KELLY A. AYOTTE was sworn in as NH Attorney General following her unanimous confirmation by the Executive Council on July 14—making her the first woman in state history to hold the post.

"[The state] has been through some difficult weeks in the Attorney General’s Office," noted District 2 Executive Councilor Peter J. Spaulding, who explained that Ayotte handled her role as interim attorney general with exceptional professionalism.

"I believe we are going to see a new era in the AG’s Office," said District 3 Councilor Ruth L. Griffin during the confirmation hearing. District 1 Councilor Ray Burton agreed, and added that Ayotte "will bring the independent mindedness that is needed in this office."

Gov. Craig Benson joked with Ayotte that after listening to the praise from all of the executive councilors she should consider asking for a raise. Benson nominated then-Deputy Attorney Ayotte for the office following the announcement of Peter Heed’s resignation on June 15. She was acting as interim Attorney General when Heed stepped down from his post later that month.

On July 12, only days before Ayotte was confirmed to succeed him, Heed was cleared of sexual harassment/assault allegations in a report by Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway, who conducted an independent investigation into alleged misconduct by state employees at a May state-sponsored conference on preventing sexual and domestic violence.

"I am just thrilled and gratified beyond belief to be cleared of any wrongdoing or misconduct," says Heed in a recent Union Leader article. According to a spokesperson, quoted in the same article, the governor says he looks forward to working with Ayotte and hopes that the release of the report exonerating Heed will bring "some closure and people can move on."

A Nashua native, Ayotte received her law degree from the University of Villanova in 1993. She has spent most of the last six years in the Attorney General’s Office and also served briefly in 2003 as the governor’s legal counsel.

"It’s really an honor to be the first woman to hold this position," noted Ayotte in a public statement. "When I walk into the office, there are pictures of all the AGs on the wall and they are all men. I hope I can live up to the honor of the position." Ayotte also stated that her immediate goal upon becoming the attorney general would be to bring stability to the office.

Ayotte began her legal career in 1993-94 as law clerk for the Hon. Sherman Horton, NH Supreme Court. She was also an attorney at McLane, Graf, Raulerson and Middleton and joined the Attorney General’s Office in the Homicide Unit in 1998 where she became its chief two years later. She became well-known to the public for successfully prosecuting two Vermont teenagers who murdered an Etna couple, both Dartmouth professors, in 2001. Robert Tulloch and James Parker each pleaded guilty in April 2002.

This spring, Ayotte was honored with the NH Bar Foundation’s Kirby Award, presented to an exceptional attorney 35 years old or younger.

Ayotte and her husband, Joseph Daley, are expecting their first child in September.

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