Daniel Richardson, Nashua Ward 3 Alderman Candidate

Daniel Richardson

Age (as of Election Day)

66

Position Sought

Ward 3 Alderman

Party Affiliation

The office is non-partisan. I believe I am a better choice.

Family

Wife and two sons.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No… My son was a city pool lifeguard last summer.

Education

BSEE and all MSEE classwork (No Thesis)

Occupation

I have retired from Systems Engineering and Project Management. I started my professional career in 1978. It's 47 years of work total.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Former Ward 3 Alderman and several private organizations

Campaign website

I do not have a website and no longer use PATCH. I do not use social media, but a kind person set up a FaceBook page for me: https://www.facebook.com/electdanrichardson

Why are you seeking elective office?

Current aldermen do not identify meaningful problems to be solved. They do not originate effective solutions to problems. They do not thoroughly examine the ramifications of what they approve. Their sinecure spends time with trivia. The present BOA engages in approving administration proposals and little else. I know of nothing meaningful solved by my opponent’s initiative.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The city administration has sought petition signatures to place on the ballot a question to have the mayor appoint Nashua Police Commissioners, instead of the governor. This threatens to politicize Nashua Police Department and undermine the Chief of Police by way of direct influence on uniformed police political allegiance.

Without evidence, the petition falsely conjured the notion that the governor’s commissioner appointments were biased against women. The ruse sold a remedy of mayoral political appointees, falsely implying local control would be different. Female identity politics of alienation and division were used to drive the petition. Former Gov. John Lynch and Jeanne Shaheen perceived no such bias in their appointments. Executive Counselor Deb Pignatelli perceived no such bias in her approval of the governor’s appointments.

The mayor himself has been seen soliciting signatures. A mayor using his own police force to intimidate political opposition is a frightening thought. When a politician forcefully seeks power without good reason and he is the only beneficiary of that change, we must all question his intentions.

I will add my voice to that of other citizens and will talk about it in my campaign to defeat this ballot question.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My opponent rarely deeply questions the mayor's proposals in meetings, lacks curiosity, and provides no analysis of proposal effectiveness and ramifications. My opponent offers considerable commentary about feelings and what others say, instead of independent work to bring facts to the table. My opponent frequently unquestioningly aligns with the mayor and city attorney.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

BOA votes as a group; my opponent’s vote was included. The votes are too numerous to cover individually. As one example, I am very disappointed in my opponent’s vote for O-20-09 to squelch Public Comment. Citizens are now hard-stopped by a hostile timekeeper at 3 minutes. Mr. Dowd’s motivation for his harsh restriction was that he is too busy and he gets tired of excessive citizen input.

My opponent confuses censorship of the public as having civility. BOA people who voted to restrict citizens’ voice really do not want to hear citizens’ viewpoints in meetings.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

By way of RSA 47:12, our little-noticed Board of Health had an outsized impact with the BOA’s O-20-018 and O-20-029 masking ordinances. These ordinances were poorly structured. These cited no authoritative source for qualifying a mandate. They contained mandated face coverings proven ineffective against virus (fabric mask, scarf, or bandana) and applied masking only to building complex of greater than two (2) units without rational basis. They arbitrarily allowed a baseless face-covering exception while dining in a restaurant. They provided no criteria for the sun-setting ordinance, except saying “until rescinded”. When these ordinances were rescinded, their decision was based on no criteria, only a recommendation from CDC. No measure of achieving the end goal was ever established.
While the governor’s Executive Order promulgations were sufficient by way of DHHS, the BOA authorized the mayor with arbitrary powers per O-21-065: “… the Mayor shall have the authority to adopt rules regarding mask-wearing in non-educational city buildings not governed by the Board of Education.”

The BOA has demonstrated a lack of competence, a willingness to delegate arbitrary powers to the mayor and an ease with depriving citizens of their freedom. I would have demanded acceptable remedies to the ordinance deficiencies.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

My FaceBook page presents numerous issues I would like to rectify. These, and their solutions, will be better formed once I have unfettered access to the city’s resources.

https://www.facebook.com/electdanrichardson

I am well aware that, to preserve their control of the board, elected officials trot out a revived smear job. Unfortunately, some believe such obvious out-of-context contrivance. I am sure that most citizens would not be happy with their officials desperately clinging to power as such, with little to show for their elected term. I will not likewise dishonor myself.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Prior Ward 3 Successful Initiatives As Ward 3 Alderman

Protected Greeley Park – Sponsored ordinance to require BOA approval of structures or monuments in Greeley. Defended Greeley from spoilage with private structures.

Protected Residential Neighborhood From Construction Trucks – Sponsored ordinance prohibiting 10,000 lbs GVWR trucks to cut-through residential areas to Concord Street.

Stood Against City Hall Threats– Protested public-private Circumferential Highway toll road through Ward 3 residential by way of eminent domain.

Increased Exemption for Elderly Property Tax – The city adaptation of state law for exemptions had lagged the valuations. The ensuring reduction in property taxes was justice for our Blind and Elderly.

Prior Success as Citizen Advocate

Pushed For Concord Street Crosswalk Safety – Advocated for improved crosswalk redesign with traffic calming islands and pedestrian bollards.

Nashua Catholic School Speed Zone – Pressed city for speed limit and in-street crosswalk signage placement supporting Nashua Catholic Regional Jr. High School.

Intervened Pennichuck Logging Violations – Brought in NH-DES to address Pennichuck logging contractor violating NH Best Practices.

Stood Against Labyrinth in Greeley Park – Moved to Rotary Park.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Be careful of the words you say, keep them soft and sweet; You never know from day to day which ones you'll have to eat.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

As a former alderman, I served on the Finance and Budget Committees. Our cooperative colleagues and Mayor Streeter decreased the FY2007 operating budget by 3.5% ($223 M to $215 M) from the prior year, a historic easing of the tax burden to protect fixed-income seniors and low-wage earners.

I am a Nashua resident since 1986. Much of my career was Systems Engineering. The products I helped design, test, and produce were DoD radar and missiles. My last transition was to manage and develop requirements for a 3D volume X-ray imaging evolution in the health care field.

Being retired, I have the time to engage in civic improvements and solving issues. I am versed in the city charter, the ordinances, the history of issues, parliamentary rules, and NH state statutes. I have originated ordinances and resolutions. I am prepared.

https://www.facebook.com/electdanrichardson

I believe there is power in diversity of viewpoints.
I believe in individual privacy and dignity.
I support individual Constitutional liberties without impacting those of others.
I believe vigorous debate exposes proposal weaknesses.
I believe slow action on important matters gets it right the first time.
I believe in listening to any citizen motivated to speak without restriction in public forum.
I believe in any citizen being heard by his fellows on local government TV.