Speaker Scamman - again STRATHAM - W. Douglas Scamman has come full circle. Scamman, 63, was elected Dec. 1 to his third term as Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He previously served as Speaker for two terms, 1986 to 1990.

Scamman, a self-styled "consensus builder," proved this before he even took the gavel. In the first of two ballot sessions, he received 43 votes of 384. But in the second round, he received 224, more than the 195 or 50 percent he needed to be elected.

Some 146 Democrats who first voted for Rep. James Craig, D-Manchester, in the first round, switched their votes to Scamman on the second ballot and helped ensure his victory over former Deputy Speaker Michael Whalley, R-Alton. Some of the 54 Republicans who voted for Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, on the first ballot also switched their votes to Scamman.

W. Douglass Scamman

Scamman’s late father, W. Douglas Scamman Sr., was Speaker of the House in the 1957-58 session.

The younger Scamman replaces former Speaker Gene Chandler, who resigned in late November under the cloud of an ethics investigation. The attorney general’s office is investigating Chandler’s alleged failure to report $64,000 in gifts from constituents.

After a 14-year absence from the House, Scamman ran for a seat in District 13. His wife Stella also ran for and won her second consecutive term.

Education funding tops Scamman’s priorities this time around. He has said he plans to sponsor a bill to address school funding, with highest levels of aid going to districts with the lowest average incomes.