If you don’t already know, consider yourself notified of the newest litigation against the perpetually embattled City of Nashua. You can read all about it in the Institute for Free Speech’s statement. Click here to get all the details, including a copy of the complaint. If you’re not one to click on links, I’ll give you the elevator speech version.
Well known detransition activist Simon B Amaya Price was “chilled” by Alderman Wilshire in the chamber after she recognized him for public comment. He then forfeited his free speech at the mic as he did not want to risk his personal safety by saying where he lives.
In Nashua, it says, “City NRO Section 5-14 – C (3) Speaker shall identify themselves by name and address.” Below is the surrounding language:
B. Meetings of committees of the Board of Aldermen shall include the following:
(1) Public comment at the beginning of the meeting, which comments shall be germane to the meeting’s agenda, and shall be limited to 30 minutes total unless there are others who wish to speak, and then may be extended by a majority of the public body present for a time certain;
(2) Public comment at the end of the meeting shall be for a period not to exceed 15 minutes; and
(3) Remarks by the Aldermen.
C. Public comment allowed in Subsections A and B above shall be conducted as follows:
(1) Speaker must sign in prior to the start of the meeting to indicate intent to speak during public comment;
(2) Speaker may not speak until recognized by the presiding officer;
(3) Speaker shall identify him or herself by name and addresses when beginning to speak;
(4) One person speaks at a time;
(5) Each speaker is limited to speaking once per public comment period and is limited to three minutes during the first public comment period and three minutes during the second comment period, which time may not be deferred to another speaker or speaker.
I can already hear people crying “local control,” even if they’re just lip-syncing it, but I became interested in how things operate in other CITIES because, to my understanding, this is not an issue in any towns I know of. Let’s start with the largest city, Manchester. Because the Scaers have utilized public comment inside city hall, they were good people to ask. Beth said Manchester does NOT require speakers to introduce themselves with their addresses. I’ve also confirmed that neither Keene nor Berlin do, either. Thanks to Grokster Bronwyn Sims and GG Signal group user “Maura” for that intel.
In that same Signal group, I asked about Claremont, and Kevin Tyson said that the procedure is to state one’s name and ward into the mic at both city hall and school board meetings. It appears to be the same in Franklin. I haven’t been in touch with Karen Testerman, a former alderman, in a long time, so I emailed the Franklin reps. James Thibault replied a few hours later with a comment similar to that of Kevin Tyson, though he did not mention the school board because I didn’t ask. It’s possible that Lebanon has the same protocol in place, but I can’t be 100% certain.
Because Lebanon and Portsmouth have no decent representation in the legislature, I was hoping to find some private citizens who could give me the intel, but I had to settle for poking around old YouTube videos. In a Lebanon budget public hearing video, I observed that most speakers introduced themselves only by name and ward. Similarly, I looked at a Portsmouth video, but some speakers appeared to be “regulars” with the mayor, who decides who gets called on and in what order in that city. Some speakers offered their addresses, and some did not. Though I didn’t comb through every minute of the video, I never observed the mayor demanding that a speaker give an address to proceed with the mic time.
Because the good Senator from Maine, Eric Brakey, chose to live in Dover, I messaged him with my question. He quickly admitted that he hadn’t yet spoken inside City Hall, so I turned to Mr. Karoutas, who’s commonly known as “PK,” because I remember him telling me he’s in Dover. He answered my email within the hour to say, “Julie – that’s a good question, and I do not know. I have not spoken in front of City Hall in a long, long time, and don’t know. I do serve on the parking commission here, and people do come for the citizen forums, and they identify themselves, but usually it is businesses that come to speak and ask questions, and they give their name and business – but I don’t think we have a rule about that sort of thing.” I thanked PK for his timely reply and thought about who else could be asked about Dover.
Matt Mayberry is from Dover, but asking him was/is out of the question because of his explosive anger at Nurse Terese during his mayoral candidacy for the most recent Rochester election. And speaking of Rochester, I emailed Senator Gray because I know he’s a former alderman. He replied hours later, saying “I do not know of a State requirement but Rochester I believe has its own policy. You may be able to speak to the chair before the meeting and provide the information then.” He did not give me a YES or a NO, but apparently implied that Rochester has a policy akin to that of Nashua. More follow up is needed for clarity. Senator Gray is an electrical engineer, so I was surprised by the amount of vagueness in his words.
Let’s talk about our capitol city, the one with that “agent of chaos” that their anti-free speech mayor has dubbed their Ward 5 alderman, Stacey Brown. I asked Stacey about Concord’s public comment and she confirmed that announcing one’s address is not required, but she also mentioned a new golf clubhouse in which a bunch of nonresident golfers came to testify in its favor. She (rightfully)asked where they were from because they pushed for the spending of tax dollars on something they wanted. It’s important to mention what Stacey said because I see the issue as similar to the argument for closed primaries. It also makes me think of out of state interests bringing their lobbying and activism to the state house. Free speech is for everyone, but when it comes to spending money from the public treasury, it’s my opinion that a speaker should be identified as a local or non-local.
Saving the city of “Mayor Rep Bordes,” or if JR prefers “Rep Mayor Bordes,” for last, I asked Hon. Dawn Johnson about Laconia because she ran for mayor in 2021. Dawn confirmed that public comment speakers must introduce themselves with their names and addresses.
So there you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen, as Chau Kelley often says in her videos, but only for now, as the data is incomplete. If any readers have details for Concord, Rochester, or Dover, please share that intel in the comments. Meanwhile, I will conclude this article with Judge Temple’s favorite word, NEXUS. The nexus between Laconia and Nashua is not only their shared self-doxxing public comment policy, but the excrement that occupies both their Corner Offices is Uniparty.
Edit: I ran into Mr Mickelonis at the Scott Brown campaign kickoff event. Knowing he’s Watters’s opponent, I approached him to ask about Dover. He said public comment is available to residents only and they must introduce themselves with their address and they get 5 minutes as apposed to Nashua’s 3.
