LETTER: Vote Democratic in Manchester

As the fall campaign season winds down and election day approaches, I must confess this campaign has been particularly bittersweet. Last month we lost Ted Cummings, who served as our Manchester Democratic chair for 46 years and chairman emeritus for the last seven years.

I will miss Ted, his friendship and the counsel he provided me since I succeeded him as DTC chair. Two things that stand out were his love for Manchester and his belief that politics is a noble profession that when practiced ideally, would make better our civic life. He also believed in the adage that “the people will not be fooled”.

Hence I was taken aback by the personal attack by GOP Chairman John Deeb against two of our candidates last week. While his press release initially attempted to raise an important issue, student performance on standardized tests, it quickly devolved into personal attack against two of our candidates. Even more telling, Deeb offered no solutions to remediate the problem.The people should not be fooled by Deeb and his call to the politics of division, when they cast their votes on November 3.

Unlike the dysfunction seen in Washington, under the leadership of Mayor Jay Moran and the Democratic majority, government in Manchester works in a bipartisan manner. Rather than exercising its majority to engage in mean spirited and unprincipled partisanship, Mayor Moran and the Democrats reach across the aisle and tackle Manchester’s problems together. This approach has yielded scores of 9-0 votes, including the passage of the recent budget.

Metrics read in isolation such as standardized test scores and mill rates do not tell the whole story. The Democrats have kept taxes low and have provided various government services such as trash and curbside leaf collection, and a very active parks and recreation program, services not provided by many other towns as part of their taxpayer mill rates. The last bipartisan budget fully funded the school budget requested by the Democratic majority on the Board of Education.

Certainly problems and challenges remain on our horizon. The Broad Street Redevelopment is a continuing process. Defining the right fit for our future library needs, lies before us. The Democrats are committed to listening and committed to passing fiscally responsible budgets with the goal of making Manchester a good place to live.

To quote Ted Cummings, “Don’t be fooled and please remember to vote on election day!”

Mike Pohl
Democratic Town Chairman
Manchester