No matter how surprised (or not) you were by Tuesday’s ubiquitous train wreck, what’s NOT surprising is Laura Telerski being installed in Rosenwald’s seat, a Senate seat that doesn’t have to answer to any voters outside Nashua.
Higher than local office and state rep, there have been and still are public servants in Nashua that must consider the interests of people outside the city. Attorney Coughlin, Attorney Dennis Hogan, Kevin Avard, and Mike Soucy were a few recent examples, but let’s talk about the proverbial elephant in the room, if you can call our governor an elephant rather than that other large grey animal found in the African wild! Our governor is the only NASHUA public servant staying in elected office. Why should this matter to the rest of the state?
One reason, among many, is that it’s guaranteed almost as much as death and taxes. Telerski will undoubtedly sponsor a reincarnation of Rosenwald’s SB406, which our now-lame-duck Senate Finance put the kibosh on. When impending member Telerski introduces that bill for a $20M appropriation to the City of Nashua for the purchase of the Daniel Webster College property (with or without the mayor present to speak in its favor), presumptive ongoing members Sharon and Regina will get steamrolled by Telerski and 5 of her ilk in the executive session. You know the rest of the process, as there is insufficient defense at every step until it reaches the Corner Office.
I know what you’re thinking: “but this is the case with all bad bills.” I fully expect Queen Sharon and the other 8 members of Team Red to vote correctly as a ninesome, but our Nashua governor must first veto that bill. Will she?
I would love to say yes beyond any reasonable doubt, but Kelly Ayotte is all about Kelly Ayotte. She must be convinced that signing it will ” MASS up NH ” and is contrary to making/keeping NH “safe, prosperous and free.” The concern is that those Big Developer puppeteers who own a piece of Her Excellency will convince her that it’s “pro-housing” and makes her look bipartisan. We must rebut that message, and one would think mere logic would do the job of explaining everything wrong with signing such a bill. Don’t be so sure!
Remember what I said earlier about Kelly Ayotte being all about Kelly Ayotte. She should be reminded of the consequences of a massive population influx in her corner of Ward 1. If you look at the map, you will see that 20 University Drive (DWC property) is about a mile from her home at 50 Indian Rock Road, a dead-end side street off the airport road. Getting to the highway already involves a lot of nuisances for people who live west of the intersection of University Drive, another dead-end side street off the airport road.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one consequence of the DWC property becoming what 603 Iron Marshal calls a FAVELA is another wonky intersection like that fancy, silly all-way stop sign at the intersection of Charron Ave. Even worse, the extra traffic volume might prompt a push for 2 new red lights! That wouldn’t be just Indian Rock’s problem; everyone in the western outskirts of Nashua, Hollis, and even Pepperell would have their most common route to Amherst Street made even more unpleasant.
I’m sure Hollis people, even the commies who voted for Carryl Roy, will NOT welcome the extra traffic from people going clockwise around the airport to access Amherst Street at the Greenhouse Cafe light.
You might be thinking, “But Pete and Max chauffeur Her Excellency everywhere in their state police Suburban.” The governor won’t care about traffic patterns while she’s playing with her phone, checking emails, or whatever limo passengers usually do. But what about her family and her neighbors? There might be outspoken people, like the Feenstras of Hemlock Circle, Newfields, who are NOT fans of the consequences of governor-neighbors making bad decisions. Again, she probably won’t care, but what about her home being devalued by proximity to a FAVELA? It’s probably pocket change that she couldn’t care less about, but we must find a way to hit a nerve that guarantees a veto.
There’s obviously going to be a lot of garbage that needs to be vetoed, much of it being even worse than an appropriation to Nashua, but we can’t let her get “veto fatigue” because it can and does happen. Just look at stuff that snuck past the Damn Emperor in 2019.
