Vote for individuals, not blocs in city council race: Letters
Vote for individuals, not blocs in city council race
Oct. 21 - To the Editor:
As a longtime Portsmouth homeowner, I have seen many qualified and civic-minded individuals who have run for or served on our City Council. We have had a variety of men and women from different backgrounds who were successful mayors and dedicated city councilors. I accentuate the word “individuals” as in the upcoming election, we are revisiting a group of five like-minded candidates who are planning a “reunion tour” on the city council as a “voting bloc.”
In a recent LTE, we saw validation of this game plan as the writer endorsed all five individuals but more importantly, in summation provided an endorsement for the group of five previous councilors who are running to “load” the city council for consolidated voting purposes. Even the campaign signs are arranged in groups of five around the city. Like our current Supreme Court, who were appointed with the intent of a voting majority of conservatives, there seems to be a clear intent to have a 5-4 majority on any given Portsmouth City Council vote. The writer ended her letter with this reminder; “Remember that it takes five council votes to block excessive spending that leads to tax increases.”
I can assure you that as a “senior boomer” who has paid Portsmouth taxes since 1981, I am just as aware of the impact of our tax rate and property taxes. I am also concerned with many of the issues echoed by the candidates, specifically overdevelopment and preserving green space while maintaining the character of our city. However, I want decisions to be made by individual thinkers who represent my vision of our future and not a voting bloc with an agenda. I reiterate that I have the utmost respect and gratitude for those who have served on the council in the past and for those who aspire to elected positions on the city council and local boards.
I encourage independent individuals who believe they have expertise to offer and the ability to work in cooperation with their fellow citizens of Portsmouth to run for local office and set a course for the future of our great city.
Stephen Philp
Portsmouth
The GOP has become the FOP, Friends of Putin
Oct. 23 – To the Editor:
The majority of the GOP wants to deny Ukraine assistance to repel Putin’s invasion. The GOP would rather fuss with tax haggling than help a sovereign nation remain free. The GOP would rather argue over government programs than stop Putin’s aggression. The GOP studiously avoid criticizing Putin. The GOP’s leader, D. Trump, openly admires Putin’s geopolitics.
Their history says we should flip the GOP to the “FOP” for “Friends of Putin”. This correctly labels their endearing themselves to the war criminal, Putin. FOP policies make more sense when we see their eagerness to please Putin. The FOP would deny Ukraine support complaining that they tire of supporting an underdog fighting for its life. While the FOP grows weak, the rest of the world stands strong and condemns Putin’s War as illegal, immoral, and destabilizing.
The rest of the world knows if we reward Putin’s War with Ukraine, he will not stop. He didn’t stop after invading Crimea. Piece by piece, Putin is rebuilding the Soviet empire and FOP’s fiscal myopia aids and abets his goals. The FOP’s financial stinginess would make the US appear unreliable because we publicly pledged support for Ukraine. The FOP would make the US a coward because the FOP fears Putin’s frowny face. The FOP would make the US strangely selfish because, while the FOP buys mountains of shiny military hardware every year, they don’t want to get them dirty defending Ukraine. The FOP cannot even defend their miserliness by claiming to save American lives because we have no boots on the ground.
In contrast, recall how the GOP wanted to invade Iraq so they could sniff out make-believe Weapons of Mass Destruction. They pushed us to invade, lost thousands of American lives, and spent trillions of dollars claiming to spread democracy, while we learned later that the GOP just wanted Iraqi oil. Today the FOP wants to retreat and reward Putin. We never found Iraq WMDs, but we see daily examples of Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the FOP wants out.
If the FOP wants out, then let’s flip them out and everyone wins.
J. Michael Atherton
Dover
'The Boondoggle 9' have accomplished nothing
Oct. 24 – To the Editor:
The current City Council, or as they are more affectionately called “The Boondoggle 9”, have accomplished absolutely nothing. Worse than that, they have been a force of ignorance, shortsightedness, and destruction.
They raised the budget $14.2 million dollars during the past two years and in addition they have spent an additional $4 million out of the committed fund balance for a combined total $18.2 million dollars of increases.
This is according to the latest financial update by the City of Portsmouth on October 16th of this year.
This is a taxpayer’s nightmare come true because they have also created 36 new positions. The City Manager tried to ameliorate this by saying only, and I repeat only, 27.1 positions have been filled.
Who the heck does she think she is kidding? The taxpayers will be stuck with all those pensions, and don’t forget they all have medical insurance.
This is the Council that tried to ram the conversion of Sherburne School into workforce housing, completely without regard to the affect on the Pannaway Manor neighborhood and unamelioratable road congestion.
Mayor Deaglan McEachern and Councilor Andrew Bagley have put in their campaign literature that that is precisely what they want to have happen. But then, it doesn’t affect their neighborhoods.
Councilor Kate Cook wants to deny 1st amendment rights to family members of those serving on quasi-judicial boards by rewriting the Ethics Ordinance. She doesn’t understand the Right to Free Speech and wants to gag opponents. She seems to have Portsmouth confused with China and Russia. Or perhaps, she is simply completely ignorant of our Constitution.
It makes you wonder what other little gems she has in this rewrite.
Can you imagine the lawsuits that would result? How long would it take for the ACLU to get involved? They represent clients for free, our own legal department does not represent us for free. We pay for this.
And last but not least, is Councilor Tabor. He blabbed in the public realm information which he learned in a non-public setting, a violation of State Statute.
He was quickly taken to Superior Court. One of the litigants was this letter writer. The judge eventually ruled that as taxpayers we did not have standing.
You read that right. As taxpayers we do not have standing. Talk about a pyrrhic victory. Taxpayers have no standing against our own elected officials who theoretically answer to us.
The only standing we seem to have is at the ballot box. Use it wisely.
Mark Brighton
Portsmouth
Oct. 20 − To the Editor:
Hello friends, I am a long-shot candidate for Portsmouth Police Commission. The municipal election is on November 7. I am currently a Ward 2 Selectmen (elected in 2021) and have served on several boards both here, and in our previous hometown of Kansas City. My opponents are good people with long family histories in Portsmouth.
If elected, my goal would be to help get our police department out of its current facility and to a new location, as soon as possible. My preference is close to downtown. Our officers and civilian staff have been working out of a mold infested, outdated, unsafe facility for many years. No one in the private sector would stand for that kind of treatment. We need to take care of the people that take care of us.
Secondly, our Chief is a finalist for the same position in another municipality. If he moves on from Portsmouth, the police commission will have a big job ahead of itself finding and selecting a new Chief. I am up to that task.
Lastly, although we are not Portsmouth natives, my family has been here for almost nine years. We have two children at Portsmouth high school, and LOTS of skin in the game. As citizens, we all pay a lot to live here. My focus would be to make sure everyone feels like we are getting a good bang for our buck. Please consider voting for me on Tuesday, November 7 for Portsmouth Police Commissioner.
Jay Lieberman
Portsmouth
Republican-induced paralysis is making the US weak
Oct. 15 − To the Editor:
Elected members of the Republican Party please get your act in gear and let the US support Israel.
Having started my adult work life in 1989, I have lived through decades of terrorism, from Timothy McVeigh, to the 1993 World Trade Center Bombings, 9/11, Al-Qaeda, Isis, Taliban, and through decades of continued Hezbollah and Hamas terrorism in Israel. The recent brutality of the Hamas invasion of Israel and the rampage terrorizing innocent civilians, grandparents, infants is a new level of brutal terrorism. The thought of having my grandmother who lived through the Holocaust kidnapped, or my infant child gunned down by a machine gun in a random attack on innocent civilians is beyond comprehension. Thank you, President Biden, for your unequivocal outcry against the brutality of Hamas and for Secretary Blinken in your support of Israel and related work throughout the Middle East.
Contrary to the support of Democrats, yesterday Trump tweeted that Hezbollah is "very smart" and he is the same person that in 2017 shared Israeli intelligence with Russia. What is wrong with Trump? And it’s been a week since the brutality and our US Congress remains paralyzed to act and support Israel’s security. What will it take for the Republicans to stop standing on individual right-wing beliefs and start cooperating with the desire of the majority of Americans.
The Republicans' inability to act has left Congress paralyzed and blocked the appointment of dedicated Military leaders leaving us with no confirmed Army Chief, Chief of Naval Ops, Head of Air Force, Ambassador to Israel, Lebanon, Oman and Kuwait, no State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, no Commander of the Fifth Fleet and hundreds of military roles waiting on appointments. Enough is enough – you have weakened our US security and are jeopardizing’s the security of Israel. Start working for the majority of Americans, not for your political interest. Please get our house in order so we can provide the needed support to Israel.
Mike Schwartz
Portsmouth
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Vote for individuals, not blocs in city council race: Letters
