To: Governor Chris Sununu

Demand that New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan end the revolving door of bank lobbying

We petition Governor Hassan to rescind her nomination of Gerald Little, long time banking lobbyist and Executive Director of the New Hampshire Bankers Association, to the position New Hampshire Banking Commissioner. We urge her to seek a qualified individual who will not be compromised by years of aggressive defense and support for an industry that he or she would be called upon to regulate. Prudence, fairness and trust demand a new appointee who has, at a minimum, an arm's length relationship with the Banking Industry.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/opinion/editorials/1077000-465/banking-selection-highlights-issues.html

Why is this important?

On Feb 9, NH Governor Maggie Hassan announced her intention to appoint first term Senator Gerry Little, the former long-term lobbyist and Executive Director of the New Hampshire Bankers Association, to the position of New Hampshire Commissioner of Banking. The tone-deaf decision by Governor Hassan to appoint an individual who has spent over two decades aggressively defending the banking industry makes him a flawed candidate for the job of top banking regulator. It flies in the face of the very definition of the job - which is "committed to protecting the public's interest through professional supervision of the financial services we regulate." Prudence, fairness and trust demand a new appointment that respects the real concern of the public in a regulatory system that acts in the best interest of New Hampshire residents and has an arm's length relationship with the banking industry. The appointment scenario created by Governor Hassan, a current candidate for the US Senate, looks like another example of the fox guarding the hen house and smacks of cronyism. This type of behavior has been a problem at the national level; it is no less a problem at the state level. It must end now.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/opinion/columns/21070910-95/my-turn-hassans-choice-for-banking-commissioner-is-deplorable