State Rep. Deborah Aylward: Wow! What a Day in Concord, and Beyond. .

NO Means NO in Danbury!

After exhaustively writing about Article 2 relative to a $3.2M bond for a fire/police station complex proposal, providing statistics, asking compelling questions and expressing strong opposition thereto. . .there is no glory in being proven right!

It's kinda depressing actually, and given all the salacious circumstances. But by their votes, the GOOD PEOPLE of Danbury sent a message that:

1) They won't settle for less than excellence from Town government, and;

2) Won't relinquish their POWER to elect a Road Agent.

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

The law provides that a person must be domiciled in the jurisdiction where elected,

but if moving from said jurisdiction, they must immediately resign.

From NH Dept. of Justice website:

The terms "domicile" and "residence" are equivalent. Even though RSA 21:6-a and RSA 654:1 contain different words, they convey the same basic concept. When a person makes a town or ward in New Hampshire his or her principal place of physical presence to the exclusion of all other places, that person has established a domicile/residence.

Former lawmaker arrested, charged

with wrongful voting and other charges.

NH Business Review:https://www.nhbr.com/former-nh...

Article 2, $3.2M PROPOSAL A HUGE FAIL

The firehouse/police station building combination proposal was a huge 'fail', and for a second year in a row, voters said "NO!". I strongly feel this proposal was rather obviously 'favoritism-nepotism driven', and as a result, was destined to fail.

Voters further expressed their displeasure with how the safety complex was handled; indicted no interest in throwing good money after bad; and intolerance for a property tax increase by voting "NO!" to funding a capital reserve fund by $100,000, that I believe also served to send a stern 'Vote of No Confidence' to Fire Chief Jeremy Martin.

!!WANTED!!

I am seeking to make contact with two gentlemen who attended the $3.2M Bond Hearing. One, an older gentleman who sat near the police station entry, who identified himself as being in the construction business, and who loudly questioned the feasibility of the project, and rightly expressed his genuine concerns. The other, a younger gentleman who, after I asked if a 'contingency fee' was included in the $3.2M (to which Jessica Hatch replied "No") said to the effect "What if there are cost overruns?" which leads me to believe he too is in the trades. If knowing one or both of these gentleman, please ask them to contact me at 603-217-7842.

BAIL REFORM BILL PASSES THE FULL HOUSE

Representative Aylward attended Governor Kelly Ayotte's lovely breakfast for all House Representatives on March 13th, held at the Governor's Reception Area within the State House, and at which time time she strongly expressed support for HB592-FN, the 'bail reform bill' relating to "magistrates and the standards applicable to and the administration of bail" that was passed by the FULL HOUSE later in the day.

Among the changes to legislation that passed in 2024, are:

1) Changing the holding period from a maximum of 24 hours, including holidays and weekends, to increasing this period to 36 hours, excluding holidays and weekends.

2) In some cases, reduces the evidentiary standard allowing a person to be held from the current "clear and convincing", to a "probable cause" standard.

Though a leadership priority, Rep. Aylward believes the holding period increase is necessary for giving alleged victims, whose lives have been changed in an instant, and who are in abject fear for their safety, the time to relocate, for example. Having professional experience with family law investigations into domestic violence, stalking, and harassment as a private investigator, there were several occasions where she personally assisted clients with fleeing from their homes in order to remove themselves from potential risk of additional, or the very real threat of harm by individuals violating protective orders.

Deborah Aylward is a resident of Danbury, NH, a state law-maker and citizen activist. She can be reached at 603-217-7842, or Deborah.Aylward@gc.nh.gov