Laurie Ortolano

Laurie Ortolano is an NH Resident, 2023 Nackey Loeb First Amendment Award Honoree, 2025 NEFAC Citizen Honoree, and 2026 Sunshine Week FOI Champion Honoree.
Nashua City Hall

Ortolano: When the Response Proves the Point – How Officials Validate Concerns by Discrediting Dissent

Last Thursday, the Union Leader published an op-ed warning about a troubling trend: the politicization of public participation in Nashua. I argued that our city’s leaders—by labeling dissenting voices as “mayor haters” or dismissing ethics complaints as “just politics”—were creating a culture that silences civic dialogue. One day later, Alderman Derek Thibeault responded—not with reflection, but … Read more

Ortolano: Chilling the Chamber – How Politicizing Public Input Silences Civic Voice

Since the outset of Mayor Donchess’s leadership, our City’s political climate has shifted to destabilize our democracy. A persistent pattern has emerged, with elected officials, appointed or endorsed by the Mayor, making statements that marginalize concerned citizens, question their motives, and dismiss their input. This ongoing trend chills free speech, erodes public trust, and weakens … Read more

Ortolano: Mayor Donchess’s Misconduct Whitewashed by His Own Appointees

A complaint was recently filed with Nashua’s Ethics Review Committee (ERC) accusing Mayor Jim Donchess of unethical conduct. At issue: his decision to use taxpayer funds to cover legal fees for Alderman Melbourne Moran, who was sued for defamation over statements a court later ruled were made in a personal—not official—capacity. Rather than question the … Read more

Nashua City Hall

ENWRIGHT was Dead Wrong

Nashua’s Treasurer’s deception and omissions regarding Nashua’s trust fund money were on full display at a Special Board of Aldermen (BOA) held last week.  Dawn Enwright has 22 years of prior experience working as Nashua’s trust accountant from 2008 to 2012 and she has now returned as the City’s Treasurer and Tax Collector.  The BOA … Read more

Nashua’s $75M Trust Funds – The Penalty of Perjury 

The City’s Trust Funds continue to be an item of interest as accounting for this money is troublesome. City leaders are now acknowledging publicly one issue as they have organized a special meeting titled “Trustees of Trust Funds” on Tuesday at 7:00 PM in the Aldermanic Chamber. However, no additional information has been provided to … Read more

Nashua center for the arts

Nashua’s Unlawful Management of $75M in City Trust Funds

It all began with a simple question. In October, I wanted to verify the balance in a special fund (Capital Reserve Fund) set up for the maintenance of the Performing Arts Center, which opened on April 1, 2023. The City’s Board of Aldermen (BOA) approved this fund in August 2023. It was meant to be … Read more

piles of books and babers Photo by Carles Rabada on Unsplash

Citizens Seeking Records Don’t Want To Make A Career Of This

Disputes over municipal records in Nashua are characterized by significant contention. City officials operate through a distorted political lens. To engage with the Nashua government, one needs to align with their political views in order to receive cooperation and timely access to governmental records as required by New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know (RTK) Law (RSA 91-A). Any … Read more

Scrabble tiles listen more

Watch, Listen And Participate Nashua

A RECENT op-ed published in the Union Leader by Nashua Aldermen Tim Sennott, Tom Lopez and Melbourne Moran highlighted the need for aldermen and city leaders to rein in spending. Board members should view spending as a nonpartisan issue, recognizing the financial limitations that our citizens funding government face. While the op-ed raised important points, … Read more

Gavel law books courts

The New Hampshire Judicial-Legal System – Institutional Elitism That Denies Citizens Constitutional Rights

I have written several articles labeling the judicial-legal system as one that operates on connections: it’s about who you know, not what you know. A recent article on GraniteGrok by Andrew Cline, titled “Rising Up, Not Against Institutions, but Elitism,” highlights that citizens are not opposed to institutions themselves but rather to the elitism represented … Read more

Nashua City Hall

Using Public Money To Conceal Personal Corruption

Nashua’s Mayor and the legal office have launched a full-scale attack on this citizen in response to my advocacy for transparency in the city. Their lack of transparency is evident in their attempts to shift 100% of the blame for the costs of Right-to-Know (RTK) cases and complaints onto the citizens, while denying any responsibility … Read more

Donchess money fleecing at city hall

More Nashua Mayoral Malfeasance?

Contracted legal fee agreements are approved by the Mayor and require no approval of the Board of Aldermen (BOA). The purchasing policy does not require the Finance Committee or Board of Aldermen to approve legal services above $25,000. The Mayor and Legal Office have unchecked control over the legal fee contracts and the terms and expenses associated with … Read more

Nashua’s Mayor Must Change His Employee Standards To End Discrimination

Nashua’s assessing office underwent significant changes between 2019 and 2021. These changes occurred when the Mayor, aware of the problems, failed to keep the lid on a dysfunctional office operating in disarray.  The lack of management oversight created an unregulated environment, which eventually revealed itself and continues to reveal itself. The chief was at the heart … Read more

Scales of justice gavel law court

The Abusive Costs of Right-to-Know Cases In Nashua

Why did the City spend $650,000 in attorney’s fees and City Costs in an RTK case? The First RTK Petition – My Costs – $225,000 I started seeking records in Nashua, the Welcoming City, in good faith, believing the City would comply. While New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know (RTK) law does not require employees to answer questions, … Read more

Biden and Bolton

Washington And Nashua Have A Lot In Common Selecting people for critical leadership roles and monitoring their performance is paramount to an effective government. We all watched a bizarre public outing of our president’s diminished capacity and analysis of his fitness for duty. Those closest to him failed the nation by covering this up and … Read more

How the City of Nashua Treats Women Must Change

Ending Gender Discrimination in Public Information Access I have faced unjustified obstacles and outright hostility for four years while attempting to access public information from Nashua under New Hampshire’s 91-A Right to Know law. What I’ve experienced goes beyond bureaucratic inefficiency to include gender-based discrimination. Nashua’s leadership treats women differently—and worse than men. The Disparity: Men … Read more

Nashua Alderman Melbourne Moran

Nashua Alderman Moran’s Character Paradox

Alderman Moran’s behavior and comments at Nashua Board of Aldermen (BOA) meetings often seem bewildering and inappropriate. This was again illustrated at the BOA meeting of 24 September 2024 when he opined on taxpayers’ reactions to receiving their “surprise” property assessment mail. Excerpts from Alderman Moran’s comments during RESPONSE TO REMARKS OF THE MAYOR: https://youtu.be/nOf9YDorMgo?si=OvDACDlM_oauB9vo&t=797 … Read more

Donchess money fleecing at city hall

A Pathetic Mea Culpa

On September 24, 2024, the Board of Alderman meeting opened a conversation regarding the new “surprise” assessments received by property owners that weekend. The Mayor explained that properties throughout the City had increased but had no hard data to support his numbers. Congratulating homeowners on their average 20% increases in their assessed values to highlight … Read more

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