Here’s an important rule never to forget when talking to a reporter: Saying I don’t know the answer to that is always preferable to making something up … especially when the facts are easily discovered.

One Congressional candidate is finding that out that hard way. Former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta is the frontrunner in a multi-candidate GOP primary to take on Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in NH-01. He’s been running as a Tea Party-esque conservative. So when word started to spread  that only three years ago Guinta signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which endorsed the Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas restrictions and early versions of the current cap-and-trade bill, you can bet reporters came calling.

Kevin Landrigan, popular and well-respected reporter and Sunday columnist for the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire, asked Guinta’s campaign about the apparent evolution in the candidate’s position on cap-and-trade, which he now calls a “job-killer.”

The Guinta campaign denied it all. “As for the Conference of Mayors, [Guinta spokesman Sean] Thomas said the group probably got support from predecessor Mayor Robert Baines, a Democrat, and substituted Guinta’s name after the fact,” according to Landrigan.

… Unfortunately for Guinta, news outlets reported on Guinta’s support for that agreement at the time.

Here’s the Hippo Press:

This is just one tool being used in Manchester as the city becomes greener. In seven cities and towns in New Hampshire, community leaders signed the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement during an energy summit hosted by the Sierra Club last week in Manchester. Joining Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta in that commitment were mayors Bernard Streeter of Nashua, Michael Blastos of Keene, John Larochelle of Rochester, Steve Marchand of Portsmouth, Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin and Dona Layton of Dover.

And here’s a reference to a conference convenes by Guinta with the Sierra Club to celebrate the Climate Protection Agreement from the New Hampshire Union Leader on Jun 9, 2007:

The New Hampshire Sierra Club hosted what it billed as the first “Mayors Energy Summit” at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, where a dozen people discussed recent energy-saving efforts and the possibility of collaborating on future projects.

“I hope that more municipalities will follow our lead and the state will do the same,” said Mayor Frank Guinta .

Manchester and the other cities represented at yesterday’s meeting have made commitments to stop global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.

“This conference will help us turn commitments into action by looking at smart energy solutions and strategies for implementation,” said Guinta .

This is likely to become a major issue for Guinta in the primary, in which he faces competition from businessman Sean Mahoney, defense lobbyist Rich Ashooh and a handful of other candidates. But more importantly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin Landrigan takes another look at this story in next Sunday’s column …