With city elections just a month away, it’s a good idea for candidates to be familiar with their city’s “operations manual” regarding recounts, regardless of the city, but especially in Nashua. As Alderman Dowd’s previous opponent, I was refused a recount. Before any readers call me a sore loser or (insert preferred insult here), some background is in order.
Daniel Richard approached me before Nashua’s 11/7/23 election and asked me to request a recount if I lost, no matter the numbers, because he was building a case. I wasn’t eager to have my name dragged through the mud in a post-trainwreck election fallout, but we all love Daniel and should do our best to be team players in supporting his election operations reform efforts.
Having lost 830-1003, I knew a recount would not change the results, but Daniel had “prepared the notice,” so to speak, and given me his word that a reputable person we both know had agreed to pay for it. On the heels of Mike Soucy’s loss against the mayor, I had a late night out gathering all the signs I placed in Ward 2 and took the next day (Wednesday, 11/8/23) to decompress. On Thursday 11/9/23, I talked to Daniel and agreed to request the recount, which was around the same time that the NTU and its minions were plotting to unseat school incumbent Paula Johnson, the winner with the least votes in a five seat race beating the highest scoring loser, Shewanda Daniels Williams(now “Mrs Alderman Lopez”), by just seven votes.
Daniel emailed me the letter to present to Clerk Healey, which I had to print copies of. After getting to the nearest available printer(Staples on Amherst St) and making copies for both the clerk’s office and my opponent, Alderman Dowd, I headed to City Hall as the afternoon progressed. After fighting traffic and making it to the front of the line, the staffer was unable to answer some of my questions right off the cuff. I was there at the counter for quite some time as she had to disappear from her work station to talk to Healey somewhere out back several times.
She was polite and made excuses for him (he’s on the phone or assisting another customer, etc) until he finally appeared. We had a lengthy discussion that did NOT give clarity to my satisfaction regarding the “financial responsibility,” to use medical provider parlance, of a losing candidate that fails to flip the results with a recount. Remember that my objective was not to produce 174 votes out of thin air, but to help Daniel build his case, but I’d be darned if I told Clerk Healey that! However, the person willing to pay for it deserved to know how much they would be paying (in addition to the $40 I had to fork over right then) for a recount of just Ward 2.
Healey, who was the president of the NHCTCA (NH City & Town Clerks Association), really played stupid with me. This was not his first rodeo and I pointed out that I knew a ward is a rep district, having lost to the Newmans twice before then. Healey made comments suggesting variables that he controlled were unknown to him, making it like playing poker, where he knows my hand and I don’t know his. For example, I asked how many people he would have to hire and how many hours it’s expected to take to count that KNOWN NUMBER of ballots.
Instead of straight answers with numbers, he gave me what Daniel RichardSON (not Daniel Richard) of Ward 3 would call “twisted pretzel logic.” I called Daniel Richard a few times from City Hall to discuss the dilemma at hand and took that leap of faith, signing the paperwork agreeing to the financial responsibility(mine) for the recount. Then came the discussion about notifying Alderman Dowd.
I asked Healey if Dowd had a mailbox inside City Hall and if there was someone who could stamp my notice as received on his behalf. He said no and that the notice must be delivered to the opponent’s residence. I said, “So I just ring his doorbell and say ‘you’ve been served’ as I hand him the notice, that’s it?” He made a snarky comment like “that’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” No! I despise Alderman Dowd and his ilk and had every reason to surmise that the feeling was mutual. It would be his word against mine if he chose to deny that he was properly served. And guess what! I would say it’s akin to you, the motorist, and the ticketing police officer in traffic court. Unless Chau Kelley was there to take video of me dotting my Is and crossing my Ts in serving Dowd, holes would be poked in my efforts to obtain the recount.
Readers, especially city candidates and their supporters, must understand that an alderman race recount is different from a Rep race recount. Any Rep candidate can request a recount, no matter the spread in numbers, assuming the requester is willing to pay for it. That is NOT the case in a city election, even though it’s the same exact territory of voter addresses. In this sound byte, you will hear Attorney Bolton explain it further. I should also clarify that what he said for Nashua may not be applicable in another city, so please check with the corporation counsel of your city to obtain clarity.
Nashua elections are always on that November Tuesday in odd-numbered years. Keep in mind that Veterans Day will always be observed just a few days later, whether or not November 11 happens to be on a weekend. The Board of Aldermen meets at 7:30 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. Nashua was incorporated in 1853, and Veterans Day has been a holiday since 1938, the year before today’s city hall was built. It’s unknown (to me) how long the Board of Aldermen has been meeting on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 7:30 pm, but let’s just say it’s been a while.
It’s also unknown (to me) how long the city charter has had the deadline for delivering recount request notices 48 hours prior to the next meeting of the Board of Aldermen following an election. However long that rule has been in effect, keep in mind that the city clerk’s office is NOT open at 7:30pm on a Sunday, nor does ordinary non-Amazon mail get delivered, nor do most people want to be disturbed during their Sunday afternoon/evening football game. I mention the latter because Alderman Dowd’s old home page said he’s a Patriots fan, and he’s locally known to be a regular at Ward 5’s Family Pizza.
To sum up, if any Nashua candidate has a problem with the results of an election and wants to request a recount, that 48-hour notice requirement can be as wonky as a lunar calendar. On any given year, there’s the day after the election(Wednesday) and the day after that(Thursday), but not always Friday(Veterans Day observed in 2023). City hall is not open on weekends. If Veterans Day happens to be a Monday and the aldermen meet the following Tuesday, the very last chance to give the clerk’s office notice is before closing time on Thursday(2 days after the election).
This year, Veterans Day (also Queen Sharon’s birthday, as she is a veteran) falls on Tuesday, November 11, which is the second Tuesday of the month. What that means is the next meeting of the Board of Aldermen following the election is WEDNESDAY, November 12. Any Nashua candidate wanting a recount must notify the other candidate(s) and the clerk’s office in writing by 7:30 pm on Monday, November 10. However, I doubt they will stay open that late “just because.” If you’re in another city, don’t wait until the last minute to find out the hard way. Don’t give your local clerk, city attorney, and/or Board of Aldermen excuses to block a recount request.
