Special Board of Aldermen 09-16-2021 Page 3
Alderman O’Brien
Thirty seconds.
Sonia Prince
... petition question to be voted on in November and allow the people of Nashua to decide if they want to be
Police Commissioners to be appointed publicly, vetted in public, and interviewed by our 15 local officials
from all 9 wards. Every city and town has opted for local control before us and many have CALEA
certifications just like Nashua. The false claims that any of these cities would suddenly be deemed
dangerous or corrupt overnight is laughable. You have to wonder...
Alderman O’Brien
Time.
Sonia Prince
...why the Chief of Police would be...
President Wilshire
Sonia time is up.
Sonia Prince
I’m good. Thank you.
Raymond Newman
My name is Raymond Newman and | live at 25 Charlotte Avenue. | just want to take a look at what the
Resolutions actually does and some of the details that had just been described. The primary ones are it
changes the number from 3 to 5 and it changed the appointment from the Governor to the Mayor and the
President of the Board of Aldermen. All that’s done with the approval of the Board of Aldermen.
Appointing and removing police officers, making and enforcing rules, control over police buildings, and all
the other rules and regulations related to the Police Commission remain in the Charter. This resolution is
not about operational control, budget control, a power grab, destruction of the Police Department, or any of
the other scare tactics intended to delay or defeat this resolution. It’s about local control and the
appointment process. Since it has to have the advice of the Board of Aldermen, that is a safeguard and the
similar safeguard works if you had a corrupt Governor. The Council has to approve it. The safeguard for
the city may be stronger than what is currently in effect since it only takes three votes to approve a change
as it currently exists and it would require 8 people to vote along with the Mayor if those were to be changed.
Now there is a Nashua Police official that said as reported in the Telegraph, “They can’t say one thing
wrong about our Police Department”. | agree 100 percent with that observation. This resolution is not
about something being wrong with the Nashua Police Department. The Nashua Police Department is
excellent and this resolution will not change the Commissioners interactions with the department or affect
daily operations. It is about the Commissioner appointment process only. Bring local control to Nashua like
all the other cities in New Hampshire. Local control of our Police Commission appointments will improve
the appointment process and will help to bring more transparency and accountability to the City of Nashua.
Alderman O’Brien
Thirty second.
