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GraniteGrok blogger Doug Lambert and former Laconia Mayor Thomas A. Tardif filed a suit Tuesday against the Belknap County Convention, comprised of the eighteen elected state representatives of Belknap County. The petitioners claim the "secret ballot" vote used by the County Convention in appointing a replacement to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the elected County Sheriff is a violation of state law prohibiting such acts.
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RSA 91-A:2 states in part that
Except for town meetings, school district meetings, and elections, no vote while in open session may be taken by secret ballot.
As I noted in this prior posting, the Citizen newspaper, along with the Laconia Daily Sun, and the actual recorded minutes of the meeting all reported that the vote to choose a new Sheriff was conducted via secret ballot. Contrary to what some members of the County Convention believe, this was an APPOINTMENT to fill a vacancy, NOT an election.
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We are asking the Court to do the following:
1. The Court enjoin the illegally appointed Sheriff, Mr. Craig Wiggin from affecting his “official” duties on July 9, 2007.
2. Order the Belknap County Convention selection process for the Belknap County Sheriff to succeed Dan Collis as Sheriff be re-done, and
3. Order the defendants to comply with RSA 91-A:8 and other applicable Laws, and
4. Award the Plaintiffs all out of pocket expenses incurred by the petitioners personally against the defendants individually, and
5. In addition to any other relief awarded pursuant to this chapter, the court may deem, just and meet.
In other words, make this particular governing body comply with the law! Oh, and as this post from over six months back reveals, this is only the latest occurence where this bunch of elected "leaders" has chosen to stretch the boundaries of the state-mandated public’s right to know.
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In her latest Memorandum on NH’s Right to Know Law, State AG Kelly Ayotte writes in the introduction that
The public’s right-to-know what their government is doing is a fundamental part of New Hampshire’s democracy. For our government to remain of the people, by the people, and for the people, while protecting individuals’ privacy, it is essential that the people have reasonable and open access to the information that will inform the people what their government is up to and how it is performing..With the exception of the public business conducted at traditional annual town and school meetings, New Hampshire uses a representative form of democracy. The people’s elected representatives set and carry out most public policy. New Hampshire’s Constitution and the Right-to-Know Law ensure that the public has reasonable access to public meetings and public records that show what those elected representatives and the appointed public officials that carry out our laws are doing.
Precisely. We’ll see if the judge concurs this Friday morning at 9:00 AM in Belknap County Superior Court. [NOTE: This story is cross-posted at GilfordGrok.com]