Portsmouth City Council endorsements galore - and more: Letters

John Tabor has a strong track record and deserves re-election

Oct. 27 − To the Editor:

John Tabor has had two terms of accomplishments on the City Council and deserves to be re-elected. He recruited a great team to launch Portsmouth Community Power. As the former CEO of Seacoast Media Group, he knows our business community and its challenges. He knows we cannot hire and keep good workers unless we have more housing and sensible parking options. As a successful businessman, he knows not to waste money, but where to invest for the long term to keep the city economically strong. Not everyone knows that he also shepherded the Prescott Park Arts Festival through a change in leadership as board chair and it has emerged stronger than ever. His experience, dedication to our city and record as a councilor earn our vote.

Get out and vote!

Jay and Amanda McSharry

Portsmouth

Biden insults New Hampshire voters

Oct. 28 − To the Editor:

Good morning fellow residents of the great state of New Hampshire. How's it feel to be slapped in the face by the president of the United States of America? Yes, that's exactly what's been done to you. Biden, the current president of the U.S., has decided NOT to enter in the primary election for our State. His reasons (if there are any) are both immaterial and irrelevant. Since it's highly likely he will seek another term, he's decided that New Hampshire is not worth his time or effort. But, both he and the state Democrat party want you to write in his name on the ballot. Talk about a set of brass ones. With that information, I've decided that he isn't worth MY time or effort.

ANYONE BUT BIDEN!!! Hell, I may even vote a straight Republican ticket! Yes, I'm that ripped. (I'm trying real hard to keep it clean. After all, this is a newspaper.)

Robert Campbell

Dover

Improving STEM Initiative in the Portsmouth School District

Oct. 28 − To The Editor:

The U.S. Department of the Census estimates on average more than 125,000 engineering positions will go vacant annually through 2030. What an opportunity for young people entering the workforce!

Currently, we are not preparing our students to take advantage of this gap. In fact, greater than one-fourth of those filling engineering positions within the United States are foreign educated. The Portsmouth School District is not significantly different and as an engineer and now business development executive serving some of the largest corporations and their engineering disciplines I would like to see our community open the door to these important roles for our children.

Siemens Digital Industries Software, the company I work for, partners with schools providing them free ready-made modularized teaching curriculum, on-demand courses and even computer aided design software and training. We help deliver an understanding of what engineering is, how to think like an engineer, how to design a product and provide design challenges.

As a candidate for Portsmouth School District School Board, I’d love to improve our STEM initiative and bring this to the Portsmouth school district!

Leigh Hudson

Portsmouth

Progress Portsmouth's Election Central a good resource

Oct. 28 − To the Editor:

Trying to decide on my 9 top choices for City Council, I was fumbling and bumbling through a random jumble of links about the candidates - until I hit Election Central, with a comprehensive collection of sources from and about our 17 candidates conveniently organized in one place!

All 17 candidates were invited here to submit their bios and reasons for running, plus answer questions about issues important to us residents and the city. Also, there are links under each candidate’s name to articles in The Portsmouth Herald (www.seacoastonline.com) that paying subscribers can access, and links to free articles in Portsmouth Patch, plus candidates’ free websites/Facebook pages.

Six different events featuring candidates’ live speeches and responses to interviews are also accessible at Election Central. WSCA/Portsmouth Community Radio’s interviews showed me there were things I didn’t know I didn’t know, even about candidates I voted for in the last election! I was surprised to find myself engaged to the point that I stayed up too late hearing all the candidates’ personal styles and perspectives.

Progress Portsmouth’s Election Central is an idea whose time has come and I hope they will continue to offer this vital, neutral, free service to the public from now on!

Local elections matter! Please spread the word (www.progressportsmouth.com) to potential new voters so Portsmouth can have a big turnout of well informed citizens who VOTE! See you November 7th!

Dixie McLean Tarbell

Portsmouth

Vote for candidates based on their character and merit as individuals

Oct. 29 − To the Editor:

At a time of often disturbing and divisive public discourse we have our upcoming local elections.

Maybe it is time to vote for candidates based on their character and merit as individuals. Select those who treat all city and town employees with civility and respect. Who avoid personal attacks on their elected colleagues and fellow citizens. Don’t we need to elect people who work to solve today’s problems in a spirit of compromise and goodwill? That is not too much to expect, is it?

Neal Ouellett

Portsmouth

Portsmouth needs to change its car-centric mindset

Oct. 29 − To the Editor:

I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of Portsmouth residents want for our community to be safe, healthy, environmentally and economically sustainable, affordable and diverse, authentic, and for the downtown to be vibrant and walkable.  And yet, our zoning ordinances, and the land use boards which uphold them, appear to have one objective in mind which trumps all others: ample car storage.

Parking minimums are a relic of a mid-20th century car-centric suburban ideal which is wholly inappropriate for our 400 year old city (practically none of which could have been built under today’s zoning standards) and assume that the only reasonable way to displace oneself even the shortest of distances is with the aid of a 3,000-pound motorized vehicle.

A lot of proponents of parking minimums hold the erroneous belief that it is impossible to live car free in Portsmouth and that tenants of parkingless apartments will only add to the stress of already parking starved neighborhoods. I can tell you from personal experience that it is not only possible but that it is preferable. The very reason I moved to Portsmouth 23 years ago was so I didn’t have to be car dependent. The truth is that in a dense compact city such as ours it is much more efficient to travel on bike or scooter than in a car. Doing so saves time, money (Americans spends on average $12,000 per year per motor vehicle), provides exercise, reduces carbon emissions, and improves safety. And if you are somebody that requires off street parking for yourself or for your customers, by all means, go ahead and pay for it. But don’t force that cost onto others who don’t.

Despite the desperate need for additional housing to supply our workforce, by insisting on the impossible creation of parking spots for each additional housing unit, we are ensuring that only few and expensive units will be created which will be out of reach for the young workers we need to attract and retain. And if we only allow for apartments with parking, we are encouraging tenants to own cars. And the last time I checked it didn’t seem as though we needed any more of those fouling the downtown air.

Jonathan Sandberg

Portsmouth

Bagley and Cook are two stars on excellent city council

Oct. 29 − To the Editor:

Portsmouth is a beautiful, well maintained, safe and well-run city, and I am proud to live here. I credit the current City Council for keeping Portsmouth on this path. Spending time watching a City Council meeting can show you why this is so. They debate the issues professionally and respectfully. While the councilors do not always agree, as Mayor McEachern has said, they can disagree without being disagreeable.

This City Council has accomplished many positive things for the city. One large accomplishment was bringing in Community Power, which is reducing utility costs for many Portsmouth residents, with aggregate resident savings of about $100,000 per month. The Council has also increased the veterans, elderly, and disabled property tax deductions to the maximum allowed under NH law, altered the accessory dwelling units (ADUs) ordinance to make it easier to build ADUs in hopes of increasing housing, and has modified the zoning ordinance to require affordable housing downtown as a trade-off for a variance. Finally, they have managed to relieve Portsmouth of the morass that was the McIntyre Building.

I keep hearing about and how the City Council has made Portsmouth taxes too high. As I said, Portsmouth is a beautiful, well maintained, safe and well-run city. I would like to see it stay that way, and I believe the city’s budget supports those goals. According to the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration’s table of Public Tax Rates, of the 239 municipalities in New Hampshire, 191, or about 80%, have higher tax rates than Portsmouth. The city is accomplishing a great deal while keeping tax rates relatively low. Generally, taxes are going up because Portsmouth is a desirable place to live, and home values are rising.

Finally, I would like to highlight two of the current City Councilors, partly because they are friends, and partly because they are new, first term, Councilors, but, more importantly because they have been extremely hardworking and effective as Councilors, and both have definitely earned a second term.

First, Andrew Bagley. If you ever attend or watch a City Council meeting, you can’t help but be impressed by how well-prepared Andrew is to discuss the issues, and how smart and well thought out are his comments. I am always amazed that he can do this level of preparation with his family obligations and while working full time. Andrew is always engaged with the community. He bends over backwards to help citizens solve their problems and works to transform our concerns into effective policies. As chair of the Parking and Traffic Safety Committee he has skillfully handled many tricky issues that have led to safer transportation, balancing neighborhood concerns with practical solutions. One notable, but overlooked accomplishment was to increase accessibility at Prescott Park and city events. As we were coming out of the Covid pandemic, he launched a recovery task force and supported budgeting for a community mobile library. One early accomplishment was to institute a policy honoring all faiths, so that, among other things, children of minority faiths would not be penalized for missing tests or school deadlines due to practicing their faith. This man deserves your vote!

Next, Kate Cook. I met Kate while she was running for the Council two years ago, and, over a two hour talk at Kafee Vonsolln, became incredibly impressed with her and her ideas. If you ever hear Kate speak at a City Council meeting, or elsewhere, you too will see how well-informed and impressive she is in discussing the issues. Kate was one of the champions of Community Power and of a climate action plan through service on the Energy Advisory and Sustainability Committees. She fought for accessibility with wider sidewalks in the Market Square redesign, secured funding for a new accessible playground at South Mill Pond, and spearheaded creation of a new Arts & Cultural Commission and Public Art Review Committee, which will help to keep our city beautiful and culturally vibrant. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, she founded and led the Governance Committee to drive ethics reforms, increase transparency, and improve overall city governance. In past years, we all saw problems in these areas, and the work of this committee will help to fix the problems. I will be supporting Kate so that she can continue her contributions to Portsmouth.

Ken Goldman

Portsmouth

Please support Vince Lombardi for Portsmouth City Council

Oct. 30 -- To the Editor:

As the city council elections draw near please support Vince Lombardi for another term.  With property taxes on all of our minds Vince has helped to make crucial decisions to keep taxation under the Consumer Price Index rates while also being realistic about our city’s need for keeping wages competitive to maintain competent employees.  This means departments of police, fire , school and technical computer services.  All essential services that we don’t often think about until we need them. Addressing these departmental necessities is forward thinking and to our benefit.

Steve Little

Portsmouth

Deaglan McEachern committed to Portsmouth's children and their future

Oct. 30 − To the Editor:

I am writing in support of Deaglan McEachern for Portsmouth City Council. As a mother of three young children, I understand the importance of having dedicated and forward-thinking leaders who prioritize education and the future of our community.

Deaglan McEachern has consistently demonstrated his commitment to these values first on the council and now during his term as Mayor.

One of the aspects of Deaglan's platform that resonates deeply with me is his unwavering advocacy for education. Our children are the future of Portsmouth, and Deaglan understands the significance of providing them with the best possible educational opportunities. He has consistently worked to ensure that our schools receive the support and resources they need to thrive, assuring that our children have the foundation they need to succeed.

Furthermore, I am proud of Deaglan's dedication to addressing climate change. This term the council put forward a comprehensive climate action plan that shows his commitment to protecting our environment and securing a sustainable future for our community. In a time when climate issues are becoming increasingly urgent, having aleader like Deaglan who takes proactive steps to address these challenges is crucial. As mentioned, children are the future and addressing climate change is crucial to their future success and happiness.

Deaglan's work in advocating for workforce housing also deserves recognition. He has shown a remarkable ability to engage with the community and explore innovative solutions to this complex issue. His open-minded approach and willingness to collaborate make him an effective leader who can bring people together to find viable options for affordable housing in our city.

In these challenging times, we need leaders who are dedicated, experienced, and capable of guiding our city towards a brighter future. Deaglan McEachern embodies these qualities and has a proven track record of making positive change in our community. He is the leader Portsmouth needs, and I wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy for Portsmouth City Council. Please join me in supporting him November 7th.

Emily Fitzpatrick

Portsmouth

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth City Council endorsements galore - and more: Letters