New Hampshire News by Brian Lawson

CONCORD--The Republican legislative leadership argued that Gov. John Lynch's (D-Hopkinton) inaugural speech lacked specifics on a variety of his proposals.

State Rep. Sherm Packard (R-Londonderry) and state Sen. Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) argued that Lynch's address did not list any potential cuts to the state budget.

In the lead up to Gov. John Lynch's inaugural address, State Senate Republicans have released a statement outlining their hopes and expectations for the governor's next term.

Deputy Minority Leader state Sen. Bod Odell (R-Lempster) said he hopes the governor will promise to not tap the Rainy Day Fund when handling the current budget crisis.

"I hope to hear a commitment to not raid the Rainy Day Fund to solve our current budget gap and a commitment to not raise taxes to balance the current and upcoming budgets," Odell said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester) told PolitickerNH.com that a potential stimulus bill should include a way to track the money that will be spent.

"We're still talking about what will actually be in that bill, but my main emphasis is obviously it needs to stimulate the economy," Shea-Porter said. "We need to have tough accountability for the dollars because this is a tremendous expenditure, and I will absolutely insist on the accountability part of it.

Robert Bestani, a Republican economist from Newmarket, has officially formed an exploratory committee to determine whether or not he will run against U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester) in 2010.

Bestani said that he has formed the Friends of Bob Bestani for Congress exploratory committee because he has the experience to deal with the economic problems facing the country.