By now, many of you have probably heard the story of New Hampshire House Representative Katherine Rogers (D-Concord) pleading guilty to assaulting a citizen during a ballot recount. If not, here is some of the story below:
The 2017 ‘Humane Legislator of the Year’ entered a guilty plea to avoid jail time for assaulting Conservative activist Susan Olsen.
CONCORD, NH — A local Democrat and state representative pleaded guilty this morning to assaulting a political opponent during a state Senate ballot recount in November 2016. State Rep. Katherine Rogers, D-Concord, 61, pleaded guilty to the assault charge as part of a plea deal that would help her avoid jail time as well as a fine so long as she stays out of trouble during the next year and attends anger management classes during the next 90-days.
Rogers’ attorney keeps claiming she merely ‘touched’ her victim but the prosecutor wouldn’t have even brought the case forward if it was a simple case of ‘inappropriate touching.’
Rogers pleaded guilty to assaulting a citizen during a political process. Ballot recounts occur on a regular basis. Many political parties are involved in the process. To date, this appears to be the only case in which a person became violent.
This isn’t a partisan issue. Rogers happens to be a Democrat but if she were a Republican, the very same thing would remain true – SHE SHOULD RESIGN.
Of course, Democrats would have been calling for her head on a platter if she were a Republican but that’s another side story. The hypocrisy of the New Hampshire Democrat Party is palpable.
If you’ve never been to a ballot recount, it’s a pretty interesting process. In a state where some elections are literally won by one vote, it’s also an important process. Election officials maintain the integrity of boxes of ballots while observers review ballots that are placed in front of them to see if the votes are clear. If any ballots are questionable, they are put aside and an election official makes the final decision on the vote.
The observers represent one of the parties involved in the recount. They are campaign volunteers, political party members, state senators and state representatives. They all normally behave like adults, even though they are often seeking different outcomes for the election. That is, until Katherine Rogers decided to assault a citizen volunteering as an observer.
The problem in this case is that an elected official, one who was elected to represent her constituents as well as the State of New Hampshire, admitted to assaulting a citizen during a political process. This absolutely cannot be allowed. Intimidating citizens who voluntarily participate in these types of processes is unconscionable.
The integrity of the New Hampshire House of Representatives is at stake as well as the integrity of political processes where it’s always difficult to get citizens to volunteer.
This is not a case where Rogers should just get a slap on the wrist and walk away unscathed. What does it say to Granite Staters that an elected official can assault a citizen volunteering and still remain seated?
And forget about the Ethics Committee, they are a joke. This was proven last year when another unhinged Democrat State Representative, Sherry Frost (D-Dover) absolutely violated the Code of Ethics, not once but twice, and she was not punished for it.
House leadership doesn’t seem to think citizens deserve ethical representatives or they would actually enforce their own code. Or maybe they believe citizens are too ignorant to demand elected representatives follow an ethics code?
Assaulting anyone is unacceptable behavior any time but a sitting state representative assaulting a volunteer citizen during a political process cannot be acceptable. Not ever.
New Hampshire needs more people involved in political processes, not less. Granite Staters shouldn’t have to worry that they will be mocked, verbally attacked or physically attacked for having a different view or for being on a different side, politically, from an elected official.
Granite Staters deserve better than this and the New Hampshire House of Representatives should not give citizens the message that they will allow their own representatives to abuse them.
It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you are on; Katherine Rogers MUST resign.
