Let’s start by taking a look at this video of last night’s Finance committee meeting in Nashua, skipping to 1h18min where the mayor stokes discord and vitriol in the chamber against the federal government for cutting some of its funding to the PD and FD, particularly special equipment that also benefits communities outside Nashua. There are 13 minutes left in the video and they’re jam packed with the antics of unhinged Finance committee members, particularly Aldermen Moron and Clemons and Ms Gloria.
Moron and Gloria happen to be up for election this fall and opponents can be recruited from ANYWHERE in the city (Hint, Nashua, hint, hint). Moron and Clemons happen to share a senator with the mayor and it’s essential to call attention to a few things before reading my suggested email to all 3 of them. Rosenwald is the mayor’s neighbor and dear friend, and she happens to be a member of the Senate Finance Committee. While HB2’s wish list state budget items start taking form in the House, they later face amendments in the Senate. It is common knowledge by now, but I’ll say it if anyone is late for dinner. We have a NASHUA governor, and City Hall should use that for the good of ALL of the city, but let’s get back to Rosenwald. She and her ilk on both sides of the wall regularly howl at the moon and complain about budget cuts. Still, she has a unique opportunity to do good for her city on her side of the wall because she doesn’t have to answer to those pesky Red Rindge and New Ipswich voters. Her district is contained within the city limits, so let’s get to that suggested email.
Mr Mayor (and Aldermen Moron and Clemons):
You’ve made it clear in the chamber how unhappy you are with the funding cut for things like hazmat cleanup equipment, dive team equipment and bomb squad equipment. You’ve also called attention to how those specialized subsets of the PD and FD serve many communities outside the City. Why not replace all your venting and resentment-based rhetoric with “can do”-based messages focused on problem solving? Why not ask YOUR senator to attend the next committee meeting when purchasing manager Amy Gerard is there to answer questions, many already presented by Alderman Clemons? Rosenwald is a member of Senate Finance and regularly likes to talk about upshifting and downshifting, tailoring her message to suit her narrative. If Nashua has a plausible case for asking for money from Concord or many of its suburbs to help with the costs of diving into the Hudson side of the Merrimack River, cleaning up a spill on the Everett Turnpike in Merrimack or disarming a bomb in (insert name of suburb here), then why not take that conversation to Concord? There are 27 seats in the House that ought to cast votes in favor of Nashua’s best interest when it’s Committee of Conference time.
Considering that most of the aldermen voted themselves a huge raise that steamrolled the property taxpayers, the very people you were elected to serve, why not do a better job SERVING the City by seeking adaptive ways to fix the problems your committee is designed to address?
