Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 3
| Know that someone is going to ask why introduce it now. | think bottom line is it’s time. It’s time for the
Nashua residents to have a voice in their police department. We pay the bills, the salaries, and we have
the legal liability if something goes wrong but we don’t have a voice. | believe this change will bring full
transparency and accountability. Thank you Madam Chair.
Chairman Caron
Thank you. Anything to add Mayor?
Mayor Donchess
No Madam Chair.
Chairman Caron
Thank you. Chief Carignan | understand you have a small presentation to make to the Committee. Thank
you.
Police Chief Michael Carignan
Good evening everyone and thank you. My name is Michael Carignan, the Chief of the Nashua Police
Department. |’d like to speak in opposition to this legislation to have the Nashua Police Commissioner
appointed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen as opposed to the current process of appointment by the
Governor. |’d like to be very clear on this point. I’m here to oppose this on a positional level. I’ve enjoyed
a close and positive working relationship with most of you on the Board and the Mayor’s office. My
concerns are based on the position and not the names of the current people in office.
I’m opposed to this legislation because it brings local political control into the daily management of the
police department. With that local political control comes local, political influence. That can be a
dangerous thing. I’d like to briefly explain some of my rational. Under the current system, three
commissioners are nominated by the Governor and approved by the Executive Council which has Nashua
representation. Each of the current three commissioners has been appointed by a Democratic Governor
Maggie Hassan and have been reappointed by Republican Governor Chris Sununu. Each has been
confirmed by Democratic Executive Council Deb Pignatelli and reappointed by Republican Dave Wheeler.
These commissioners must be Nashua residents and have been so for the last five years. We currently
have two lifelong Nashua residents and a third who has lived here with his family for over 32 years. They
are taxpaying Nashua residents who have a vested interest in the management of the police department.
They are reviewed and are briefed on all officers we hire, promote, and on some occasions fire. They meet
with us monthly to review every aspect of our budget to make sure we are spending within our means.
They make recommendations and ensure our programs and expenditures are valid and well thought out.
There have been many occasions where the commission have questions about our operations and asked
us to look for alternative solutions to the problem. They have been very clear on contract negotiations and
always keep the city budget issue in mind when reviewing our requests. They are local, vested citizens of
Nashua. We do have local control.
With local political control, it brings political influence over the daily operations of the police department.
When a police commissioner is selected by the Mayor and aldermen, they are more likely to have a political
loyalty to that politician, especially when it comes to reappointment. With that loyalty comes influence.
That influence can affect who we hire, who we promote, and who we transfer. The Governor has a much
lower stake in the day-to-day operations of the Nashua city government and therefore is much less able to
exert control and influence over police business. The Nashua Police Department has always prided
ourselves on never compromising our hiring standards. It is one of the cornerstones of what makes us a
great agency.
