Writers make pitches on Rye elections, McIntyre project, BDS and more: Letters
Bruce Valley: It is time for those who love Rye to set aside their differences
March 8 — To the Editor:
I grew up and attended school in Rye, then left for Annapolis and became a Navy pilot, flying rescue missions in Vietnam. Living years in Europe and Asia broadened my perspective. I still view my town to be much the same as when I left in 1962; but, in other ways, it is much changed.
Like our country, Rye now endures political division. A registered Democrat, I believe the energies absorbed by this division find much higher value if applied to our town. As we celebrate the 400th year since settlement, the art of bipartisanship — a proven method for getting things done — needs to be restored and re-energized. With that should come the realization that we are all in this together. The joining of many friendly hands in concerted action has no peer in creating success.
There's a growing sense that our country is now pushing back against today's political and cultural status quo, and that the nation is beginning to regress. What will hopefully emerge from this dissatisfaction will be an intention to replace failure with something better — by getting back to first principles, such as merit, accountability, and transparency — back, in fact, to reality.
Politics is said to be the art of compromise. We each practice that art every day of our lives. Compromise makes the world go round. Is it not time then to abandon "I win-you lose" methodologies, which often insure everyone's losing, and chose a path where all can win.
I believe the moment has arrived for those who love Rye to set aside differences, and bring the town together, learning anew to treat those we meet with the respect that we ourselves wish to receive. The choice is whether we allow relationships to be damaged by the usual worries or, in contrast, simply give each other the benefit of the doubt, and work together for the peaceful and unfettered enjoyment of our community and its vibrant life.
Now is the time to heal. As a leader or follower — and perhaps as both — I look forward to being part of a restorative process here in my once and future hometown.
Bruce Valley
Rye
Borne: Some thoughts and endorsements on upcoming Rye election
March 9 — To the Editor:
Attending or watching most Select Board meetings the past dozen years and skimming most other town/school/water meeting minutes or videos, I have a somewhat unique Rye perspective. There are only two contested races and no highly debatable warrant articles, but that does not mean you should not make the time to vote March 14 and see if we can get more than 30% of residents to take responsibility for the almost $30M in local government we fund.
I wanted to wait until after candidates’ night (video recording at www.ryecivicleague.org town and School election) to weigh in. We will be fortunate to have current School Board Chair Matt Curtin serve another term. PHS social studies teacher and Rye parent Michelle Wheeler presented herself as the next best option for School Board.
It is nice that other residents have chimed in on the Select Board candidates, but from my many hours sitting on the courtroom benches and intimate knowledge of Rye’s top challenges, Cathy Hodson is the better fit for our current board and needs. If it wasn’t for a major red flag and one minor concern from the other candidate present at candidates' night I may have leaned the other way.
For warrants, it is only Article 3 Amendment 9 that I oppose. Rye needs to fix root cause problems first, not shift authority to administrator roles.
Steven Borne
Rye
Vote Cathy Hodson for Rye Select Board: She checks all the boxes for service
March 9 — To the Editor:
We are writing in support of Cathy Hodson for town of Rye Select Board. As longtime friends and supporters of Cathy, we share a bit of information regarding Cathy’s assets and ability to serve.
Cathy the grant writer:
Cathy wrote a successful LCHIP Grant (New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program), negotiated with the Portsmouth Fire Department, for a delay in closing a building that provided workforce housing. She is skilled in grant writing and acquiring free (smart) money for our many municipal needs.
Cathy for climate change concerns and Rye water:
Dudley Dudley, a well-known admirer of our natural seacoast environment — who battled against Onassis years ago and won — has provided the following support for Cathy Hodson’s candidacy for Rye Select Board:
“Rye voters always field good candidates for election, and this year is no exception. As she runs for Select Board, Cathy Hodson's commitment to the environment and her concern for the effect of climate change on Rye’s harbor and beaches makes her a standout in my eyes!” -Dudley Dudley
Community service: Rye Historical Society, Rye schools, local nonprofits for women in crisis and the homeless. Cathy checks all the boxes of service! Treasurer for our Rye 400th celebration. FormersSecretary of the Rye PTA. Board member for A Safe Place, secured grant and was instrumental in locating an appropriate neighborhood for the new shelter. Women’s City Club — president and treasurer, obtained $75,000 in grants.
Cathy has a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a master's degree in accounting from Northeastern University in Boston. She was a senior auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co. in both Boston and Los Angeles. Later she held various finance related positions including assistant controller at a manufacturing company, mutual fund treasurer, controller for Abenaqui Carriers, finance director at a theater and an accounting instructor. Cathy’s varied experience, business acumen, and community service make her the best candidate for the Rye Select Board. You can expect she will be fiscally responsible, responsive and transparent to voters and will prioritize protecting our endangered water supply and surrounding wetlands through climate change.
Vote Cathy Hodson for Rye Select Board, Tuesday, March 14.
JoAnn and David Hodgdon
Rye
Why would anyone punish companies for boycotting Israel?
March 9 — To the Editor:
Why would anyone be pushing for legislation to punish companies which boycott Israel at a time when Israel’s new government is trying to neuter its Supreme Court and called for a Christian and Muslim village to be wiped out by the state?
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have been demonstrating for weeks to stop their parliament from passing a law which would give politicians the right to overrule the Supreme Court. (This is possible because the country does not have a constitution.) Americans should be on the side of preserving democracy in Israel, not protecting politicians who want to destroy it.
Israel said it sent in its army to arrest 3 Palestinians. The army killed 11 and wounded over 100. Two Israeli settlers were killed in retaliation. In response, 400 settlers rampaged through the Christian and Muslim village of Huwara, burning cars, businesses and homes. The army did nothing to stop them. When asked about the attack on Huwara Israel’s minister for the settlers, Bezalel Smotrich, said "I think that Huwara needs to be erased. I think that the state of Israel needs to do it.”
There is only one country that is Jewish. If Jews in this country vocally support that country when it acts badly then those actions will be associated with being Jewish. That is dangerous. Look at how Muslims were seen and treated after 9/11. Donald Trump got elected by saying he would ban Muslims from entering this country. If you think it could not happen to Jews here, you don’t understand why Israel has to exist.
Walter Hamilton
Portsmouth
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions a peaceful way to protest
March 9 — To the Editor:
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a peaceful way to protest the violent, ongoing atrocities being committed by the extreme right -wing government of Israel against the Palestinians. Since the beginning of the year, 78 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed by occupation forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Therefore, I read with disbelief the disingenuous claims of Spillane and Berch that BDS is anti-Semitic and a “hate movement."
BDS is supported by Jewish Voice for Peace, so it is hardly some kind of “antisemitic” movement. I, for one, choose not to support the Apartheid government of Israel. I choose not to support an extreme, right wing, government committing genocide against the Palestinians. I choose not to support the Israel’s ongoing occupation. And I will do this by peacefully refusing to buy goods manufactured in Israel or in the illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Sadly, the op-ed by Spillane and Berch is a false narrative which fails to truthfully portray BDS and Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. Moreover, on March 5, 2023, Jewish New Yorkers rightfully rallied and marched on the home of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to demand that the US end all military funding to Israel. As stated by Jewish Voice for Peace member Jay Saper, “….we will not just sit in horror as the state of Israel carries out ethnic cleansing in our name”.
Bonnie Rodriguez
Hampton
On McIntyre, demand the facts and then decide
March 9 — To the Editor:
I have zero interest in getting into a prolonged ding-dong battle with the group, or their representatives, who sent that very misleading letter to the feds, full of Portsmouth McIntyre building-related points that simply are not true, but I do want to make just a couple more comments.
Careful readers will note that the Bills Hamilton and Downey, along with former councilor Peter Whelan, were not able to rebut a single one of the false statements I called them out on. Just as one example, they’re now saying that the post office “just left” is a far, far cry from their stating in their letter to the feds that the post office was “evicted.” It’s not a question of semantics. What’s the value in telling an unnecessary lie?
In fact, their response includes a couple more things that have a very tenuous relationship with the truth. First, the Director of the UNH Survey Center would be horrified to hear these guys describe the survey the McIntyre subcommittee designed as a “UNH Survey.” I checked. He confirmed what I already knew: they were called in after the survey to clean up a mess. The UNH experts were brought in to try and make sense of data that resulted from the subcommittee’s botched survey instrument. Interpreting it proved beyond the capability of the city staff. In no way would UNH want to own that survey. Does this really matter? Yes. Making the survey seem more credible than it actually was is bending the truth. One thing the UNH experts did emphasize, however, was that the city should not make any serious decisions based on quantitative survey data alone. Instead, they strongly recommended the subcommittee commission a qualitative analysis of the thousands of comments residents had written unbidden on the survey form. The subcommittee ignored that advice.
As for my personal motivations, someone should just call me, instead of spreading mean-girl rumors. I’ll set them straight. I can tell them one thing: part of my motivation sits right there in their response. It’s that nasty edge to their campaign that has been there all along and that does little but breed suspicion rather than create clarity. I was very happy to be the only speaker at the Jan. 9 City Council meeting who spoke in favor of the $150,000 appropriation for the project. Objection is always louder and more likely to show up. The city management and council have to come to a decision point soon. That money is going into professional analysis and data that will give them a shot at making the best decision. I should point out that mine was also the only voice that objected to the former Rick Becksted-led council, triggering outside counsel fees that by now amount to over $150,000. Or the almost half a million that that council had to set aside for the mothballing and maintenance of the federal building.
I have no idea how the people of Portsmouth fall on this topic. The data doesn’t exist. At least I can admit that. Maybe it’s 50-50, but who knows? The only thing I would say to my fellow citizens now is to study the facts carefully and with an open mind. I encourage people to treat the various contributions to the topic, including mine, with generous skepticism. I’ve emphasized the concept of facts and being well-informed, which was at the heart of my recent op-ed. Facts don’t have to be an endangered species. We should demand them. Then decide.
Gerald Duffy
Portsmouth
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Writers make pitches on Rye elections, McIntyre, BDS and more: Letters
