My town, Merrimack, holds its SB2 elections later than most. Town election season in New Hampshire begins while the snow still flies and peaks in March, so an early April poll date is late for supper.
Merrimack’s nonpartisan town elections are always later, so you have more time to campaign (in slightly better weather). This year, the local GOP did something we need to see more of across the state.
It is nonpartisan but still party-driven. No Ds or Rs are on that paper ballot, but that doesn’t change who they are politically. The ones whining about high property taxes (Democrats) are the first to raise them, and slowing or stopping that falls to local Republicans—labeled or not.
The Merrimack GOP appears to have worked their butts off to get decent candidates, do some serious door-knocking, and get enough of their voters to the polls to hold back what is typically a progressive day of celebration. The police, fire, and teachers’ unions always seem to get their voters out, which means bigger budgets and higher taxes.
Deserving’s got nothing to do with it unless you mean we deserve to be able to afford to live here, and schools, in particular, suck all the air and dollars out of every room. Despite representing the supermajority of taxes paid by New Hampshire residents, local town elections are still the least attended. Turnout is typically a fraction of the total number of registered voters. The last time I checked, we had over 18,000 of them in Merrimack. If more than 20% show up for town elections, it’s a big deal.
So?
Turnout was not great. I don’t think it exceeded 4000 (my back-of-the-envelope guess), but with good groundwork and messaging, the local GOP got several candidates on the Town Council, the School Board, and the Budget and Planning committees. Voters also had a mountain of new spending to accept or reject on town and school ballots and kept nearly eight million of it off their backs.
Not every Gimme-money warrant failed, but a new 4.8 million special services building was rejected, as were the school and town operating budgets. The defaults are each slightly lower – a few million on each side.
Take the win.
Informed no voters can make a difference, and more importantly, given the traditional turnout, if you can find 100 folks who don’t typically show up to do that and vote for your candidates and issues, you can move the needle in races and spending. The Merrimack GOP found a formula that worked, and with luck, they will duplicate it in future elections.
While we wait, it is up to the people who supported these candidates at the ballot box to support them in office. The establishment doesn’t take the loss lightly and will do what it can to bully, isolate, and demoralize dissenters. It makes it harder to find people to run and to keep them there when they win.
I hope the Merrimack GOP has a plan for that as well.
