Special Board of Aldermen 06-07-2021 Page 11
represented of a cross section of the citizens of Nashua, that gives us an opportunity for the Police Department
to build stronger relationships with members of those communities across Nashua. If it is only cross section of
the public all those other communities that aren’t represented don’t have the opportunity to strengthen those
relationships that exist or built on ones where they don’t and | think that’s a missed opportunity especially in
these times. So | support this. Thank you.
Rep. Michael Pedersen Yes — Michael Pedersen | am a Nashua resident, 11 Delaware Road. | also serve as a
State Representative for Nashua, Ward 5. Two points I’d like to bring up is | think the City of Nashua and its
residents are fully capable of making wise decisions on their behalf and don’t need a decision made at the
Governor's office or their local control. And the other thing I’d like to mention this thing having the Governor’s
Office decide our Police Commissioner would remove politics from the equation but | am certain that any
decisions that come out of a Governor’s Office includes politics on their end. So the politics will never be
removed, it is just a matter of who is deciding it. So thank you for your time.
Alderman Caron
Thank you. So | will do one last call for people to speak in favor of this Resolution. OK seeing none, we will now
take testimony in opposition. Please raise your hand and we will go across the board. Yes, will you please
identify yourself, it says “Julia’s iPad”, name and address please? You're on mute | think.
TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION
Tim Hefferan 144 Manchester Street in Nashua. Thank you for this opportunity to speak in opposition to this. It
is my understanding that Deputy Chief Testaverde has provided you with an editorial | provided to the
Telegraph in 2014 outlining some of the instances in which | have been personally involved and the concerns
that | have as it relates to the appointment of Police Commissioners. Sometimes we make difficult decisions,
after we’ve made them we lament about wishing we had the benefit of hindsight in making that decision, hoping
that it turned out right. You, the Aldermen, have the advantage and the fortunate ability in this instance to have
the benefit of that hindsight. When we only look back at the history of the Police Department as it related to the
City and local politics of the early 1900’s to learn why the Commission structure as it stands today came about
and why we don’t want to return to the old ages. | know Mayor Donchess through the Police Department when
| worked there since the 1990’s and | know him to be an honorable man. Similarly | know several of the Board
presently sitting and consider you to be of high character and personal integrity. But we are all just passing
through in our service to the City. There will be a time in the future, as there has been in the past, when people
will be elected to powerful positions whose character and motives will be called into question and | cite an
Aldermanic investigation that | participated in back in 1993 that put three sitting Aldermen in Federal Prison as
an example of my concerns of local control.
In 2001, | was in North Carolina for our re-accreditation. During that time, the chairperson for CALEA stood
among 30 to 50 other agencies from around the country and spoke publicly acknowledging to us in words that
are very similar to you having a unique Police Commission structure, one that we have rarely seen. How were
we able to implement it and more importantly how were you able to keep it. The Aldermen have authorized the
Police Budget over the last 30 years to spend millions of dollars in an effort to retain and maintain the
accreditation standard....
Alderman O’Brien
30 seconds.
Mr. Hefferan Thank you. Why would we ever want to return and do a 180 degree from the CALEA Board that
has publicly recognized and praised specifically this form of Police Commission appointment? And lastly | have
heard a lot of talk about Nashua being the last place that has this format. I’ve also talked to Police
Departments and officers over the past that have described in detail that frustrations with allowing local politics
to come into play and how it has affected hirings, firings, promotions, investigations and overall morale.
