MANCHESTER, NH – On Tuesday night Mayor Ted Gatsas and Alderman Pat Long were hoping for the 43 votes needed to gain approval for a funding request from the proposed Hillsborough County budget that would bring a drug court to Hillsborough County Superior Court North.
After a long debate, the vote fell short – 39 to 44. Two observations were made in hindsight by Long and Gatsas – that it was a poor showing by Hillsborough County’s elected delegates, and that if the six Manchester delegates who were not present had been present – and had voted in favor of the measure – a drug court would be in place in Manchester by summer’s end.
On Wednesday morning, delegation coordinator Marcia Castonguay fulfilled a request for a copy of the sign-in sheet (see below) which reflects which delegates were present. There was no roll call vote on the drug court proposal. Delegates in favor voted by standing, said Castonguay.
Below is a list of every delegate who was absent, including the six from Manchester. Manchester Ink Link reached out to each of the five Manchester delegates via email Wednesday morning to find out why they missed the vote, and requested a response by 5 p.m. Only one, Jeffrey Goley, responded:
“Unfortunately I was traveling out of state and did not get back in Manchester until 1 a.m. this morning. I am in support of a drug court in Manchester and would have voted for it,” wrote Goley.
Certainly it’s possible the other five reps – William O’Neil, Elizabeth Edwards, Amanda Bouldin, Armand Forest and Jane Beaulieu – are on vacation, or had some kind of extenuating circumstance.
But when only 85 out of 122 elected representatives show up to for a budget vote involving the expenditure of tax dollars, it feels like something is lacking.
We hope to hear from Manchester’s other delegates – or any of those named here who did not make the meeting – and will update the story accordingly.
Delegates who were absent from the June 23 Hillsborough County Delegation meeting:
District 1 Gilman Shattuck
District 2 Daniel Donovan
District 4 Carol Roberts
District 6 Nick Zaricki
District 7 Bart Fromuth, Keith Murphy
District 8, Jeffrey Goley, Manchester
District 9 Wiliam O’Neil, Manchester
District 11 Elizabeth Edwards, Manchester
District 12 Amanda Bouldin, Manchester
District 18 Armand Forest, Manchester
District 21 Richard Barry, Jeanine Notter, Josh Moore
District 22 Stephen Stepanek
District 23 Shawn Sweeney, Carolyn Halstead
District 24 Ivy Vann, Peter Leishman
District 25 James Parison
District 26 Christopher Adams
District 28 Eric Eastman
District 29 Peggy McCarthy
District 30 Alan Cohen
District 31 Pamela Brown
District 32, David Murotake
District 34 Timothy Twombly, Timothy Soucy
District 36 Bill Ohm, Michael O’Brien
District 37 Lars Christiansen, Eric Schleien
District 40 Keith Ammon
District 41 Laurie Sanborn
District 42 Daniel Sullivan
District 43 Christpher Hebert, Kathleen Souza
District 45 Jane Beaulieu, Manchester
Hillsborough County Delegation Sign-in Sheet
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