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Town of Strafford Democratic Committee
We are a local grassroots organization in Strafford, NH, working to elect Democrats at all levels of government. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Hill Library. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 4, at the Hill Library. July brings our annual Blueberry Festival and Bake-Off, a chance to meet candidates and sample delicious blueberry dishes. Our Committee Caucus was held in March of 2019; the following committee members were elected as officers: Bob Perry, Chair, Sharon Omand, Vice Chair, Carol Perry, Treasurer, and Elizabeth Callahan, Secretary.
We are a local grassroots organization in Strafford, NH, working to elect Democrats at all levels of government. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Hill Library. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 4, at the Hill Library. July brings our annual Blueberry Festival and Bake-Off, a chance to meet candidates and sample delicious blueberry dishes. Our Committee Caucus was held in March of 2019; the following committee members were elected as officers: Bob Perry, Chair, Sharon Omand, Vice Chair, Carol Perry, Treasurer, and Elizabeth Callahan, Secretary.
Strafford County Democratic Committee
Our local committee is part of a larger effort coordinated by the Strafford County Democratic Committee, which works to preserve the true progressive ideals of the Democratic Party through outreach, education, voter registration efforts, and local candidate support. It serves every town in Strafford County: Dover, Durham, Lee, Madbury, Barrington, Rollinsford, Rochester, Farmington, Milton, Middleton, New Durham, Somersworth, and Strafford.
On April 27, elections were held at the Dover Public Library. In all, there were 78 eligible voters who gathered to participate in the democratic process of electing a slate of officers for the next two years to guide the activities of the committee. Votes were cast for the four primary positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, based on the attendance of prior meetings, Strafford County was entitled to fill 7 at-large positions as official delegates to the September 7 state Democratic Party convention.
The new Strafford County Democratic Committee leadership team is:
Chair: Patrick Carroll, Vice-Chair: Representative Sherry Frost, Secretary: Isaac Epstein and Treasurer: Ashley Motta. Elected as at-Large Delegates to the state convention: Manny Krasner, Ellen Phillips, Pat Gingrich, Walter King, Sue Veal, David Holt, and Sue Mayer.
Our local committee is part of a larger effort coordinated by the Strafford County Democratic Committee, which works to preserve the true progressive ideals of the Democratic Party through outreach, education, voter registration efforts, and local candidate support. It serves every town in Strafford County: Dover, Durham, Lee, Madbury, Barrington, Rollinsford, Rochester, Farmington, Milton, Middleton, New Durham, Somersworth, and Strafford.
On April 27, elections were held at the Dover Public Library. In all, there were 78 eligible voters who gathered to participate in the democratic process of electing a slate of officers for the next two years to guide the activities of the committee. Votes were cast for the four primary positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, based on the attendance of prior meetings, Strafford County was entitled to fill 7 at-large positions as official delegates to the September 7 state Democratic Party convention.
The new Strafford County Democratic Committee leadership team is:
Chair: Patrick Carroll, Vice-Chair: Representative Sherry Frost, Secretary: Isaac Epstein and Treasurer: Ashley Motta. Elected as at-Large Delegates to the state convention: Manny Krasner, Ellen Phillips, Pat Gingrich, Walter King, Sue Veal, David Holt, and Sue Mayer.
NH House Approves HB 706 with a Bipartisan Amendment
On May 1st the NH House passed House Bill 706 which aims to create an independent redistricting committee. Although similiar bills have stalled in the past this bill had a bipartisan amendment added to it giving lawmakers more sway in electing the 15 members of the idenpendent redistricting committee. The bill will go on to the senate for a vote. You can read more here.
Chairman's Corner
This photo was taken March 29, 2019 from the NH senate gallery as members of the public and Open Democracy Action (ODA) awaited the vote of the full senate on SB 106, a bill ODA submitted through prime sponsor, Sen. Dan Feltes (D-Concord). The bill is one of several that ODA has prioritized, as it focuses on eliminating loopholes in current law related to registering with the state and reporting of campaign contributions. Currently, a sizable percentage of expenditures that influence our elections go unreported. If the House also supports the bill and it becomes law (with or without the governor's signature), it will plug the loophole and, if enforced, provide a much greater degree of public access related to who is influencing our elections.
The senate vote was unanimous at 24 - 0, Strafford's senator, John Reagan, was among the bill's supporters.
Strafford Town Democract Committee Chair Bob Perry submitted the following testimony:
SB 106 – relative to the definition of political advocacy
organization and expenditure.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
10:30 A.M.
Rm. 102, LOB
Time: Mts. 3:10
Madam Chair and members of the committee,
I speak in support of SB 106.
I first note an error in the bill at Line 1, which references RSA 644:2, IX. The reference should be to RSA 664:2, IX.
In 2015, the NH Attorney General’s office concluded that a flaw existed in law meant to require the registration and reporting of campaign contributions made by a political advocacy organization. It is the intent of this bill to remove the interpretation of language that is required by current law.
The language reflected in this bill is simple. It requires that upon making $5000 in political expenditures, together with the timing of the communication and it being directed to a relevant audience, registering and reporting is required, regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates a vote for or against a candidate.
While Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in Citizens United consisted of 57 pages, the blistering opinion of dissent by Republican justice, John Paul Stevens, consisted of 90 pages.
Justice Stevens’ parting comment: “At bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”
The majority court opinion in Citizens United ultimately held 8 – 1, disclosure to be constitutional, unless ruled otherwise in a specific case. The court held, in part, that “disclaimer and disclosure requirements may burden the ability to speak, but they impose no ceiling on campaign-related activities,” citing Buckley, 424 U. S., at 64, or “ ‘ “prevent anyone from speaking,” ’ ” McConnell, supra, at 201. The Buckley Court explained that disclosure can be justified by a governmental interest in providing “the electorate with information” about election-related spending sources.
When I last spoke in support of disclosure in January of 2017, investigations were being conducted into whether campaign contributions could be traced to China. As recently as days ago, unrelated investigations are being conducted into whether campaign contributions can be traced to China. Federal law prohibits campaign contributions from foreign sources. The only way we can know who is influencing our elections and to what extent is through rigorous reporting requirements.
New Hampshire has strong disclosure requirements for candidates for elected office. They must report the name, address, date of receipt of contributions exceeding $25, aggregate contributions to date, and if in the aggregate more than $100, the occupation and place of business of those donors. The same demands need to be made of political advocacy organizations, whose political influence is on a much grander scale than is reflected in the reporting requirements of candidates for state representative.
Bob Perry
Strafford
The senate vote was unanimous at 24 - 0, Strafford's senator, John Reagan, was among the bill's supporters.
Strafford Town Democract Committee Chair Bob Perry submitted the following testimony:
SB 106 – relative to the definition of political advocacy
organization and expenditure.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
10:30 A.M.
Rm. 102, LOB
Time: Mts. 3:10
Madam Chair and members of the committee,
I speak in support of SB 106.
I first note an error in the bill at Line 1, which references RSA 644:2, IX. The reference should be to RSA 664:2, IX.
In 2015, the NH Attorney General’s office concluded that a flaw existed in law meant to require the registration and reporting of campaign contributions made by a political advocacy organization. It is the intent of this bill to remove the interpretation of language that is required by current law.
The language reflected in this bill is simple. It requires that upon making $5000 in political expenditures, together with the timing of the communication and it being directed to a relevant audience, registering and reporting is required, regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates a vote for or against a candidate.
While Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in Citizens United consisted of 57 pages, the blistering opinion of dissent by Republican justice, John Paul Stevens, consisted of 90 pages.
Justice Stevens’ parting comment: “At bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”
The majority court opinion in Citizens United ultimately held 8 – 1, disclosure to be constitutional, unless ruled otherwise in a specific case. The court held, in part, that “disclaimer and disclosure requirements may burden the ability to speak, but they impose no ceiling on campaign-related activities,” citing Buckley, 424 U. S., at 64, or “ ‘ “prevent anyone from speaking,” ’ ” McConnell, supra, at 201. The Buckley Court explained that disclosure can be justified by a governmental interest in providing “the electorate with information” about election-related spending sources.
When I last spoke in support of disclosure in January of 2017, investigations were being conducted into whether campaign contributions could be traced to China. As recently as days ago, unrelated investigations are being conducted into whether campaign contributions can be traced to China. Federal law prohibits campaign contributions from foreign sources. The only way we can know who is influencing our elections and to what extent is through rigorous reporting requirements.
New Hampshire has strong disclosure requirements for candidates for elected office. They must report the name, address, date of receipt of contributions exceeding $25, aggregate contributions to date, and if in the aggregate more than $100, the occupation and place of business of those donors. The same demands need to be made of political advocacy organizations, whose political influence is on a much grander scale than is reflected in the reporting requirements of candidates for state representative.
Bob Perry
Strafford
A Word about Gerrymandering: Chairman Bob Perry offers insights on how gerrymandering has hurt Democrats (including right here in Strafford!), and the need for an independent election commission to draw future district lines. Read more.
Working for Open Democracy
Committee Chair Bob Perry takes notes at a Democracy in Action breakout session at the New Hampshire Technical Institute on November 17, 2018. This workshop focused on Using the Power of Social Media to Engage, Educate, and Move to Action. The day of training was sponsored, in part, by the Coalition for Open Democracy in Concord. Bob has been a board member since January 2010. Learn more about the Coalition for Open Democracy.
Committee Chair Bob Perry takes notes at a Democracy in Action breakout session at the New Hampshire Technical Institute on November 17, 2018. This workshop focused on Using the Power of Social Media to Engage, Educate, and Move to Action. The day of training was sponsored, in part, by the Coalition for Open Democracy in Concord. Bob has been a board member since January 2010. Learn more about the Coalition for Open Democracy.
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Your Vote Counted!
Your Democratic vote in the historic midterm election made a difference! The Democratic majority in the US House, including our Congressman Chris Pappas, is working to keep Social Security from being privatized and help hold the line against a current law requiring deep cuts to Medicare programs. Democratic majorities in the New Hampshire House, State Senate, and Executive Council are providing an important check and balance, including protecting access to Medicaid and creating jobs. Thanks to everyone who helped during this critical election cycle. Now on to 2020! |
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Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. |
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