Good evening,
My Name is Albert Todd and I live at <redacted> in Nashua. I am writing this message in response to the Nashua Alderman Board that I joined and watched on 4/27/2021. During this board meeting, many interesting topics were discussed but one struck me as odd and alarming. That is when the Board started discussing a reduction in funding for Right to Know Requests.
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One would think to themselves that this would be done because not many citizens were using the service and the money would be better spent elsewhere. However, as the discussion of reducing funds expanded it would turn out to be quite the opposite!
From my interpretation of the conversation, the Board is considering reducing the funding because they are receiving too many requests! This gives the public the perception that you are trying to put the city in a position to state they do not have enough funding to process the Right to Know requests; this is effectively silencing your constituents.
I would also like to point to the multiple lawsuits that this City has faced and continues to face for violating the rights of its citizens. If we were to look at this as a metric-driven performance; your citizens are noticing that the elected officials have been violating their rights and becoming more curious about your intentions. You see this metric has a direct correlation to your performance.
I would also like to point out the Nashua Citizen, Laurie, who spoke towards the end of the video that voiced her serious concerns for not only her rights but also her fellow citizen’s rights that continue to be violated. She was laughed at and her concerns were diminished by an elitist attitude that certain Board members had towards her.
So not only do we have a metric of your performance but we now have a direct reference towards your treatment of your constituents and their rights.
Slightly off-topic; now this city wants to take authority over the Nashua Police Commission? Given your performances mentioned above, do you seriously think you deserve that Power?
In my opinion, you cannot even respect your citizen’s legal rights, therefore, you do not deserve the Power to hold executive authority over them by any means!
I will conclude this message by saying this: As a veteran, I took a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. Although my service to my Great Country and my Great State has ended, my keeping of this oath has not! This is the exact reason why the Affiliated Presidents Toni Pappas and Domenic Richardi are on this message.
The actions you are taking to silence your constituents are infringing on their Article 8 Constitutional Right. It is additionally infringing on our state law RSA 91-A. Please see below for further details on this Constitutional Right and the New Hampshire State Law.
New Hampshire State Constitution:
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government. Therefore, any individual taxpayer eligible to vote in the State, shall have standing to petition the Superior Court to declare whether the State or political subdivision in which the taxpayer resides has spent, or has approved spending, public funds in violation of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision. In such a case, the taxpayer shall not have to demonstrate that his or her personal rights were impaired or prejudiced beyond his or her status as a taxpayer. However, this right shall not apply when the challenged governmental action is the subject of a judicial or administrative decision from which there is a right of appeal by statute or otherwise by the parties to that proceeding.
The NH Municipal Association describes RSA 91-A this way:
“Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussion and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.”
Alderman Board meeting: Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFb9mzZNq2E
Thanks,
Albert J Todd
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