by Ed Naile, Chairman
Oh the law New Hampshire’s elected officials love to hate, RSA 91-A.
You may know it as The Right to Know Law.
There was a commission put together a few years ago that tried to gut the Right to Know Law but most of it survived.
Here is a Foster’s article about an admitted hater of public disclosure, Chick-a-De De, a liberal I might add.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120302/GJNEWS_01/703029926
There are no teeth in 91-A and probably never will be because public officials are patted on the head by our Superior Court Justices for hiding documents, passing inside information, prearranging votes, and in this case, plotting against the only conservative on the Dover City Council, “Her own worst enemy” as she is described.
Dover has a long history of corruption rooted in secret deals and Jello-like interpretations of their City Charter and State Statutes.
The Right to Know Law is the only “statute” I know of directly stated in the NH Constitution.
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.
June 2, 1784
Amended 1976 by providing right of access to governmental proceedings and records.
If you read the Foster’s article above you will see that even City Councilor Cheney was excluded from telephone and email meetings by other Councilors so they could weaken her voice at the posted meetings she was allowed to attend.
If you want to correct this situation in your municipality you need to vote in people who respect the public and RSA 91-A.
And if that can not be done the next alternative is to call up the offenders and let them know you will be voting NO on every budget and Warrant Article until things straighten out.
The one single thing a liberal can not stand is to be elected to any office without enough money to spend. They will soon lose interest in being in charge if they have to work.
And on the flip side:
If the different municipal department heads see they will lose votes for new cruisers or fire trucks due to secrete meetings of a few elected officials, those elected officials will soon get a message they damn will understand.
Do not count on the DRA or the Courts to uphold any NH laws or Administrative Rules on a taxpayer’s behalf.
It doesn’t work that way.
Vote NO and let them know why.