While not everyone reading this lives in Nashua, and not every local votes in Ward 2 (which is at Charlotte Ave School, to those who don’t know where they vote), it’s well past time for Alderman Dowd to retire.
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He is just one vote out of a body of 15, but a serial “problem one” nonetheless.
I’d like the readers to look at the ward map of Nashua here. See the area shaded in baby blue. That is the constituency of Alderman Dowd.
At 77, the same age as Mr. Newman, Dowd is the oldest and the longest in office (since 2013).
City elections are in odd-numbered years, this one being of particular importance because our mayor is also up for election. He did not have an opponent in 2019, and I want to thank local native veteran and distinguished civil servant Mike Soucy for stepping up to challenge him. His record speaks for itself, and I encourage anyone with ties to Nashua voters to learn more about him and promote his candidacy, but back to Alderman Dowd.
Alderman Dowd is politically in bed with Mayor Donchess. One can ask a variety of knowledgeable locals for examples, so I won’t lengthen this statement by listing them, but I’d like to point out a few things worth noting. If you prefer to do your own fact-checking, a noble behavioral trait, I would point you to some well-known Groksters’ contributions in the archives.
I’ll start with Laura Colquhoun, an ardent watchdog and fact-finding digger. She found meeting minutes from 2017 when Dowd expressed his unconditional support for the performing arts center at any cost. He had absolutely no regard for my piggy bank, that of my neighbors, or any non-constituent Nashua taxpayers. You can read more about the arts center in Laura’s other articles.
Next, there’s returning school candidate Doris Hohensee, who I did not seek permission to quote so I will keep this generic. However, I encourage ALL of Nashua to reach out to Doris about school board shenanigans, including school spending. Alderman Dowd happens to be the “school liaison” and played a big part in facilitating the construction of a new middle school at an ever-growing price tag of over a hundred million dollars despite declining enrollment that’s not expected to change anytime soon. Also, please see my 2021 article about the new red light at the corner of Manchester and Ferry Streets.
And please see Doris’s Grok pieces that are school-related. I fancy myself a team player, and this message is an opportunity to support 2 teammates, Mike Soucy and Doris, and two more city-wide ones as Aldermen.
As the daughter of a retired accountant, I am appalled by Nashua’s outrageous spending, which is responsible for our current property taxes, though our incumbent mayor is always trying to convince the voters otherwise. Just look at his mayoral town halls from last winter, all beginning with him playing defense in his multi-minute monologues. I encourage all Nashua voters to look at the collection of videos for lots of the mayor’s antics, plus that of Alderman Dowd, whose support of spending speaks for itself.
And then there’s how city hall has handled covid, which has been in a manner that’s repugnant to Granite State values. Attorney Dan Hynes, now a Bedford representative, pointed out in his 2020 Grok piece that NH was not a home rule state when he was running for county attorney. Here is an example of Dowd’s “covidiocy” in addition to him having voted for Mask Madness 1.0 and 2.0. He was also seen on Channel 9 suggesting that business owners act in a law enforcement capacity, whether or not they supported such tyranny.
I would like to follow the model of great authors who offer a conclusion to a character assassination or any complaint with a proposed solution at the end of the venting. I am Alderman Dowd’s opponent, and I am humbly asking for votes. I use the word HUMBLY because asking for help is an act of humility, and saving our city is an all-hands-on-deck battle. Therefore, like the Temptations saying, “ain’t too proud to beg,” I am not too proud to enlist any and all outside help that is legal.
“Why me?” is the question. In an effort to keep this a reasonable length, I won’t go all the way back to 2013, but let’s look at the last 2 city elections. I mentioned earlier in multiple articles, including this one, being an accountant’s daughter. Alderman Dowd’s previous opponent, Donald Scott, is an accountant.
Ward 2 failed to elect a credentialed retired controller, a good man from the private sector with skills that would have helped Nashua in the chamber. And Dowd’s previous opponent and current senator, Kevin Avard, was the sponsor of SB 52, which shored up the “cap” that has been under attack “by any means necessary,” as Hillary would say, no matter how unlawful. Just talk to former Alderman Teeboom with any cap-related questions you might have.
With the two most recent opponents of Alderman Dowd not running again and time running out in the city clerk’s office, I gathered petition signatures for ballot access at the last minute because I’ll be darned if he gets reelected simply because all of Ward 2 was waiting too long for someone else to step up and do it. Look up Kitty Genovese and the bystander syndrome.
“And one more thing,” as Columbo would say, I’m disappointed to report that we don’t have a full slate of worthy candidates on this ballot. Therefore, victory is absolutely necessary for Nashua to “come about,” nautically speaking. Aldermen Klee, Lopez, and Jette don’t have opponents. Three city-wide seats are up for election, but we only have two worthy candidates. Please remind ALL the Nashua voters you know to vote for ONLY Alderman Comeau and private citizen Sean Rogers.
Voting for a 3rd candidate will only harm the chances of them getting elected. This situation also applies to the five school seats. Incumbent Paula Johnson and former member Doris Hohensee are the ONLY candidates worthy of a vote. Public Works has two seats in this election, and Dan Richardson is the ONLY candidate to vote for. So please, everyone in Nashua, vote correctly this time! And educate your fellow voters on the merits of the “undervote.” And everyone outside Nashua, please do what you can to help save Nashua from itself!
