Bedford Town Charter Changes, "Special K", and Caribbean Musings

So, on October 23, I posted a Patch blog titled “Bedford Council Member Pushing for Possible Town Charter Change. And We Want This Why???” That blog talked about the newest member of the Bedford Town Council, Kalleigh Domaingue Murphy, and her crusade to start messing around with the Town Charter for reasons that appear to only be known by her. I say this because there has been neither any Council resolve to do such, nor has there been any public outcry that such is either needed or necessary. Her missionary effort remains a mystery.

But then, Councilor K has always been regarded as a woman of mystery. To refresh your memory, she is best known as a political gadfly for wanting to be elected to the Manchester School Board, a position she quickly abandoned to run for Manchester Alderman, an elected post that she also quickly abandoned to run over to Bedford to become a resident here. Mostly she’s remembered in Manchester for her explanation of her move to Bedford because of its condescending attitude to her Manchester constituents. Let’s just say that few Queen City residents remember her fondly. Although her move to Bedford did not result in her immersing herself in anything related to Bedford, she nevertheless decided that we needed her as one of our representatives to the NH House of Representatives. So, in 2012, she managed to slide into office through her name being thrown on the ballot with longtime and well-regarded Bedford political figures. But in January 2013, less than a month into her newly elected role as a state legislator, our mystery woman decided to also run for the Bedford Town Council in an uncontested race. And then, a scant 9 months after becoming a state legislator for the town of Bedford, she announced in September that she’d be leaving that position too, thereby continuing her obvious pattern of abandoning commitments. So now our mystery woman will run out her legislative term of office with a questionable intent to fully represent us in Concord. But, on the “up” side, she may now possibly have more energy to attend to her Council duties without complaining that its late-running evening meetings compromise her ability to get enough sleep to face her early mornings with her children. So at least her well-demonstrated ability to best serve herself has once again triumphed.

Now, there are two things that I need to report since my blog of October 23 was published.

1. You will remember that I decided to refer to Kelleigh Domaingue Murphy as Councilor K because of the public confusion (and her own) as to whether she is to be called Councilor Domaingue or Councilor Murphy. And, I mentioned that I wasn’t going to tackle the pronunciation of her first name either since that too has been subject to change. At some points in her political “career”, she has pronounced her name as “KAYLEE”, while at other times, she would say “KELLY”. Part of her mystery, I guess.

Anyhow . . . I often receive comments from my blog readers in personal emails sent to me. One reader who is especially eloquent suggested that I instead refer to Councilor K by the name given to her by many Manchester residents. Its essence spoke to me. So from now on, I shall refer to Councilor K as “Special K”, unless of course the Kellogg Corporation complains that I’m violating their trademarked cereal name. Somehow, “Special K” just seems so right as a descriptive moniker  for our newest Council member.

1. I am particularly compelled to report that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that “Special K” recently traveled to the Dominican Republic (or some nearby environ) with a new political goal of reforming government in the Caribbean. Nope. She allegedly traveled there as a wedding guest. I do not know, however, if her journey has since resulted in a future goal of bringing her political prowess to that location. It could very well be a long-range goal to reach after her reported goal of becoming Chairman of the Bedford Town Council.

Having covered all that, let’s get to the reason for this blog, that is, to report on the current status of the “Special K” effort to change the Bedford Town Charter.

Those of you who watched the October 23rd Town Council meeting will remember that she opened her remarks on the town charter by explaining that the public is confused about and/or is misinterpreting her interest in the charter. She told her fellow Council members that after meeting with Town Clerk Lori Radke, and after seeking the counsel of the Town Attorney, she has since realized that amendments can be made to the charter without a total charter revision. I must say that I’m rather flabbergasted that she did not already know that. A review of recent Council activity could have taught her that tidbit of information, but apparently familiarizing herself with town government records didn’t seem important to her when deciding that her talents were sufficient and needed by us to insure good Bedford governance.

Anyway, what “Special K” would now really like to do is to have a charter “committee” (as opposed to an elected charter commission) that would meet for one year to study the charter, and then make a list of the things that “they could gently fix”. She said that the exercise “would be a dry run on where people are coming from intellectually”. (I’m so glad that she thinks that people should “intellectually” consider our local government. Imagine what could happen if we did so non-intellectually. But I’m concerned by her desire to “gently” fix wrongs since there can be so many opinions as to what constitutes “gently”.  For example, is a broken leg a “gentle” injury compared to a busted skull?)

Although Council Chairman Chris Bandazian suggested that since a new Council will be seated in March, the ideas of “Special K” might be better entertained after that, “Special K” held firm to her crusade that no time should be wasted on pursuing her vital mission. She said that she’d like the “committee” to be comprised of two Council members, her new BFF Town Clerk Lori Radke, and two members of the public to be handpicked by the Council or its Chairman. Upon questioning by Councilor Jim Scanlon, “Special K” gleefully and enthusiastically admitted that she wants to be one of the two Council members on the “committee”. What a surprise!

So, since her return to Bedford from the Caribbean, “Special K” has been working on drafting a proposal that she is slated to deliver at this Wednesday’s Council meeting. And the world waits expectantly.

I’ll say it again. This is nothing more than political nonsense and prattle that will take time and attention away from much more important issues related to Bedford’s future. There are huge issues to be decided; long-term needs to be adequately addressed; short-term needs to be resolved; and realistic appraisals to be conducted of how much and what Bedford taxpayers can finance without completely emptying their wallets. And surely the expensive fees that we pay the town’s attorney could be better utilized than through his answering the questions of “Special K” about the town charter.

Let us hope that six other Council members will refuse to condone the dilution of the time and talent needed to tackle the above to instead address comparatively trivial matters.

As to “Special K”, although longevity and commitment have clearly never been evidenced as her credentials, should she manage to stick around for any period of time on the Bedford Town Council, she should serve us by actually learning about town government and what it takes to have a good one. If that’s too much or too boring for her, then she should step aside to let someone more able and more stable replace her. Last that I heard, Manchester aldermen and school board members have survived just fine after her abandonment of her duties with them, and there is no worry being expressed about her departure from the State House either. Maybe the next move for “Special K” should be to the Dominican Republic or elsewhere in the sunny Caribbean world. It’s better for us if she wastes their time rather than ours. Plus, I’m told that they have their public meetings on the beach. La dolce vita!         

                       So, on October 23, I posted a Patch blog titled “Bedford Council Member Pushing for Possible Town Charter Change. And We Want This Why???” That blog talked about the newest member of the Bedford Town Council, Kalleigh Domaingue Murphy, and her crusade to start messing around with the Town Charter for reasons that appear to only be known by her. I say this because there has been neither any Council resolve to do such, nor has there been any public outcry that such is either needed or necessary. Her missionary effort remains a mystery.

But then, Councilor K has always been regarded as a woman of mystery. To refresh your memory, she is best known as a political gadfly for wanting to be elected to the Manchester School Board, a position she quickly abandoned to run for Manchester Alderman, an elected post that she also quickly abandoned to run over to Bedford to become a resident here. Mostly she’s remembered in Manchester for her explanation of her move to Bedford because of its condescending attitude to her Manchester constituents. Let’s just say that few Queen City residents remember her fondly. Although her move to Bedford did not result in her immersing herself in anything related to Bedford, she nevertheless decided that we needed her as one of our representatives to the NH House of Representatives. So, in 2012, she managed to slide into office through her name being thrown on the ballot with longtime and well-regarded Bedford political figures. But in January 2013, less than a month into her newly elected role as a state legislator, our mystery woman decided to also run for the Bedford Town Council in an uncontested race. And then, a scant 9 months after becoming a state legislator for the town of Bedford, she announced in September that she’d be leaving that position too, thereby continuing her obvious pattern of abandoning commitments. So now our mystery woman will run out her legislative term of office with a questionable intent to fully represent us in Concord. But, on the “up” side, she may now possibly have more energy to attend to her Council duties without complaining that its late-running evening meetings compromise her ability to get enough sleep to face her early mornings with her children. So at least her well-demonstrated ability to best serve herself has once again triumphed.

Now, there are two things that I need to report since my blog of October 23 was published.

1. You will remember that I decided to refer to Kelleigh Domaingue Murphy as Councilor K because of the public confusion (and her own) as to whether she is to be called Councilor Domaingue or Councilor Murphy. And, I mentioned that I wasn’t going to tackle the pronunciation of her first name either since that too has been subject to change. At some points in her political “career”, she has pronounced her name as “KAYLEE”, while at other times, she would say “KELLY”. Part of her mystery, I guess.

Anyhow . . . I often receive comments from my blog readers in personal emails sent to me. One reader who is especially eloquent suggested that I instead refer to Councilor K by the name given to her by many Manchester residents. Its essence spoke to me. So from now on, I shall refer to Councilor K as “Special K”, unless of course the Kellogg Corporation complains that I’m violating their trademarked cereal name. Somehow, “Special K” just seems so right as a descriptive moniker  for our newest Council member.

1. I am particularly compelled to report that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that “Special K” recently traveled to the Dominican Republic (or some nearby environ) with a new political goal of reforming government in the Caribbean. Nope. She allegedly traveled there as a wedding guest. I do not know, however, if her journey has since resulted in a future goal of bringing her political prowess to that location. It could very well be a long-range goal to reach after her reported goal of becoming Chairman of the Bedford Town Council.

Having covered all that, let’s get to the reason for this blog, that is, to report on the current status of the “Special K” effort to change the Bedford Town Charter.

Those of you who watched the October 23rd Town Council meeting will remember that she opened her remarks on the town charter by explaining that the public is confused about and/or is misinterpreting her interest in the charter. She told her fellow Council members that after meeting with Town Clerk Lori Radke, and after seeking the counsel of the Town Attorney, she has since realized that amendments can be made to the charter without a total charter revision. I must say that I’m rather flabbergasted that she did not already know that. A review of recent Council activity could have taught her that tidbit of information, but apparently familiarizing herself with town government records didn’t seem important to her when deciding that her talents were sufficient and needed by us to insure good Bedford governance.

Anyway, what “Special K” would now really like to do is to have a charter “committee” (as opposed to an elected charter commission) that would meet for one year to study the charter, and then make a list of the things that “they could gently fix”. She said that the exercise “would be a dry run on where people are coming from intellectually”. (I’m so glad that she thinks that people should “intellectually” consider our local government. Imagine what could happen if we did so non-intellectually. But I’m concerned by her desire to “gently” fix wrongs since there can be so many opinions as to what constitutes “gently”.  For example, is a broken leg a “gentle” injury compared to a busted skull?)

Although Council Chairman Chris Bandazian suggested that since a new Council will be seated in March, the ideas of “Special K” might be better entertained after that, “Special K” held firm to her crusade that no time should be wasted on pursuing her vital mission. She said that she’d like the “committee” to be comprised of two Council members, her new BFF Town Clerk Lori Radke, and two members of the public to be handpicked by the Council or its Chairman. Upon questioning by Councilor Jim Scanlon, “Special K” gleefully and enthusiastically admitted that she wants to be one of the two Council members on the “committee”. What a surprise!

So, since her return to Bedford from the Caribbean, “Special K” has been working on drafting a proposal that she is slated to deliver at this Wednesday’s Council meeting. And the world waits expectantly.

I’ll say it again. This is nothing more than political nonsense and prattle that will take time and attention away from much more important issues related to Bedford’s future. There are huge issues to be decided; long-term needs to be adequately addressed; short-term needs to be resolved; and realistic appraisals to be conducted of how much and what Bedford taxpayers can finance without completely emptying their wallets. And surely the expensive fees that we pay the town’s attorney could be better utilized than through his answering the questions of “Special K” about the town charter.

Let us hope that six other Council members will refuse to condone the dilution of the time and talent needed to tackle the above to instead address comparatively trivial matters.

As to “Special K”, although longevity and commitment have clearly never been evidenced as her credentials, should she manage to stick around for any period of time on the Bedford Town Council, she should serve us by actually learning about town government and what it takes to have a good one. If that’s too much or too boring for her, then she should step aside to let someone more able and more stable replace her. Last that I heard, Manchester aldermen and school board members have survived just fine after her abandonment of her duties with them, and there is no worry being expressed about her departure from the State House either. Maybe the next move for “Special K” should be to the Dominican Republic or elsewhere in the sunny Caribbean world. It’s better for us if she wastes their time rather than ours. Plus, I’m told that they have their public meetings on the beach. La dolce vita!         

                       So, on October 23, I posted a Patch blog titled “Bedford Council Member Pushing for Possible Town Charter Change. And We Want This Why???” That blog talked about the newest member of the Bedford Town Council, Kalleigh Domaingue Murphy, and her crusade to start messing around with the Town Charter for reasons that appear to only be known by her. I say this because there has been neither any Council resolve to do such, nor has there been any public outcry that such is either needed or necessary. Her missionary effort remains a mystery.

But then, Councilor K has always been regarded as a woman of mystery. To refresh your memory, she is best known as a political gadfly for wanting to be elected to the Manchester School Board, a position she quickly abandoned to run for Manchester Alderman, an elected post that she also quickly abandoned to run over to Bedford to become a resident here. Mostly she’s remembered in Manchester for her explanation of her move to Bedford because of its condescending attitude to her Manchester constituents. Let’s just say that few Queen City residents remember her fondly. Although her move to Bedford did not result in her immersing herself in anything related to Bedford, she nevertheless decided that we needed her as one of our representatives to the NH House of Representatives. So, in 2012, she managed to slide into office through her name being thrown on the ballot with longtime and well-regarded Bedford political figures. But in January 2013, less than a month into her newly elected role as a state legislator, our mystery woman decided to also run for the Bedford Town Council in an uncontested race. And then, a scant 9 months after becoming a state legislator for the town of Bedford, she announced in September that she’d be leaving that position too, thereby continuing her obvious pattern of abandoning commitments. So now our mystery woman will run out her legislative term of office with a questionable intent to fully represent us in Concord. But, on the “up” side, she may now possibly have more energy to attend to her Council duties without complaining that its late-running evening meetings compromise her ability to get enough sleep to face her early mornings with her children. So at least her well-demonstrated ability to best serve herself has once again triumphed.

Now, there are two things that I need to report since my blog of October 23 was published.

1. You will remember that I decided to refer to Kelleigh Domaingue Murphy as Councilor K because of the public confusion (and her own) as to whether she is to be called Councilor Domaingue or Councilor Murphy. And, I mentioned that I wasn’t going to tackle the pronunciation of her first name either since that too has been subject to change. At some points in her political “career”, she has pronounced her name as “KAYLEE”, while at other times, she would say “KELLY”. Part of her mystery, I guess.

Anyhow . . . I often receive comments from my blog readers in personal emails sent to me. One reader who is especially eloquent suggested that I instead refer to Councilor K by the name given to her by many Manchester residents. Its essence spoke to me. So from now on, I shall refer to Councilor K as “Special K”, unless of course the Kellogg Corporation complains that I’m violating their trademarked cereal name. Somehow, “Special K” just seems so right as a descriptive moniker  for our newest Council member.

1. I am particularly compelled to report that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that “Special K” recently traveled to the Dominican Republic (or some nearby environ) with a new political goal of reforming government in the Caribbean. Nope. She allegedly traveled there as a wedding guest. I do not know, however, if her journey has since resulted in a future goal of bringing her political prowess to that location. It could very well be a long-range goal to reach after her reported goal of becoming Chairman of the Bedford Town Council.

Having covered all that, let’s get to the reason for this blog, that is, to report on the current status of the “Special K” effort to change the Bedford Town Charter.

Those of you who watched the October 23rd Town Council meeting will remember that she opened her remarks on the town charter by explaining that the public is confused about and/or is misinterpreting her interest in the charter. She told her fellow Council members that after meeting with Town Clerk Lori Radke, and after seeking the counsel of the Town Attorney, she has since realized that amendments can be made to the charter without a total charter revision. I must say that I’m rather flabbergasted that she did not already know that. A review of recent Council activity could have taught her that tidbit of information, but apparently familiarizing herself with town government records didn’t seem important to her when deciding that her talents were sufficient and needed by us to insure good Bedford governance.

Anyway, what “Special K” would now really like to do is to have a charter “committee” (as opposed to an elected charter commission) that would meet for one year to study the charter, and then make a list of the things that “they could gently fix”. She said that the exercise “would be a dry run on where people are coming from intellectually”. (I’m so glad that she thinks that people should “intellectually” consider our local government. Imagine what could happen if we did so non-intellectually. But I’m concerned by her desire to “gently” fix wrongs since there can be so many opinions as to what constitutes “gently”.  For example, is a broken leg a “gentle” injury compared to a busted skull?)

Although Council Chairman Chris Bandazian suggested that since a new Council will be seated in March, the ideas of “Special K” might be better entertained after that, “Special K” held firm to her crusade that no time should be wasted on pursuing her vital mission. She said that she’d like the “committee” to be comprised of two Council members, her new BFF Town Clerk Lori Radke, and two members of the public to be handpicked by the Council or its Chairman. Upon questioning by Councilor Jim Scanlon, “Special K” gleefully and enthusiastically admitted that she wants to be one of the two Council members on the “committee”. What a surprise!

So, since her return to Bedford from the Caribbean, “Special K” has been working on drafting a proposal that she is slated to deliver at this Wednesday’s Council meeting. And the world waits expectantly.

I’ll say it again. This is nothing more than political nonsense and prattle that will take time and attention away from much more important issues related to Bedford’s future. There are huge issues to be decided; long-term needs to be adequately addressed; short-term needs to be resolved; and realistic appraisals to be conducted of how much and what Bedford taxpayers can finance without completely emptying their wallets. And surely the expensive fees that we pay the town’s attorney could be better utilized than through his answering the questions of “Special K” about the town charter.

Let us hope that six other Council members will refuse to condone the dilution of the time and talent needed to tackle the above to instead address comparatively trivial matters.

As to “Special K”, although longevity and commitment have clearly never been evidenced as her credentials, should she manage to stick around for any period of time on the Bedford Town Council, she should serve us by actually learning about town government and what it takes to have a good one. If that’s too much or too boring for her, then she should step aside to let someone more able and more stable replace her. Last that I heard, Manchester aldermen and school board members have survived just fine after her abandonment of her duties with them, and there is no worry being expressed about her departure from the State House either. Maybe the next move for “Special K” should be to the Dominican Republic or elsewhere in the sunny Caribbean world. It’s better for us if she wastes their time rather than ours. Plus, I’m told that they have their public meetings on the beach. La dolce vita!