Derek Thibeault

ORTOLANO: Alderman Thibeault – Transparency Is Not Petty

Derek Thibeault used his weekly newsletter to call a request for the August 7, 2025, non-public Nashua Board of Aldermen minutes “petty.” Transparency is never petty; it is the people’s right, and the Board broke the law. The Board entered that closed session without reading the statutory language required by RSA 91-A. That isn’t a … Read more

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ORTOLANO: When Emotion Replaces Judgment, Taxpayers Pay

On July 31, 2025, the Superior Court held a hearing on my motion to disqualify Corporation Counsel Steven Bolton and Deputy Corporation Counsel Celia Leonard from my cases. The issue wasn’t about winning a motion; it was whether two city lawyers, locked in years of conflict with a citizen critic, could still do the job “with … Read more

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ORTOLANO: Free Speech for the Board, Restriction for the People

On August 4, 2025, the Personnel and Administrative Affairs Committee reviewed an ordinance sponsored by Alderman Rick Dowd to prohibit flags, banners, and signs in the Aldermanic Chamber. The ordinance was poorly drafted and, according to the New England First Amendment Coalition, raised serious constitutional concerns about viewpoint discrimination. Despite the importance of the issue, … Read more

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OPINION: Spending Cap Corruption

Board of Aldermen, Mayor Donchess, CFO Griffin, City Attorney Bolton: Last Tuesday, the aldermaniacs voted to Indefinitely Postpone the ill-conceived Tax Cap R-25-121 (disguised as a budget cap, but in reality, a tax cap). That is a very good thing. Hopefully, this Tax cap stays dead forever, for you have to be a financial ignoramus … Read more

SMITH: “Mr Moron,” That’s What To Call Him

Alderman Melbourne Moran Jr is supposedly not seeking reelection this fall.  Let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, that it’s true because he really is a moron.  I call him “Alderman Moron” and encourage others to do the same, but Ward 7 moderator Avalon Lewis got a head start in preparing for Alderman Moron’s future private citizenry … Read more

Derek Thibeault

Ortolano: Free Speech is Not a “Stunt”

A Letter to Nashua’s Ward 8 Constituents I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen and an active participant in our city’s legislative process. I want to address the recent newsletter from your Alderman, Derek Thibeault, and correct several factual inaccuracies regarding the public comment policy and my actions at the Personnel and … Read more

Smith: Counseling For That Narcissism, Rep Ming?

Delusions of grandeur are high on the diagnostic checklist for Narcissism.  Just look at the DSM-3-R or any other authority on such matters.  Former Rep Ming has shown similar behaviors during last year’s campaign season, such as claiming to be the first Asian rep when it simply wasn’t true.  Now he’s outdone himself in his … Read more

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Smith: Upcoming Nashua Library Event Offerings

Some readers are already familiar with my most recent article, “The Future of Nashua’s Library,” which highlights a public comment opportunity on August 6. Additionally, there are two other events worth noting: the first is on Monday night, August 4.  It’s called “Women Run” and features three public servant panelists.  Shewanda Daniels Williams (SDW) was … Read more

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Smith: The Future of Nashua’s Library

God bless our library watchdogs, like Beth Scaer, Cindy Bennett, and Arlene Quaratiello, just to name a few who have written multiple Grok pieces on libraries.  I’ve tagged them in quite a few of my own library articles, but a hat tip to Beth for bringing a near future public comment opportunity to my attention.  … Read more

ethics

Ortolano: Ethics without Ethics in Nashua

In April 2025, a citizen, Fred Teeboom, filed an ethics complaint against Nashua Board of Aldermen President Lori Wilshire. The concern centered on her decision to appoint herself to the Pennichuck Corporation Board of Directors, a city-owned utility subject to Aldermanic oversight, without disclosing she would be paid $12,000 annually, discussing the inherent conflict of … Read more

Smith: Free Speech Much, Alderman Dowd?

Great theologians and secular philosophers alike have advised us to “practice gratitude.”  I think it’s a great idea and I know I should do more of that myself.  One sign post reminder of that appeared in my inbox as a group email from a Ward 3 watchdog.  What is high on my “gratitude list” today?  … Read more

Ortolano: Who Decides What Voices Matter in Nashua? Mayor Donchess, Apparently

Mayor Jim Donchess’s recent decisions regarding Nashua’s Pride Parade have raised serious questions about his commitment to the First Amendment and his understanding of viewpoint neutrality in public forums. Taxpayer funds are being used to organize the Nashua Pride Parade, a public event that begins at City Hall Plaza and proceeds through downtown streets. Participation … Read more

Scaer: Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess Despises the First Amendment

Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess has no problem with permitting the Satanic Temple to march behind him in the Nashua Pride Parade holding a flag and banner praising Satan, but the Pine Tree Flag is supposedly too controversial to fly on Nashua City Hall Plaza. Last year, Mayor Donchess turned down my request to fly the … Read more

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