Place: Gilford Town Hall, lower level Lunch room area
We'll have a special speaker - TBD.
The next meetings: - June 19 3rd Thursday of the Month TBD
The next meetings: 
Meet John Stephen in
Board of Selectmen Meeting
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
7 p.m.
The time has changed - notice that it is no longer at 3pm! This meeting is not just for those that can get away during the regular working day hours.
Will it stay that way? It all depends on you, the townfolk of Gilford. Show up, it may stay that. Don't, and it may revert back to the afternoon time.
If you want to let the Selectmen know your feelings about how the town is run, now's the time to show up.
(cross posted at GraniteGrok and GilfordGrok)
A
conservative group is coordinating efforts in four cities to cap municipal
spending at the rate of the consumer price index beginning in 2010.
The New
Hampshire Advantage Coalition is working with activists in
Coalition
chairman Mike Biundo said the effort was sparked by "legislative overspending"
last year and by the recent initiative by the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition
"to strip away our (anti-broad base tax) pledge and strip away what
Biundo
said that by tomorrow, language for charter amendments will be filed in the
four municipalities. He said plans call for similar filings shortly in
Londonderry,
"When
you add up the 11 communities, this is over 30 percent of the electorate in the
state," he said.
Biundo
said state law requires the proposed petitions for the charter amendments to be
reviewed by the Attorney General's Office and Department of Revenue
Administration. He said that when the language is approved, organizers will
have 60 days to gather petitions signed by at least 20 percent of the number of
local residents who voted in the last municipal elections.
- Management
- Media
- Strategy
- Get-out-the-vote techniques
- Opposition Research
- Fundraising
The filing period for state, federal, and county offices opens six weeks from tomorrow and runs June 4 – 13. The political environment for NH Republicans is much-improved compared to 2006. John McCain is going to run strong at the top of the NH ticket, guaranteeing that our state candidates will be evaluated on their own merits this year. Republicans will see a net gain in seats this year. The only question is how many will we win back – and will you be among the winners? If you are interested in running for office this year or want more information about what offices are available and what it takes to run, to win, and to serve, please contact Mike Hamilton at 225-9341 or emailSTAFFING UPDATES
Here at NH GOP headquarters, our staff are Mike Hamilton, Executive Director, Pete Flynn, Finance Director, Tom DeRosa, Political Director. We expect to add more staff soon as the coordinated Victory effort takes shape. Stay tuned.120 CLUB
Join the NH GOP 120 Club and help us make New Hampshire a solid Red State. For $10 a month you can help fund our candidate recruitment and our “Get Out The Vote” effort in November. Your contribution can make a big difference. Please click here for more information.JEANNE SHAHEEN, FLIP-FLOP QUEEN (this week’s example)
Last fall Shaheen Proposed Rolling Back The 2001 Tax Cuts. “‘Nationally, we've got to do something, not just about costs, but about the 47 million who are uninsured and underinsured,’ said Shaheen adding that rolling back the bush tax cuts of those who earn more that $200,000 per year would pay for about half of that expense.” (Gail Ober, “In Laconia: Shaheen Meets With Leaders,” The Laconia Citizen , November 30, 2007) However, earlier Shaheen Said She Would Have Voted In Favor Of The Tax Cuts If She Had Been In The Senate. Shaheen: “One is on the Bush tax cut, where I said that I would have voted for the Bush tax cut had I been in the Senate.” (Harry R. Weber, “Leadership, Abortion, Taxes, Independence, Education,” Associated Press , October 26, 2002)NH POLITICAL LIBRARY
The NH Political Library’s annual Awards Dinner is Wednesday, April 30 at 5:00 p.m. at the Center of NH Radisson in Manchester. Honorees are former US Senator Bill Bradley, former Governor Mitt Romney, CNN’s Candy Crowley, and former Governor Walter Peterson. Tickets are $150. For more info, call Celina Hurley at 225-4617 x11 or register online.EVENT HONORING SENATOR WARREN RUDMAN
On May 13, Americans for Campaign Reform is holding a fundraising dinner honoring former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman. Keynote speakers are former Senators Howard Baker and Nancy Kassebaum Baker. The event is at 6:00 p.m. at CR Sparks in Bedford. Tickets are $50 each. For more info, call 227-0626.CAMPAIGN SCHOOL
Links to our major federal candidates are here
Members of the State Committee are reminded that our annual state committee meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at 2:00 at Prospect Mountain High School on Rt. 28 in Alton. Agenda items include: hearing from our candidates for major offices; the election of our two national committee members; bylaws revisions; and honoring our Thomson and Cotton Award winners. You don’t need to be a formal member of the state committee to attend (although you do to vote); we will have a section for guests. Questions? Contact Mike
Receding snowbanks have revealed a lot of campaign signs left over from the presidential primary. If you see any non-McCain signs out there, please consider pulling over and doing your bit to spring clean our roadsides by picking up those old signs.
Send family-friendly political jokes to Fergus for consideration in future newsletters. These two come from wags from Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro:
Snow White saw that there had been a terrible cave in. Tearfully, and fearing the worst. Snow White began calling out, hoping against hope that some of the Dwarfs had survived. "Hello, hello," she called. "Can anyone hear me? Hello" For quite a while there was no answer. Losing hope, Snow White called again, "Hello. Is anyone down there?" Just as she was about to give up all hope, there came a faint voice from deep in the mine. The voice said, "Vote for Shea-Porter, Hodes, Shaheen, and Lynch!" Snow White, somewhat relieved screamed out, "Oh, thank God. At least Dopey is still alive!”
(Can’t vouch for the veracity of the following story, but…) Hillary Clinton's great-great uncle, Remus Rodham, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription: 'Remus Rodham; horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'
]]>Here’s how the Clinton camp describes the episode: Remus Rodham was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana Railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.
Well, it happens in other places, too! And sometimes, instead of the tornado, the political process becomes a glacier:
Those who remember almost any recent election will likely stop to read that headline again. After all, isn’t it the Democrats who have been making the claim every other year that their voters have been disenfranchised?Once again, the phrase of "elections count" rings true. In this case, as in MA where legislators refuse to allow a ballot measure to reach their constituents on gay marriage for a wider vote, we see Dems acting badly and refusing to allow the full flower of democracy to spread its petals.
[snip]
Since 2004, SJR 127 has been introduced into the Tennessee Senate and passed by a wide majority each time. Each time it has gone to the Tennessee House where it has died in Committee, the Public Health and Family Assistance Subcommittee of Health and Human Resources Committee to be precise. It was the same earlier this year. On a party line vote, the Subcommittee refused to allow SJR 127 to come out of committee to the full House where it would pass and then be put on the ballot in 2010 for all Tennesseans to vote on. Six committee members, all Democrats, are preventing six million Tennesseans from having their say. Talk about disenfranchising voters!
The resolution these six anti-democracy Democrats are keeping from appearing on the ballot is as follows:Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.[snip]
In 2008, in the United States of America, who could oppose letting the people vote on such an important issue and have a say in the way things are done in their state? Who, indeed? It is the Democrats who oppose such a thing! It is the Democrats who insist the people be forbidden from voting on the matter!
Promoting a limited government that is open, responsive and fully accountable to and in touch with its citizens without interfering in their personal, daily lives.and began a discussion in how it would apply to the GTRC. Combining that with Charlie Arlinghaus's column on transparency in government relative to the mess that the Democrats have made in Concord (no, its not just the economy, as total State revenues are up year over year, the Democrats just went WAY over the cliff on spending and are now looking for cover), the attendees decided to put that into action:
- Town of Gilford
- Gilford School Board
- Belknap County
What is lacking is a plethora of flashlights - citizen overwatch of their own government and with the current outcry by some when Right To Know requests are filed, the easiest solution is to make those requests irrelevant by bringing that information to our citizens instead of forcing citizens to come to the information.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Skip Murphy, chair
skip@granitegrok.com
603 524-4794
Gilford-- When it comes to the dollars that fund towns, counties, and state agencies in New Hampshire, taxpayers are often forced to wait for an audit to know how much money was spent and whether it’s all accounted for. The first step to transparency is simply posting the town or agency’s check register online. Right away, any taxpayer can look and see every dollar spent and to whom it was paid.
Additionally, in order to track the actions and deliberations of government bodies, citizens must be allowed access to all meeting notices, minutes, and other pertinent information. Currently, this often involves a trip to a particular agency office during business hours, difficult for those who work during those same hours. The simplest solution is to automatically place all such items online for all to see.
“The Gilford Republican Committee, believing that transparency and openness are among the most important principles of our Party, is calling on the Gilford School Board to update the District’s website in order to allow open access to the recent past and current budget detail, check registers, meeting notices, agendas, minutes, and any other information necessary to promote an ever-growing amount of transparency and access for all. While we acknowledge that the present site does have a fair amount of information, we believe that more can be done. We further ask that this be accomplished as soon as possible. Given the significant resources available within the District, and the available and existing technologies, we believe this goal is easily attainable and will be appreciated by a significant number of taxpayers and stakeholders.”
SUNUNU STATEMENT ON PETRAEUS, CROCKER TESTIMONY]]>
WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (4/8) released the following statement regarding the testimony of General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on the Iraq War before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
“No American should serve a day longer in Iraq than is absolutely necessary, but an immediate withdrawal of all coalition forces would leave behind an unstable and dangerous environment.
“Over the past year, our men and women serving in Iraq have performed bravely and exceeded every expectation. Security has improved significantly, the Iraqi military has taken on greater responsibilities, and the government has enacted vital legislation for debaathification, reconstruction, and sharing power among the different regions.
“General Petraeus has provided outstanding leadership throughout this time, placing us on a path to bring home 30,000 soldiers and working with Ambassador Crocker to press Iraqi political leaders for more progress.
“Now, we need to let General Patraeus and his commanders on the ground finish the job. They should be given the chance to evaluate the situation, set goals for bringing home the rest of our troops safely, and leave behind a more secure region.”
If you are interested in going, see me for tickets.