Ethics Committee Archives

ORTOLANO: Nashua’s Ethics Committee Is Attorney Tim Bush’s Personal Weapon — And the State Is Fine With It

April 27, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

On December 11, 2025, I filed a formal complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney Discipline Office against Timothy E. Bush, Esquire, chairman of the Nashua Ethics Review Committee. The ADO’s finding, issued April 1, 2026, cleared Bush of all violations. I have filed a Request for Reconsideration, due to be heard May 1, 2026. The … Read more

ORTOLANO: Power Without Ideology

March 27, 2026 Laurie Ortolano

Nashua’s Selective Enforcement of “Shall” There’s a phrase often attributed, loosely and somewhat inaccurately, to Karl Marx: power without ideology. Whether or not Marx ever said it in those exact words, the concept is unmistakable: power exercised without consistent principle, without accountability, and without any obligation to apply rules evenly. That idea is playing out in real time … Read more

Ortolano: Still No Ethics in Nashua – A Closer Look at a Broken Process

July 13, 2025 Laurie Ortolano

In my ongoing look at “Ethics without Ethics in Nashua,” let’s examine how the Ethics Review Committee (ERC) flagrantly disregards its own rules, and the law. The Committee is bound by the City Ordinance, section 12-31, specifically: What we see in practice is the opposite. Chairman Tim Bush either doesn’t understand Robert’s Rules or deliberately … Read more

Ortolano: Ethics without Ethics in Nashua

July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 Laurie Ortolano

In April 2025, a citizen, Fred Teeboom, filed an ethics complaint against Nashua Board of Aldermen President Lori Wilshire. The concern centered on her decision to appoint herself to the Pennichuck Corporation Board of Directors, a city-owned utility subject to Aldermanic oversight, without disclosing she would be paid $12,000 annually, discussing the inherent conflict of … Read more

Tom Sawyer Fence Whitewash - OpenSource Image

The NH Legislative Ethics Commission Results Are In … And Guess What?

June 28, 2023 Skip

I want you to think back to the days of “Tom Sawyer” and one of his greatest pranks performed on his friends. Burdened with a chore for skipping school, Tom comes up with an ingenious way to get out of it.

NH Legislative Ethics Complaint Filed – NH State Rep Harry Bean

May 21, 2023 Skip

In our Constitutional Republic, we elect certain people to represent us when it comes to the management and oversight of Government. As such, we expect that they will use a blend of what our wishes may be (the “represent” part) as well as our judgment as to who they are, their sensibilities, their ideas, their honesty, and their values when we elect them (the “candidate” part).

Mayor Donchess’ Defunct Nashua Ethics Committee

November 28, 2022 Laurie Ortolano

The Nashua City Charter serves as our local constitution for city government, and the ordinances serve as the laws. It works best when we follow the rules. But in the last four years, the rules no longer matter.

In Emergency Order #69, Sununu Packs the Public Health Ethics Committee

September 19, 2020 Doris Hohensee

Governor Sununu signed yet another emergency order, maintaining his pace of three orders per week. Emergency Order #69 allows the State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC) to pack the Public Health Ethics Committee with his appointees.