finance Director for
NH gubernatorial nominee Ovide Lamontagne in 1996. In 1997, Fergus was Political Director for the Connecticut Republican
Party. In 1998, Fergus served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Gov. Rowland’s successful re-election campaign. Campaigns &
Elections magazine subsequently named Fergus a “Rising Star” of politics. In the 2000 election cycle, Fergus was a consultant to
two of the most closely watched congressional races in the country, including Congressman Rob Simmons’ upset defeat of a 20-
year incumbent in eastern Connecticut (CT-2).
In 2002, Fergus was the Republican nominee in the Rochester-based 6th state senate district, running a competitive race
against a Democrat incumbent. Sensing an upset could happen, the NH Democrat Party challenged Fergus’s eligibility on residency
grounds – Kathy Sullivan personally prosecuted the case – and the state ballot law commission ruled in her favor and removed
Fergus from the ballot weeks before the November election. Fergus then managed the campaign for his replacement, Dick Green,
who won and served two terms.
A former editorial page columnist with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Fergus wrote more than 50 pieces on NH politics
and other subjects from 2004-2006. He has also been published in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant,
New Haven Register, and Runner’s World magazine. He has appeared as a commentator on numerous television and radio
programs.
A competitive distance runner with personal bests ranging from 15:23 for 5K to a 2:32 marathon, Fergus is the cross country
coach at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, where he has developed one of the top-ranked teams in the state. He
has hiked the Appalachian Trail across New Hampshire from Hanover to Gorham, and is a member of the New Hampshire 4,000
Footer Club, having climbed all 48 such peaks throughout the White Mountains. He is an elected member of the Wolfeboro
Budget Committee. Fergus owns CertaPro Painters, a contracting company with annual sales over $1 million.
A native of Laconia and proud product of Gilford public schools, Fergus is a 1994 graduate of Yale College, where his senior
essay was “Reagan Delayed: The 1976 New Hampshire Presidential Primary.” He earned a Masters in Public Administration
from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2002, where he was named a Littauer Fellow for academic achievement,
contributions to the school, and potential in public service.
-30-
May 1, 2008 juanitadangel@comcast.net
FURGUS CULLEN TO SPEAK
AT MERRIMACK REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MEETING
(Merrimack, NH) - The MRTC will hold their May Meeting on Monday, May 5, 2008, 7:00 pm at the Town Hall on
Baboosic Lake Rd in Merrimack . Our guest speaker will be Fergus Cullen, Chairman of the Republican Party for the State of
New Hampshire. All registered Republicans are invited to attend. This is a FREE event. For more information about the MRTC,
please see our website at merrimackgop.com or contact Juanita Dangel at 429-4302.
Fergus Cullen, 35, is a small business owner, high school coach, and former newspaper columnist. He is the second youngest
Republican state party chairman in the country. He interned in former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith’s Washington office in 1992; worked
as Deputy Press Secretary for former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland’s winning campaign in 1994 and later was an aide in the
governor’s office; was a member of Sen. Phil Gramm’s NH presidential campaign staff in 1995-96; and was Finance Director for
NH gubernatorial nominee Ovide Lamontagne in 1996. In 1997, Fergus was Political Director for the Connecticut Republican
Party. In 1998, Fergus served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Gov. Rowland’s successful re-election campaign. Campaigns &
Elections magazine subsequently named Fergus a “Rising Star” of politics. In the 2000 election cycle, Fergus was a consultant to
two of the most closely watched congressional races in the country, including Congressman Rob Simmons’ upset defeat of a 20-
year incumbent in eastern Connecticut (CT-2).
In 2002, Fergus was the Republican nominee in the Rochester-based 6th state senate district, running a competitive race
against a Democrat incumbent. Sensing an upset could happen, the NH Democrat Party challenged Fergus’s eligibility on residency
grounds – Kathy Sullivan personally prosecuted the case – and the state ballot law commission ruled in her favor and removed
Fergus from the ballot weeks before the November election. Fergus then managed the campaign for his replacement, Dick Green,
who won and served two terms.
A former editorial page columnist with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Fergus wrote more than 50 pieces on NH politics
and other subjects from 2004-2006. He has also been published in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant,
New Haven Register, and Runner’s World magazine. He has appeared as a commentator on numerous television and radio
programs.
A competitive distance runner with personal bests ranging from 15:23 for 5K to a 2:32 marathon, Fergus is the cross country
coach at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, where he has developed one of the top-ranked teams in the state. He
has hiked the Appalachian Trail across New Hampshire from Hanover to Gorham, and is a member of the New Hampshire 4,000
Footer Club, having climbed all 48 such peaks throughout the White Mountains. He is an elected member of the Wolfeboro
Budget Committee. Fergus owns CertaPro Painters, a contracting company with annual sales over $1 million.
A native of Laconia and proud product of Gilford public schools, Fergus is a 1994 graduate of Yale College, where his senior
essay was “Reagan Delayed: The 1976 New Hampshire Presidential Primary.” He earned a Masters in Public Administration
from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2002, where he was named a Littauer Fellow for academic achievement,
contributions to the school, and potential in public service.
-30-
