Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 6/8/2021 - P21
Board of Aldermen 06-08-2021 Page 21
President Obama said that what makes you a man is not the ability to make a child but the ability to raise a
child. Fatherhood is an unappreciated job, fathers are often derided and Nashua owes a debt of gratitude to
those men who are stepping up and raising their own children. Thank you.
President Wilshire
OK | don’t see anyone else from the public looking to speak.
REMARKS BY THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN
Alderman O’Brien
Thank you Madam President. | wasn’t really going to mention it too much because quite frankly | am still trying to
digest. But as many of the people at home know, the other political hat that | wear is | am a State
Representative. And despite what some people may think, please allow me to tell you what | know. | was there
and | was able to give the floor speech. This thing with the tax cap there was something about it that did not
have an override provision in it. lt was discovered in a court case and instead of fixing the City Charter what we
had when those particular people lost their court case, they brought the issue, via the Senate to be heard and
then it came into the House where it was vetted. But when it came to the floor, we did make a motion to table it
and it came out 180 to 180 to table and the speaker basically came out and voted on the side because it was a
tie which would have probably delayed the Bill and he voted in favor and the Bill passed.
What | have an issue with, this is a Bill that solely bull eyed Nashua, nobody else, no other communities they all
have override position in their Charter, Nashua does not. This is somebody showing up to the construction site
and repairing something you didn’t pay for. | see it is nothing but partisan politics, | often wonder about these
people that fly the yellow flag the flag that says “Don’t Tread on Me” but yet to come up the whole State of New
Hampshire to vote on what we want to do here with our Charter. To me the Municipal Charter is a very sacred
government, we follow it. Underneath my desk here and next to my seat mate we do have it and try to run our
government by it. But it is sad when there’s a right way and that is going out and getting 1,500 signatures or an
Aldermen of this Board to sponsor it to make a referendum change instead of running up to the Legislature and
changing it in a very backdoor type of manner.
So like | say, I’ll leave it at that, | am very disgusted. It has to go down in my 14 years in the State House of one
of the most disgusting things, very rarely in the House of Representatives, it is sort of like herding cats. But when
you have 400 Representatives but to have a tie like that, and to have the speaker break a tie is extremely rare
and to do it on the side of politics or partisan means it was greatly disappointing. Again, | think | am very proud
all 27 Nashua Representatives that the people of Nashua elected to speak their voice in the State House did not
support this measure. And not one Nashua Representative, duly elected by the citizens of Nashua did not
support this or never asked to even sponsor this. So again, totally disgusted; from time to time we see that up
there. | am still again trying to digest it and hopefully at a later date probably we will feel better about it, but right
now it was a very shameful moment for bipartisan politics and running the State when the great State of NH has
to put on the boxing gloves and go after one particular City, the City of Nashua. Thank you Madam President.
President Wilshire
Alderman Klee?
Alderman Klee
Thank you Madam President. And | have to correct a couple of statements that Alderman O’Brien and State Rep
O’Brien made. The actual vote was 186 to 185 and there was not a tie at the beginning the Speaker actually
created the tie to make it 186 to 186 which is absolutely unheard of by creating the tie the table went down and it
went on to pass. That was a division vote so for all of those that are listening that was a division vote that was a
nonpartisan vote. That meant Republicans, Democrats voted to do the table, they continued on to pass and
there is other things including reconsideration, each time they didn’t call for a division, they called for a roll call.
