There is a somewhat complex backstory to this article, and Meagan is not aware that I am writing it. I surmise that she would reject the idea of being the center of attention, as it’s clear to me that she’s a quiet, humble woman. I use the word QUIET to describe Meagan, the EC staffer, rather than Meagan the vocalist. The idea to point the Grok spotlight at her came from a comment made by an astute Nashua local about a recent Landrigan article.
This Rosenwald constituent is part of an unofficial email distribution group comprising a handful of critics of government officials across multiple branches and levels, and on both sides of the aisle. He commented on Meagan Rose appearing in bold letters in Kevin Landrigan’s column about Kevin Avard, not to be confused with his tweet of a similar nature. My efforts to view the article have been unsuccessful, and I’ll be darned if I pay to read it. This subscriber suggested that Landrigan wanted to throw some recognition her way, which is why I decided to run with the idea.
The first few times I saw Meagan, I only thought of her as “that executive council staffer with the unusual hairstyle” (later adopted by Maine Rep Laurel Libby) who opens and closes the big sliding doors for group pictures at the beginning of executive council meetings. After the 10/13/21 arrests, I still didn’t give much thought to who Meagan was until I attended Kevin’s music charter school charity concert almost two years ago when someone had an extra ticket. I recognized her right off the bat when she appeared a few songs into the event.
At intermission time, Kevin worked the crowd, thanking everyone for their support. When he came to my row of seats, I said, “That’s that executive council woman!” Before the show resumed, I met her and immediately recognized her as a nice person and a real individual rather than just another ordinary staffer. She told me about how she and Kevin met. She was singing something, and he heard her from afar and was drawn to her voice. He scouted her, and that’s how she became part of their troupe.
A month later, the charges against the arrest victims were dropped. This occurred shortly after a rain event that resulted in significant flooding in her hometown of Alexandria. I knew she lived there, as it was something I learned when we met at Kevin’s concert. The news briefly described how floodwaters cut off that town, forcing most of the locals to take a long detour. That made me want to look her up in Marylyn Todd’s Nosey Neighbor app so I could see where she was on the map. I then texted Kevin to ask if he had been in touch with her since the flood, but he didn’t answer my question.
Sale Extended Through Monday!
The day after the charges were dropped was the next executive council meeting, and I arrived early to secure a front-row seat and save one for Terese, who ultimately did not attend. Other state house staffers were setting up a new sound system in the chamber, which I thought was great for people stuck in the standing-room-only corner office reception area, as it’s noisy and hard to hear what’s going on inside the chamber. I had no idea that was part of the plan, and what the entertainment act would be at the beginning of the meeting!
Meagan soon arrived, and I greeted her, saying I was glad to see her and that I had texted Kevin to ask if she was cut off by the flood and got no answer. She thanked me for thinking of her and said that she, Kevin, and the other guitarist were the opening act, using the new sound system. I took some pictures, both from my seat and when I stood next to Tricia, Kevin’s former secretary, and Ms. Maya. When I later showed her some of those pictures, she made a comment suggestive of not liking action shots of quirky facial expressions while singing, so I chose a group still shot with her in the center as the cover photo.
Meagan always promptly answers my emails when I ask about meeting dates and agendas involving judge and cabinet nominations and appointments, even the older ones that I could eventually find my own answers to by doing my own research. She is always courteous, even when my questions can come across as persistent or demanding, such as when Wheeler’s voicemail box was full.
I regularly drop in to say hi when I’m at the state house, and I’ve learned a lot about the nuts and bolts of executive council operations, including things that ordinary people never think about. She has answered many of my recent questions and follow-up questions that arose regarding St. A’s and the subsequent arrests. She was one of the many witnesses slated to appear had the arrest victims gone to trial, and she was personally relieved when the case was dropped because she didn’t want to be part of the Kangaroo Court circus act. We discussed the newly cancelled trial at the same time as we talked about the flooding, and she’s clearly the polar opposite of an attention seeker, making her a good candidate for a surprise shout-out.
While writing all of the above, I considered how to craft my conclusion and an older idea came to mind, which was the “Spotlight of Positivity,” a 2024 article about New Ipswich Rep Shane Sirois, who has since ascended to House Freedom Caucus leadership, and how I ended that article with seeking suggestions on who to feature next though I really wasn’t looking beyond the four walls of Reps Hall. I had since become distracted by events transpiring shortly before the primary, and never did carry on that initiative in earnest. Today, I revisited that idea and thought that there’s no reason why the Spotlight of Positivity can’t include public servants in support roles. There are several such people in the state house that I’ve had enough personal and positive interaction with that might be a good choice for the next article, whenever that might be.
