Willard: Clean up needed
Quote:
“If we’re going to clean up that quality of life stuff, you have to go after the landlords.”
That’s what Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard had to say during an interview on the Girard at Large Radio Show on Tuesday. Willard voiced frustration with property owners who failed to maintain their properties and ignored citations issued by city officials to clean them up. Willard said property owners that left barrels overturned, trash on their properties and or in the alleyways contributed to negative neighborhood environments that invited crime.
Gravel: Complaint on the agenda
The complaint filed by Manchester resident Lisa Gravel against Ward Two Alderman Ron Ludwig and Ward Eleven Alderman Normand Gamache will be on the August 15th meeting agenda of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. That news came from Mayor Ted Gatsas in an interview here on Girard at Large yesterday. Gravel filed the complaint with the mayor after collecting one hundred twenty seven signatures from aggrieved citizens who, like her, believe the charter provisions prohibiting elected officials from voting on contracts that provided immediate family members with a personal or financial gain should be enforced.
Ludwig: Conduct Board bound?
Both Ludwig and Gamache voted in favor of a recent fact finders report that, if adopted, would have granted whopping pay raises to the city’s firefighter and fire supervisors unions. Ludwig has two sons on the job, Gamache has one. Both men have voted on fire union contracts in the past. They, along with Ward Nine Alderman Barbara Shaw, also violated the charter when they voted for the teachers union contract two years ago. Both Ludwig, whose wife was a teacher at the time, and Shaw, whose daughter was, and still is, a teacher admitted they were going to violate the charter by voting on the contract in September of 2 0 1 5, even though, one month earlier, they said they would not. Gamache simply voted on the teachers contract, which covered his daughter. Had they not voted, there would not have been enough votes to override Gatsas’ veto.
Gaudet: Complaint rediscovered
Gatsas also said no action had yet been taken on the complaint filed several weeks ago by resident Jim Gaudet, which cites certain state statutes that make it a crime for elected officials to violate charter provisions and imposes criminal penalties for doing so. He said Interim City Solicitor Emily Gray Rice, who had spoken with him about Gravel’s complaint, was unaware of Gaudet’s. Gatsas said she is now addressing it. Gaudet suggested he would file a further complaint with the Office of Public Integrity at the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office if the city failed to act.
Gatsas: The charter says what it says
When asked whether or not he thought the aldermen in the complaints should be referred to the Conduct Board, Gatsas said quote:
“I think the charter is clear. I don’t know how many time’s I’ve said it…We need to respect the charter. If we don’t let’s do away with it…If we don’t, we’re just sitting there picking and choosing when we’re going to support something. It’s difficult to tell people, but the charter is the charter. It’s clear what it says.”
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Castillo: Will she “lose it?”
This ought to make Monday’s session on the Ins and Outs of Immigration with our dear friend Eva Castillo-Turgeon interesting…
In a move that’s bound to drive liberals across the fruited plain crazy, President Donald Trump stood along side senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia to introduce the RAISE Act. What’s that, you ask? Well, it seems to be comprehensive immigration reform that creates a merit-based immigration system that they say will make the country more competitive, raise wages and create jobs.
Trump: Announces RAISE Act
Instead of a lottery system that facilitates so called “chain migration” in the doling out of Green Cards, the bill uses a point system to score those who want to come to our country. Those who speak English, have higher education and advanced skills and can support themselves and their families were they to come here would rack up the points necessary to earn a Green Card. The bill would also prevent new immigrants from receiving welfare and displacing American workers. It limits which family members can enter the country with the Green Card holder.
Cottontem is outdated
Trump said the current system of immigration is focused on allowing low or un-skilled people who can’t support themselves into the country, suppressing wages for working class Americans and costing taxpayers billions and billions of dollars in welfare.
Perdue
Cotton and Purdue emphasized that the current system brings in over one million unskilled workers that mostly can’t support themselves, as evidenced by the fact that over half of them are on some form of public assistance. They also said it provided unfair wage competition for recent immigrants and low skilled American workers who won’t get out of poverty if they system continues to flood the market with foreign workers who will work for less. They said the changes, which they called historic and the most sweeping in more than fifty years, were needed to meet the needs of the economy and make the country more competitive.
Lewandowski: Sanborn is the conservative choice
Speaking of Trump, his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has waded into the G O P primary for Congress in the First District. He’s backing State Senator Andy Sanborn of Bedford. In making the announcement, Lewandowski cited his longstanding relationship with Sanborn and his proven conservative record and ability to win elections as the main factors for the endorsement. Quote:
“Washington, DC is broken. The American people have been lied to time and time again. It’s time to send someone to Washington who is going to do what they say they are going to do and that person is Andy Sanborn.”
Sanborn: Lewandowski knows
Sanborn, of course, was thrilled, saying quote:
“Corey understands what it takes to win elections and his efforts to help our team win in New Hampshire will be impressive. I am also grateful that he recognizes that I am the proven conservative candidate that will beat Carol Shea-Porter next November.”
That’s NEWS from our own backyard! Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
