Next Presidential Debate – March 15 from Washington DC
Next round – March 15 – 8PM – hosted by CNN
Due to concerns over the coronavirus, there will be no live audience.
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
- Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard (not qualified)
Pete Buttigieg Town Hall – Jan 4, 2020
Once again, this event was held in the NCC gym. Since it was conducted on a Saturday, we just had to attend.
It appeared as though attendance was similar to that for Joe Biden, roughly 1,000 people. It was hard to know exactly because Pete had a much simpler configuration – a stage at the front and a small area for ADA folks. Every one else stood. I’ve got to say that we had a much better view than for the Biden event.
Mayor Pete was introduced by Alderman-At-Large Ben Clemons. To me, Pete started a bit rehearsed, but the more he got into it, the more impromptu and inspirational he became. In general, he comes across as very smart and very articulate. He covered many elements of his platform equally, not focusing on a handful like others.
His approach to questions was different than the others we’d attended. Rather than calling on people in the audience, his staff collected questions on slips of paper while folks were in line waiting for the doors to open and put them in a fishbowl to be picked at random by Alderman Clemons.
Like the others, he spoke for about 30 minutes and focused on questions for maybe another 15 minutes. After the formal event, like the others, he remained available for handshaking, selfies and the like.
We’re hoping to get a few more events in before the primary. Photos below.
2019 Nashua rankings are IN – WalletHub & Money Magazine!
The accolades just keep coming!!
In August 2019, WalletHub (a personal finance web site) ranked Nashua 13th Best Run City in the nation. In 2018, WalletHub rated Nashua as the 9th best-run city in the US. In December, WalletHub rated Nashua is the 8th safest city in the country!
“Being repeatedly recognized by WalletHub and Money Magazine, as well as receiving a AAA bond rating from the Fitch and S&P, shows off the effectiveness and efficiency of Nashua’s city government,” Mayor Jim Donchess said.
In ranking Nashua near the top this year, WalletHub compared 150 of the country’s most populated cities in six categories (182 cities in total): Financial stability, education, health, safety, economy and infrastructure and pollution. In making the rankings, other factors and an overall quality of services score was also given.
For quality of city services, Nashua ranks 18th. For total budget per capita, Nashua ranks 30th. Furthermore, the city ranks 51st for financial stability, 113th for education, 69th for health, first for safety, and 28th for the economy.
“The city of Nashua runs on teamwork,” Donchess said. “Dedicated, passionate, hard-working city employees come together every day to make sure Nashua is a safe, welcoming, happy place for residents and visitors.”
Joe Biden Town Hall – Dec 8
My wife and I had a second opportunity to attend a Presidential Town Hall on Sunday Dec 8. This one was for Joe Biden, with an introduction from Annie Kuster and an endorsement from John Kerry.
This event drew much more attention than the one we’d attended prior. It was held in the NCC gym to a full house.
Annie truly provided only an introduction. John spoke off of the podium for about 30 minutes, taking no questions. Joe spoke for less time, then fielded 4-5 questions from the audience.
The theme of the town hall was the value of Joe Biden’s experience and his concerns around the state of America’s “moral compass”. Climate change was probably the single most discussed topic, though immigration, the electoral college and America’s standing in the world were also discussed at some length. A great experience! Photos below – they’re not the best as we sat behind the podium, but you’ll get a feel for the crowd just the same.
Tom Steyer Town Hall – Oct 27
I’ll start off this brief post by stating that NDCC does not endorse any particular Presidential candidate.
This town hall was held on Sunday Oct 27, so your webmaster and his wife were able to attend. One of the best things about living is NH is the incredible access that we have to the candidates.
This town hall was conducted in the atrium at NCC for about an hour. There were maybe 100 people in attendance. Many were very into two of Tom’s signature issues – climate change and impeachment.
Tom looks exactly as he does on those TV ads – down to the belt. He took a number of questions during the formal meeting and stayed well after for brief questions and photos. I was one of those who stayed, asked a question, and shook his hand. I wouldn’t say that he disclosed anything new, but having him state his positions in person has a different impact than a TV ad.
I will continue to post articles on various Town Halls as I am able to attend them.
Webmaster’s summary – NH Democratic Convention – SNHU Arena – Sept 7
This was the 2nd straight convention that my wife and I attended – and we’re glad we did. Both times, in my opinion, the biggest excitement was outside the SNHU Arena, though there was plenty of activity all around from 7AM well into the afternoon. If you think of the event as an elaborate Democratic pep rally, you’ll be pretty close to understanding the day.
Outside, from 7AM, there were groups of supporters for almost every candidate and cause positioned somewhere on the front lawn holding signs and chanting a slogan. It was packed and loud, but under control.
Tickets are available for sale, but if you have a connection to a candidate, they often provide tickets, as was the case with us. We were part of the Warren delegation. The event was Sold Out, though some of the higher sections of the arena had open seats.
Once inside, the aisles are surrounded by vendors selling Democratic wares (I bought a button) and booths representing local politicians, organizations and causes.
The event started at around 9:15 with Ray Buckley, NH Democratic Chairman. Each NH county (and Nashua specifically) had a delegation in the front of the arena marked by an identification sign similar to what you might envision on TV. I am not sure how much actual business is done on the convention floor – certainly none during the hours that we were there.
Each “major” presidential candidate (mostly those to be involved in the 3rd debate) had a section of supporters grouped together and got about ten minutes to speak. In between, our elected officers in Washington all had roughly equal time along with some local dignitaries. Made for a long day as it went well into the afternoon.
These are some scenes from outside the Arena before the convention officially started. Sorry if I missed your favorite candidate.
We were sitting pretty far in the back, but this what the convention floor looked like.
And the following photo was provided by the local Tulsi 2020 campaign.
November 5 election summary
16% voted during the Nov 5 municipal local elections.
- Mayor
- Jim Donchess (unopposed)
- Three Alderman-At-Large seats
- All three incumbents won
- Ben Clemons
- Michael O’Brien
- Lori Wilshire
- All three incumbents won
- Ward Alderman
- The following Aldermen were elected:
- W1 – Jan Schmidt
- W2 Rick Dowd
- W3 Patricia Klee (unopposed)
- W4 Thomas Lopez
- W5 Ernest Jette (unopposed)
- W6 Elizabeth Lu
- W7 June M. Caron
- W8 Skip Cleaver
- W9 Linda Harriott-Gathright
- The following Aldermen were elected:
- Board of Public Works
- Kevin Moriarty
- Shannon Schoneman
- Board of Education
- Jen Bishop
- Paula Johnson
- Sandra Ziehm
- Sharon Giglio
- Jessica Brown
- Fire Commissioner
- Kevin Burgess
- Donald Davidson
- Paul Garant
Ballot questions:
- NO – Offering retail sports betting (non-charitable).
- YES – Changing the city charter ending the requirement for Special Elections if an elected officer cannot complete their term until end of that term.
Silver Knights Fundraiser – 2019
About 100 local Democrats got together on July 25 to enjoy an evening with the Silver Knights. They lost (had a tough season in general) but it was a beautiful night with good company.
You’ll know most of the folks in these photos.
Brookline Democrats – NH Legislature This Week
NH Legislature This Week—May 14, 2018
Brought to you by the Brookline Democrats
Quotes of the Week
“Governor Sununu remains opposed to HB1264 and HB372 and believes that the bills should undergo a strict review by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in order to determine any potential unintended consequences.” Benjamin Vihstadt, Governor Sununu’s spokesman on the bills to discourage college students from voting by essentially creating a poll tax.
We are winding down! The House and Senate will meet on Wednesday, May 23rd to take up all remaining bills where the House and Senate have not come to an agreement. Those bills have been sent to committees of conference to work out a compromise. No further changes are allowed once the committees report out. The only voting options available are to pass or defeat.
These meetings of May 23rd (and, if necessary, May 24th) will be the last before the summer. After that, all bills will have been either defeated or sent to Governor Sununu. Several bills have already been sent to the Governor and he has yet to officially take action on the ones that we are following.
If the Governor vetoes a bill, it will go back to the legislature where a 2/3 supermajority is required in both the House and the Senate to override. There is no word yet on when such a session may be held.
We will not be publishing an issue next week. We will be back in a couple of weeks.
Senate create a mini-budget bill out of the blue
HB1817 started as a simple bill to create the position of a state demographer. However, the senate has added on several amendment to authorize spending on a wide range of areas – salary increases for state employees, red listed bridges, hospital payments, and Medicaid. It is not clear how much spending would be authorized by these changes, but it is in the tens of millions. The House has taken exception to this and asked for a conference committee to work out a compromise.
Legislature hands Governor an embarrassing defeat on the national stage
Governor Sununu has been advocating taking funds from public schools to give to private schools, religious schools and homeschooling families very publicly and nationally. He was set to make himself a national figure on this issue by inviting President Trump’s Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos to NH just as the legislature was expected to pass a bill doing just this. However, Republicans were not able to get their House members in line and the bill was defeated despite making several attempts. The House defeated SB193 on a razor thin 172-165 vote. State Democrats point out that recent special elections which have given seats to Democrats may have made the difference. Another issue is several Republican House Representatives have missed many legislative sessions – including Brookline/Mason Rep. John Carr, as has been noted here on many bills.
The Senate decided to make another attempt by tacking the language from SB193 onto an unrelated House bill – HB1636. However, the House again rejected the amendments and defeated the underlying bill 168-173. Rep. Ammon and Lewicke voted in favor of the Senate amendment. Rep. Belanger and Gargasz votedagainst the amendment. Rep. Carr had an excused absence.
Republicans keep opposition to marriage equality in their platform
For many years now, NH Republicans have included in their state platform a statement opposing marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Now that the issue has been settled and polls show overwhelming support for equality, one would expect the GOP to remove this embarrassing position, but not so much. This weekend, the party bosses met to hammer out the next iteration of the state party platform and former Chair Jennifer Horn proposed to remove the statement in favor of a general statement in support of all families. This still generated significant opposition among Republican leaders and in the end, the anti-gay statement was kept by a technical maneuver that stripped Horn of her status as a delegate, in effect punishing her for even proposing to support civil rights.
How to contact Governor Sununu
There are many bills heading to the Governors desk that he should be encouraged to sign or veto. You can contact the Governors office through the state web site here: https://business.nh.gov/
Bills sent to Governor Sununu
HB587 would prohibit “conversion therapy” on gay minors.
HB1264 would essentially create a poll tax by requiring students registering to vote to register their cars in NH.
HB1319 would add “gender identity” to NH’s civil rights laws, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
HB1575 would permit hunting with air rifles.
HB1586 would provide direction to judges approving marriages for under aged individuals.
HB1587 would set the minimum age for a marriage at 16 for all couples.
HB1686 would divert some education funding from public schools to private schools.
HB1816 would keep the expanded Medicaid program for another 5 years.
SB170 would allow towns to issue bonds to expand broadband infrastructure.
SB500 would allow loaded guns in stationary vehicles.
SB593 would repeal the death penalty. Senator Avard is the primary sponsor.
Bills in Conference Committees
HB1354 would make the Speaker of the House and Senate President voting members of the University System Board of Trustees.
HB1415 would provide a health benefit for teachers killed while performing their jobs.
HB1817 would provide new funding for state employee raises, red listed bridges, hospitals and Medicaid.
SB438 would create a process to allow elections to be postponed in the event of an emergency.
Where to find more information
The New Hampshire legislature web site is www.gencourt.state.nh.us. Here, you can find the full text of all bills, find the full list of sponsors of bills and see more detailed status. If you have questions about how to use the state website, we would be glad to help. Just email us at brooklinedemocrats@gmail.com.
Watch and listen to House and Senate sessions live and archived
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.
Terms and Abbreviations
ITL means “Inexpedient To Legislate”. If the full House or full Senate votes to ITL a bill, then the bill is defeated.
OTP means “Ought to Pass” meaning that a committee is recommending that a bill be passed.
Consent Calendar: If a bill receives a unanimous recommendation from a committee, the committee may place the bill on the Consent Calendar. When full House meets, the first vote taken is to approve all recommendations on all bills in the consent calendar. This allows the House to quickly dispense with non-controversial bills and move on to topics that need discussion. If any legislator requests that a bill be removed from the consent calendar, then it will be removed and it will be brought up for discussion and a vote along with the other non-consent calendar bills.
Resolutions: Sometimes the House, the Senate or both will pass resolutions. These are just public statements of opinion or interest, but they have no legal standing. It is similar to issuing a press release. HCR is a House resolution. HJR is a joint resolution (both House and Senate) that originates in the House.
LOB refers to the Legislative Office Building, which is immediately behind the statehouse. Most committee hearings are held in this building.
Reps Hall refers to Representatives Hall in the Statehouse where the House of Representatives meetings. This room is used for hearings that are expected to be very large.
“Retained” means that a Committee has voted to keep a bill until next year. Next year, any bills that have been retained must be sent to the full House/Senate for a vote. Any bill that does not get retained must be sent to the full House/Senate for vote by Crossover or the end of the session.
“Crossover” is March 31st. The House will vote on all bills introduced in the House by this date except for bills that have been retained until next year. Similarly, the Senate will vote on all bills introduced into the Senate by this date except for bills that are being retained until next year.
“Tabled”: The full House or full Senate can “table” a bill which means that the bill is kept in “limbo” without being passed or defeated. For tabled bill to be brought back up for a vote again (to pass it) requires a 2/3 majority. If the bill has not been passed when the legislature adjourns at the end of the year, it is defeated. Tabling a bill usually happens when the legislature wants to defeat a bill but doesn’t want to directly oppose it. It can also sometimes happen if there are not enough votes to pass, but leadership hopes to be able to come up with enough votes later—but this then requires a 2/3 majority.
A brief guide to how legislation becomes law
Bills introduced in the House:
- The bill is assigned to a committee and the committee holds a public hearing.
- The committee either retains the bill or votes to recommend that the bill be passed (OTP), changed (OTPA), or defeated (ITL).
- Except for retained bills, all other bills go to the full House which can pass, defeat, change a bill or send it to a second committee.
- If sent to a second committee, the committee must then retain or recommend to pass, change or defeat the bill. It then goes back to the full House for a second vote.
- If passed by the House, the bill goes to the Senate
- The bill is assigned to a Senate committee which then holds a public hearing
- The Senate committee either retains the bill or votes to recommend that the bill be passed (OTP), changed (OTPA), or defeated (ITL).
- Except for retained bills, all other bills go to the full Senate which can pass, defeat, change a bill or send it to a second committee.
- If sent to a second committee, the committee must then retain or recommend to pass, change or defeat the bill. It then goes back to the full Senate for a second vote.
- If passed by the Senate, the bill goes to the Governor who may sign the bill into law or veto it.
- If the Governor vetoes the bill, it goes back to the House
- If 2/3 of the House votes to override the veto then the bill goes back to the Senate
- If 2/3 of the Senate votes to override the veto then the bill becomes law.
For Senate bills, the process is the same except that it goes through the Senate before it goes to the House.
For Constitutional Amendments (CACRs) the process is slightly different.
CACRs introduced in the House:
- Assigned to a committee and the committee holds a public hearing.
- The committee votes to recommend that the CACR be passed, changed, killed or sent to study
- Regardless of the committee recommendation, all CACRs go to the full House which can pass, kill or change a bill or send it to study. Passing a CACR requires 60% of the House members present to vote in favor.
- If passed by the House, the bill goes to the Senate
- Assigned to a Senate committee which then holds a public hearing
- The Senate committee votes to recommend that the bill be passed, changed, killed or sent to study
- Regardless of the committee recommendation, all bills go to the full Senate which can pass, kill or change a bill or send it to study. Passing a CACR requires 60% of the Senate members present to vote in favor.
- If passed by the Senate, the CACR will put on the ballot at the next election (November 2012). If 2/3 of the voters vote in favor of it, then it becomes part of the NH Constitution.
Where to Send Letters to the Editor:
Nashua Telegraph
Hollis Brookline Journal
The Journal welcomes letters from its readers that are exclusive to this newspaper. Letters must be 400 words or fewer and are subject to editing either for content or for length. Letters must be received no later than noon on Monday. The Journal does not publish anonymous letters, those written under an assumed name or containing only the writer’s initials. Nor does it publish form letters, or those written as part of an orchestrated campaign. Letters must be in good taste and free of libel or personal attacks. Important: Letters must contain the writer’s name, home address and day/night telephone numbers and e-mail for confirmation purposes. Only the writer’s name and hometown will be published. The deadline for submitting letters is noon on Monday. The Journal is published every Friday.
The Mason Grapevine
Residents of Mason can submit letters to the Mason Grapevine at TheMasonGrapevine@yahoo.com
Hollis, Brookline, Mason Reps:
Sen. Kevin Avard (R) (603) 271-4151 Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us
Nashua Wards 1, 2, 5, Hollis, Brookline, Mason, Greenville, New Ipswich, and Rindge
Rep. Jim Belanger (R) P: (603)465-2301 Jim.belanger@leg.state.nh.us
Hollis
Rep. Carolyn Gargasz (R) P: (603)465-7463 cgargasz@cs.com
Hollis
Rep. Keith Ammon (R) P: (603)296-9879 Keith.Ammon@leg.state.nh.us
Hollis, Milford, Mont Vernon, New Boston
Rep. John Carr (R) P: (603)673-3603 john.carr@leg.state.nh.us
Brookline and Mason
Rep. John Lewicke (R) P: (603) 878-2610 Lewicke@yahoo.com
Brookline and Mason
NH Grassroots Newsletter
NOTE THAT THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEWSLETTER
| Hello Granite State Democrats!
Last week, we showed Sununu and Trump the power of Democratic activism. Hundreds of New Hampshire’s activists participated in protests, vigils, and other events across the state to expose Trump’s broken promises. We know that together we can beat Donald Trump, which is why the 2020 Democratic presidential New Hampshire campaigns issued a joint statement saying no matter who the Democratic nominee is, we are united in this fight. Our future relies on your hard work to ensure that Democrats get elected! Whether it is writing letters to the editor, sharing tweets, or signing up to help canvass or make calls, you are critical and you are making a difference! Please continue to use this regular newsletter as a tool for your local committee meetings, volunteer engagement, or as a supplement to your own regular newsletter. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have. Have a wonderful rest of your week, |
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Slate Goodwin is now the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Political Director after serving as a Regional Organizing Director during the Coordinated Campaign and will be the point of contact for Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough, Sullivan, and Merrimack Counties and the cities of Manchester and Nashua. He can be reached at sgoodwin@nhdp.org.
Apply to Volunteer at the State Convention
The New Hampshire Democratic Party 2019 State Convention is Saturday, September 7th and we need volunteers! This is on track to be the largest gathering of Democratic activists in the country since the last Democratic National Convention. If you would like to help, please complete this form to apply to be a volunteer. We will be reaching out closer to the convention with more details. If you have communications experience, you can sign up to be a press volunteer here.
As always, if you have any questions, please email the NHDP Political Team at political@nhdp.org. Thank you so much for your constant help and support!
2019 NHDP State Convention
DELEGATE TICKETS
Registration is now open for convention delegates! Delegates, check your inbox (and spam) for emails that came from team NHDP over the past couple weeks.
Only Delegates can register at this link, and registration is non-transferable. The website is connected to your email address we have on file, and each delegate can only purchase one ticket for themselves. If you are having trouble registering with your email address, please contact convention@nhdp.org
Make sure to register today! The final day for delegate ticket registration is Wednesday, August 28th. There will be no registration at the convention center door.
2019 NHDP State Convention
GUEST TICKETS
Have you heard the news? Tickets for the New Hampshire Democratic Party 2019 State Convention are now available for members of the public.
This year’s convention will be held on Saturday, September 7 at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester. Join all of our Democratic presidential candidates, national Democratic leaders, state legislative leaders, activists, friends, and candidates up and down the ballot for an exciting day!
Every four years we host the presidential candidates at our state convention, a tradition that started back in 1983. This year’s convention is on track to be the largest event thus far – so get your guest ticket today.
Get your ticket today – before they run out.Blue Bench Training
The New Hampshire Democratic Party is excited to partner with the National Democratic Training Committee for a Blue Bench Training! This is a free event, open to anyone who is interested in running for office, is staff on a campaign (or hopes to be), or for anyone within the local party infrastructure!
Register through the NDTC link today to reserve your spot at this exciting training opportunity!
Sununu for Sale Campaign
Last week the NHDP launched our Sununu For Sale campaign – exposing how Chris Sununu has consistently sold out Granite Staters by pushing policies that only benefit his corporate donors, his special interests, the Republican Party, and himself.
Now, we need your help.
On Wednesday at noon in Concord, NHDP staff will be giving out 45 new special limited edition yard signs to expose Sununu’s special interest agenda.
Again, we only have a few signs, and they will go fast. Be one of the first 45 people to sign up at this link to get a sign. If you’re one of the first 45 to reserve, we’ll send you an email to confirm the pick-up details.
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