Entertaining shenanigans

Editor, The Citizen: January 24, 2009

The arrogance of some members of the Moultonborough Board of Selectmen never ceases to amaze me. I often feel guilty not having to pay for such incredible entertainment.

On Wednesday January 14th there were hearings in Concord regarding the very bad legislation that Rep. Betsey Patten put forth months ago but was not brought to light until a very few days before the hearings. I have written about that legislation in previous missives so I won't bore you here with redundancy… just understand that these bills were poorly thought out, poorly written and vengeful in the motivation behind them. Little or no thought was given to what anyone in the "law making business" ought to know; research and re-research before putting forth a bill… consider "unintended consequences". Rep. Patten was only thinking about the town in which she sits on the Select board.

But beyond that (and this is where it gets entertaining) Thursday January 15th (the very next day) was the Moultonborough Board of Selectmen's meeting. As there were folks there that had testified at the above mentioned hearings against the legislation, as well as Representative Patten, "Selectman" Patten decided it was a good time to call out and lecture those citizens that had exercised their right to be heard at the Concord hearings.

Wait a minute … let's see … she wrote these bills in June; she waited until less than a week from the hearings before she revealed any information about one of the bills, and forgot to mention anything about the other two. And she expects the citizenry that has a problem with this, speak to her in private, as a courtesy, rather than at a public hearing as is their right. I am sorry.

I have voted for Ms. Patten from the get go and, in the past found her tolerable and sufficient in Concord. I have a brother that was a member of the General Court (NH House) 3 terms, was a member of the County Delegation and a State Senator 3 terms, and I know something of the dedication it takes to run up and down I-93 early in the morning and late at night, take calls well into the night, attend meetings in Concord, Conway and Ossipee all the same day. It was his choice as it is with Ms. Patten. But the tomfoolery she is engaged in to derail SB2 and preserve, nay, nurture and develop power for the power brokers while crippling the rights of voters and taxpayers is unacceptable.

Last March 56% and 58% respectively voted for SB2 for the town and the school district in Moultonborough. While SB2 needs 60% to pass, it was enough to threaten the comfort zone of those in opposition of SB2. If over half of the voters want an issue to pass, wouldn't you think their Representative would find better ways to spend her time than trying her level best to derail it? This is not open and transparent government. Watching these shenanigans is entertaining, yes but not at the voters and taxpayers' expense.

Rick Heath
Moultonborough