by Steve MacDonald
Last week the New Hampshire House voted against a bill to let taxpayers adopt charter provisions establishing limitations on the growth of budgets and taxes. The actual short text reads as follows:
“This bill authorizes cities and towns to adopt charter provisions establishing limitations on the growth of budgets and taxes.”
For those not familiar with New Hampshire, residents can already adopt provisions to limit growth and taxes, but the teacher’s unions and the pro-government folks don’t like it. So they do everything in their power to make it as difficult as they can. They gum up the petition process. They try to intimidate people, mess with them about the procedure or the number of good signatures, or anything else they can think of. All this just to keep the thing from getting (what does Obama call it?) and up or down vote, in this case from the people (see also-taxpayers) who live in that particular town.
They can’t even trust the people to let them vote on it.
If that doesn’t work, the town selectman, councilors, alderman, will try to keep it off the ballot or schedule it when it has the best possible chance of failing. If that doesn’t work a well funded national union pr some faux-local non-profit NGO pretending to be a taxpayer advocacy group (as in they advocate taxpayers paying more taxes but won’t admit as much), files a lawsuit that no average bunch of citizens could hope to fight. It’s all very burdensome.
So much so that at the end of the day the mere weight of the process scares most people from even trying which is exactly the message the tax and spenders want to send. So its a form of intimidation to keep people from trying to limit the size and scope of government at its lowest level.
Such is the nature of man versus the machine. Town politics are not any different from national.
So the bill, HB 1522, was meant to grease the skids so to speak. To make it easier for people to add a warrant article to better manage spending, so that any municipality could vote for itself to pass or kill the idea should someone even take the time to petition for it. Passage did not mandate anything excpet making it less likley you’d get sued for trying. Unfortunately for us, we have a majority democrat legislature until November, and they don’t trust us to vote the way they would like us too, so they prefer to keep things all complicated and scary so that most people won’t bother to challenge the status quo of more government more often.
For a blogger like me, a vote like this is low hanging fruit, just waiting to be picked.
So as is my habit of late, I felt that you deserved to know who those people were that won’t trust you to vote for more taxes and spending than you can afford, and to be honest–it pisses off the liberals, and I enjoy that quite a bit too.
Here are the names of all the ‘elected’ officials in the NH House who voted yea (on the ITL) to kill HB 1522. All so that the process of just getting to a vote to establish limitation(s) on the growth of budgets and spending in your town government would continue to be as backbreaking as possible.
House Rep Party County District Vote
Abbott, Dennis Democrat Rockingham 12 Yea
Aguiar, James Democrat Grafton 6 Yea
Allen, Mary Republican Rockingham 11 Yea
Allen, Peter Democrat Cheshire 6 Yea
Almy, Susan Democrat Grafton 11 Yea
Arsenault, Beth Democrat Belknap 4 Yea
Baroody, Benjamin Democrat Hillsborough 13 Yea
Bartlett, Michael Democrat Merrimack 11 Yea
Beaulieu, Jane Democrat Hillsborough 17 Yea
Beck, Catriona Democrat Hillsborough 2 Yea
Benn, Bernard Democrat Grafton 9 Yea
Berube, Roger Democrat Strafford 2 Yea
Bickford, David Republican Strafford 3 Yea
Boisvert, Ronald Democrat Hillsborough 17 Yea
Borden, David Democrat Rockingham 18 Yea
Bouchard, Candace Democrat Merrimack 11 Yea
Brennan, William Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Bridgham, Robert Democrat Carroll 2 Yea
Bridle, Russell Republican Rockingham 15 Yea
Brown, C. Pennington Democrat Rockingham 9 Yea
Brown, Carole Democrat Merrimack 8 Yea
Brown, Jennifer Democrat Strafford 5 Yea
Brown, Larry Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Browne, Brendon Democrat Strafford 4 Yea
Buco, Thomas Democrat Carroll 1 Yea
Burke, Rachel Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Burridge, Delmar Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Butcher, Suzanne Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Butler, Edward Democrat Carroll 1 Yea
Butterworth, Timothy Democrat Cheshire 4 Yea
Butynski, William Democrat Cheshire 4 Yea
Cali-Pitts, Jacqueline Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
Campbell, David Democrat Hillsborough 24 Yea
Carlson, Nancy Democrat Cheshire 6 Yea
Caron, June Democrat Hillsborough 25 Yea
Carr, Daniel Democrat Cheshire 4 Yea
Casey, Kimberley Democrat Rockingham 11 Yea
Chandley, Shannon Democrat Hillsborough 6 Yea
Chininis, Alexis Democrat Hillsborough 10 Yea
Clarke, Claire Democrat Merrimack 6 Yea
Clemons, Jane Democrat Hillsborough 24 Yea
Cloutier, John Democrat Sullivan 4 Yea
Cooney, Mary Democrat Grafton 7 Yea
Cote, David Democrat Hillsborough 23 Yea
Craig, James Democrat Hillsborough 9 Yea
Cushing, Robert Democrat Rockingham 15 Yea
Cyr, James Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Davis, Frank Democrat Merrimack 7 Yea
Day, Judith Democrat Rockingham 13 Yea
DeJoie, John Democrat Merrimack 11 Yea
DeStefano, Stephen Democrat Merrimack 13 Yea
DiPentima, Rich Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
Domingo, Baldwin Democrat Strafford 5 Yea
Donovan, Thomas Democrat Sullivan 4 Yea
Dowling, Patricia Republican Rockingham 5 Yea
Eaton, Daniel Democrat Cheshire 2 Yea
Emiro, Frank Republican Rockingham 3 Yea
Farley, Michael Democrat Hillsborough 15 Yea
Flanders, John Republican Rockingham 8 Yea
Flurey, Joan Democrat Hillsborough 16 Yea
Foose, Robert Democrat Merrimack 1 Yea
Ford, Susan Democrat Grafton 3 Yea
Foster, Linda Democrat Hillsborough 4 Yea
French, Barbara Democrat Merrimack 5 Yea
Friedrich, Carol Democrat Grafton 6 Yea
Gagnon, Raymond Democrat Sullivan 4 Yea
Garrity, Patrick Democrat Hillsborough 14 Yea
Gile, Mary Democrat Merrimack 10 Yea
Ginsburg, Ruth Democrat Hillsborough 20 Yea
Goley, Jeffrey Democrat Hillsborough 8 Yea
Gorman, Mary Democrat Hillsborough 23 Yea
Gottling, Suzanne Democrat Sullivan 3 Yea
Gould, Franklin Democrat Grafton 11 Yea
Grassie, Anne Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Hackel, Paul Democrat Hillsborough 21 Yea
Haley, Robert Democrat Hillsborough 14 Yea
Hammond, Jill Democrat Hillsborough 3 Yea
Harding, Laurie Democrat Grafton 11 Yea
Hardy, Valerie Democrat Hillsborough 27 Yea
Harris, Sandra Democrat Sullivan 4 Yea
Harvey, Philip Democrat Hillsborough 1 Yea
Harvey, Suzanne Democrat Hillsborough 21 Yea
Hatch, William Democrat Coos 3 Yea
Hebert, Roger Democrat Hillsborough 12 Yea
Henson, John Democrat Rockingham 13 Yea
Hodges, Kevin Democrat Hillsborough 7 Yea
Horrigan, Timothy Democrat Strafford 7 Yea
Houde-Quimby, Charlotte Democrat Sullivan 1 Yea
Howard, Doreen Democrat Rockingham 12 Yea
Hubbard, Pamela Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Hutz, Sarah Democrat Strafford 5 Yea
Ingersoll, Paul Democrat Coos 4 Yea
Jeudy, Jean Democrat Hillsborough 10 Yea
Johnson, William Democrat Belknap 5 Yea
Katsakiores, Phyllis Republican Rockingham 5 Yea
Katsiantonis, Thomas Democrat Hillsborough 15 Yea
Keans, Sandra Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Kelley, John Democrat Hillsborough 26 Yea
Kelly, Sally Democrat Merrimack 7 Yea
Kepner, Susan Democrat Rockingham 15 Yea
Kidder, David Republican Merrimack 1 Yea
Knowles, John Democrat Hillsborough 27 Yea
Knowles, Mary Ann Democrat Hillsborough 27 Yea
Kopka, Angeline Democrat Hillsborough 26 Yea
Laliberte, Suzanne Democrat Grafton 10 Yea
Lauterborn, Elaine Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Leishman, Peter Democrat Hillsborough 3 Yea
Lerandeau, Alfred Democrat Cheshire 6 Yea
Levasseur, Nickolas Democrat Hillsborough 11 Yea
Levesque, Melanie Democrat Hillsborough 5 Yea
Lewis, Robert Democrat Strafford 6 Yea
Lindsey, Steven Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Lockwood, Priscilla Republican Merrimack 6 Yea
Long, Patrick Democrat Hillsborough 10 Yea
Lyons, Melissa Democrat Rockingham 8 Yea
Mack, Ron Democrat Hillsborough 1 Yea
Mann, Maureen Democrat Rockingham 1 Yea
Marshall, Seth Democrat Hillsborough 23 Yea
Matarazzo, Anthony Democrat Hillsborough 20 Yea
Matheson, Robert Democrat Grafton 4 Yea
McCarthy, Barbara Democrat Rockingham 5 Yea
McClammer, Jim Democrat Sullivan 5 Yea
McEachern, Paul Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
McMahon, Patricia Democrat Merrimack 3 Yea
Meader, David Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Merrick, Evalyn Democrat Coos 2 Yea
Merry, Liz Democrat Belknap 2 Yea
Miller, Kate Democrat Belknap 3 Yea
Mitchell, Bonnie Democrat Cheshire 7 Yea
Moody, Marcia Democrat Rockingham 12 Yea
Movsesian, Lori Democrat Hillsborough 22 Yea
Mulholland, Catherine Democrat Grafton 10 Yea
Nixon, David Democrat Hillsborough 17 Yea
Nord, Susi Democrat Rockingham 1 Yea
Nordgren, Sharon Democrat Grafton 9 Yea
O’Brien, Michael Democrat Hillsborough 26 Yea
O’Neil, James Democrat Hillsborough 19 Yea
Osborne, Jessie Democrat Merrimack 12 Yea
Owen, Derek Democrat Merrimack 4 Yea
Pantelakos, Laura Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
Parkhurst, Henry Democrat Cheshire 4 Yea
Pastor, Beatriz Democrat Grafton 9 Yea
Perkins, Amy Republican Rockingham 14 Yea
Perkins, Lawrence Republican Rockingham 14 Yea
Perry, Robert Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Petterson, Don Democrat Rockingham 10 Yea
Pierce, David Democrat Grafton 9 Yea
Pilotte, Maurice Democrat Hillsborough 16 Yea
Porter, Margaret Democrat Merrimack 8 Yea
Potter, Frances Democrat Merrimack 10 Yea
Preston, Philip Democrat Grafton 8 Yea
Price, Susan Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Read, Robin Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
Reever, Judith Democrat Belknap 4 Yea
Rice, Chip Democrat Merrimack 12 Yea
Richardson, Barbara Democrat Cheshire 5 Yea
Roberts, Kris Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Robertson, Timothy Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Rodeschin, Beverly Republican Sullivan 2 Yea
Rogers, Rose Marie Democrat Strafford 1 Yea
Rollo, Deanna Democrat Strafford 2 Yea
Rosenwald, Cindy Democrat Hillsborough 22 Yea
Rous, Emma Democrat Strafford 7 Yea
Russell, Trinka Democrat Rockingham 13 Yea
Ryder, Mark Democrat Strafford 6 Yea
Sad, Tara Democrat Cheshire 2 Yea
Schlachman, Donna Democrat Rockingham 13 Yea
Schmidt, Peter Democrat Strafford 4 Yea
Schuett, Dianne Democrat Merrimack 7 Yea
Schulze, Joan Democrat Hillsborough 26 Yea
Shattuck, Gilman Democrat Hillsborough 1 Yea
Shaw, Barbara Democrat Hillsborough 16 Yea
Shurtleff, Stephen Democrat Merrimack 10 Yea
Smith, Marjorie Democrat Strafford 7 Yea
Smith, Suzanne Democrat Grafton 7 Yea
Soucy, Timothy Democrat Hillsborough 25 Yea
Spang, Judith Democrat Strafford 7 Yea
Splaine, James Democrat Rockingham 16 Yea
Stetson, William Democrat Merrimack 10 Yea
Stuart, Richard Democrat Belknap 4 Yea
Sullivan, Daniel Democrat Hillsborough 8 Yea
Sweeney, Cynthia Democrat Sullivan 5 Yea
Taylor, Kathleen Democrat Grafton 2 Yea
Theberge, Robert Democrat Coos 4 Yea
Thompson, Robert Democrat Hillsborough 9 Yea
Tilton, Joy Democrat Merrimack 6 Yea
Townsend, Charles Democrat Grafton 10 Yea
Vachon, Dennis Democrat Strafford 3 Yea
Wall, Janet Democrat Strafford 7 Yea
Wallner, Mary Jane Democrat Merrimack 12 Yea
Walsh, Robert Democrat Hillsborough 11 Yea
Walz, Mary Beth Democrat Merrimack 13 Yea
Ward, Kenneth Democrat Strafford 2 Yea
Watters, David Democrat Strafford 4 Yea
Webber, Carolyn Democrat Rockingham 4 Yea
Weber, Lucy Democrat Cheshire 2 Yea
Weed, Charles Democrat Cheshire 3 Yea
Wheeler, Deborah Democrat Merrimack 6 Yea
White, Andrew Democrat Grafton 11 Yea
Wiley, Susan Democrat Carroll 3 Yea
Williams, Carol Democrat Hillsborough 14 Yea
Williams, Robert Democrat Merrimack 11 Yea