SB2 Petition Support in Meredith

www.laconiadailysun.com

April 1st, 2008

To the editor, Laconia Daily Sun:

Two letters in Monday’s Sun need attention; two others speak well for themselves. The one I read fi rst, which Mr. Peter Miller wrote and no, I didn’t do a word count, speaks of fellow citizens as having forked tongues, dastardly ploys, making him pay, ramifications, turkey vultures whispering and circling road kill, as well as slurring neighboring towns people with GilfordGrok banners attached to rear ends and carpetbaggers meddling. I mean like WOW, and Mr. Kahn wants a time out. He also suggests that those for SB-2 are ‘small d democrats’ as opposed to what BIG D DEMOCRATS; I am neither, nor a Republican,party affiliation is not attached to an individuals right to cast a vote. Mr. Kahn’s states that SB-2 opponents want only to continue what has been. If that is true, then why are they suggesting a hybrid form of government? Mr. Miller states that we favor home rule and local control. Perhapshe doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘casting a ballot’. Both writers have something in common though, not reading the state statutes. The worst being Mr. Kahn as he states: “. . . or a group of petitioners die or move away by next February, ...” He is carrying forward a statement made in an earlier March 26th Sun article that the N.H. Secretary of States Offi ce advised the validity of signers residency be checked again in February 09 to determine if everyone (who signed the petition) were still living and living and registered in Meredith. This is the only title, chapter and section in the statutes which speak to petitioned articles. In it one will find no time limitations as the validity of signatories of a petitioned articles accepted by one or more selectman. The Town Clerks duties are to verify the validity of residency at that time. Nothing in the RSA speaks to the petition being able to be rejected because one or more persons died (unintentional or otherwise) or whether they left town willingly (or otherwise). Perhaps in some other state, nation, or time, but not in this state at this time, does a citizen of the state need to be afraid of being driven out of town, coarsened or worse for having signed a petition article to be included on a ballot.I held from speaking to this subject earlier, but Mr. Kahn has raised the volume beyond what our dear Mr. Miller has with his diatribe and supercitizen persona. Anyone can go on line to the states website and read it for themselves — 24/7. And by the way, it is not the Secretary of States function to interpret the state statutes, that function resides with the state’s Attorney General. The Attorney General’s office could only e suggest an inference from, the checking of the validity of residency at the polling place before an individual may cast a ballot, as the requirement of checking a second time in February. To that we may all read and be assured doesn’t stand as if it did many, many N. H. citizens in the last 200 plus years would have declined signing a petition for fear of not seeing the following year’s Spring. Here’s the law: New Hampshire Statutes TITLE III: TOWNS, CITIES, VILLAGE DISTRICTS, AND UNINCORPORATED PLACES; CHAPTER 39: TIME FOR HOLDINGTOWN MEETINGS AND WARNING THEREOF: Section 39:3 Articles. —Upon the written application of 25 or more registered voters or 2-percent of the registered voters in town, whichever is less, although in no event shall fewer than 10 registered voters be sufficient, presented to the selectmen or one of them not later than the fifth Tuesday before the day prescribed for an annual meeting, the selectmen shall insert in their warrant for such meeting the petitioned article with only such minor textual changes as may be required. For the purposes of this section, the number of registered voters in a town shall be the number of voters registered prior to the last state general election. The right to have an article inserted in the warrant conferred by this section shall not be invalidated by the provisions of

RSA 32.

G. W. Brooks

Meredith