I just saw a tweet about some “30-minute warning” announcement about a curfew in a city. The average observer might think of a big box store’s intercom saying, “Attention shoppers, the store closes in 30 minutes, please bring your purchases to the register.” Not me. It triggered my contempt for Alderman Wilshire and her insufferable “30 SECOND warning.”
Most of us, if not all, have attended or observed plenty of public comment sessions in a variety of government bodies in one or more of all 3 branches of government. I say all 3 because the executive council has them, and I’ve been a pro se plaintiff against the City of Nashua, an experience I will get to in a moment.
In our state legislature, committee chairs have a lot of power in both chambers, which can be used for good or bad. I’ve attended and spoken at plenty of them. I’ve also watched live streams and videos of even more. I’ll disclose that all my observations have been limited to Republican chairs, but with that said, there are kind and thoughtful ones, and there are some real jerks. Old Man Pearson comes to mind with his nasty antics in 2022 as the House HHS chair, and the receipts are there in the YouTube archives.
Some chairs handle all-day hearings with more patience, fairness, courtesy, and grace than others. Almost all hearings have a time limit per speaker, usually 3 minutes. Some of them have a member serve as the timekeeper who will hold up a piece of construction paper signaling a 30-second warning, and some speakers will look up from their notes to see it, and some don’t. It’s up to the chair to make such operational decisions.
In City Hall, speakers get 3 minutes, and the clock is on Alderman Wilshire’s desk, visible to the speaker, as is the case in countless bodies elsewhere. Can Alderman Wilshire give what’s being said into the mic undivided attention in good faith while waiting for the clock to strike 2:30?
I heard that in Manchester, it’s the CLERK who gives the 30-second warning. The person at the mic might or might not be looking at the clock while speaking. What about the first-time speaker? Most likely, s/he is not. Nashua’s ruling class loves to preach words like INCLUSIVE and welcoming. The mayor calls Nashua a WELCOMING city. Let’s take a moment to consider the definition of WELCOMING. A quick internet search turns up the following words:
“Being welcoming means intentionally creating a warm, inclusive environment that makes visitors, new residents, or customers feel valued, accepted, and comfortable. It transforms an interaction from polite to genuinely hospitable.”
Every speaker was once a first-time speaker, and shouldn’t public participation in the government process be encouraged? Part of encouragement would be making a more WELCOMING environment for the first-time speaker. I will add that I have never taken to the public comment mic in there, mostly because I see that chamber as a big snake pit and find it very unwelcoming for a variety of reasons. In fact, it’s a downright hostile environment to anyone that criticizes anything about City Hall, no matter how much standing or merit their complaints have.
It’s not just the aldermen, with Wilshire in command, but the mayor and Attorney Bolton are a big part of the problem. When I finally had my day in court for my RTK suit against the City, Attorney Bolton tried to make a preemptive strike against my opportunity to be heard by Judge Temple in saying “Your Honor, we could save the court some time by…,” claiming that an email(a burial in a 900 page pdf of useless discovery) he sent me the night before ought to have solved the problem. Nashua’s ruling class sends a clear message that anyone disagreeing with them is not welcome to participate in any government process, and that mindset shows itself in attempts to chill the critics. Let’s get back to something the aldermen can do, if they are willing.
When a speaker is at the mic and has 30 seconds remaining, Wilshire interrupts by saying “30 seconds.” I can’t be the only one that finds that disruptive and chilling by design. Two people talking at the same time creates unpleasant discord for the listener, and people at the mic should get their rightful 3 minutes without that kind of disruption. Again, let’s consider the first-time speaker because the well-seasoned ones already know to expect it and plan accordingly.
Wilshire and her ilk would probably argue that too many first-time speakers never look at the clock and therefore would benefit from the verbal 30-second warning. I would argue that it puts many speakers’ minds in “fire drill mode,” compromising their concentration on the message being delivered. Sure, most inexperienced speakers haven’t rehearsed or edited their comments to fit in the 3-minute allotment, but there’s a more pleasant way to warn them that their time is almost up.
When I have something in the oven, my timer beeps once to indicate the one minute remaining. When my clothes are almost dry, my dryer has a buzzer (with a volume control) that sounds for a fraction of a second, letting me know it will stop in a few minutes. You probably see where I am going with this. Wilshire could get a hotel reception-desk bell and have the clerk ring it once, at 30 seconds remaining. Any similar device would also do, but it needs to be codified in a resolution (the name city hall uses for a bill).
Building a pleasantly audible nonverbal alarm to signal the 30-second warning into the city charter would make the atmosphere less unpleasant for ALL speakers, seasoned and first-timers, and observers, both in the chamber and online. It would be a small step toward making Nashua a more welcoming city.
