Democracy, as we understood even from our earliest civics lessons in grade school, is a system of government by the whole population, or a subset of certain eligible members of the state. Typically, democracies function via elected representatives, who enact policy according to the wishes of the majority of its members. It is worth noting, in this 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, that our democracy has had a long and shameful history of disenfranchising from democratic participation, voters who were born here, but were excluded on the basis of their race, gender, age, ability to pay a poll tax, or pass some other test.

This year, something important has happened. In our nation and in our state of New Hampshire, we no longer live in a proper democracy. This is not entirely the result of COVID-19, but the erosion has accelerated while we have been so distracted by the pandemic disaster that has been amplified by malign government. This is a deliberate betrayal of leadership’s responsibility to act in the interest of the public good.

Governor Sununu has vetoed 79 bills that passed with majorities in both the House and the Senate. Representative Jackie Cali-Pitts of Portsmouth, who has served in the House for more than 23 years, remarked to me today, “The majority, duly elected by the people, has written and passed all these bills. It’s a serious thing to go against the will of the people.” The voice of the majority of the people has been taken away by these vetoes.

Many people seem confused about Sununu’s role during the pandemic, and think he’s done a good job because the sickness has been less severe in New Hampshire than in some other places in the country. But Sununu has not done a good job with coronavirus – the people of New Hampshire have done a good job and deserve the credit. 

The majority of people have been doing more than is required by the government. Most people have been helping their neighbors and have been wearing masks to protect others around them, even total strangers at the supermarket. 

The Governor has failed to mandate masks on the state level, I believe because then the state would be required to pay for the mandates. Instead, towns are left to devise their own measures, for which they alone have to pay. Towns are having to pay for measures they feel are necessary to reopen schools, out of your property taxes. So, do you wonder who the Governor has been giving the CARES money to? Did you read reports (InDepthNH.org and Concord Monitor) about the Governor awarding no-bid contracts to companies that have supported his campaign?

As I write this, I have just returned from the seat of the people’s power in New Hampshire government: Durham, New Hampshire. Yes, you read that correctly – not Concord. No representative government exists in Concord any longer, ever since March when the State House was locked to all elected representatives of the people: the House, the Senate, and the Executive Council. Isn’t it a peculiar priority that the legislature remains shut down, even after the Governor has permitted venues like indoor bars and restaurants to re-open?

Today in Durham, the first order of business was to vote on whether to ask the following question of the New Hampshire Supreme Court:

“Would holding a session of the New Hampshire House of Representatives remotely, either wholly or in part, whereby a quorum could be determined electronically, violate Part II, Article 20 of the New Hampshire Constitution?”

In other words, during the pandemic, could the House’s work be conducted legally by Zoom, or some similar technology? What the Supreme Court must answer is whether they believe the intent of the framers of the Constitution, having never foreseen the emergence of today’s telepresence communication technology, would today include online participation as “present” for the purpose of the legislative body’s debates and votes.

Disgraceful Behavior

A raucous argument followed, with Republican members taking various obstructive positions. They argued against the question to the Supreme Court while injecting further requirements, all the way up to proposing a thorough legal review by the Supreme Court of the entire New Hampshire Constitution (which, if performed exhaustively, could take months or even years to complete). Nevertheless, the measure passed on a simple majority vote, 199 to 134. The Supreme Court has no deadline to compose its answer, however.

Then we moved on to voting to override the Governor’s vetoes, which would require a vote of two-thirds of those members present. To cut to the chase, not a single veto was overturned. 

Not the “paid family leave bill”, which would create an insurance fund to allow a person to take care of a family member during the pandemic. Not the bill that would have authorized pharmacists to administer a COVID-19 vaccine, if one becomes available. Not the bill that creates an independent voter redistricting commission, to end gerrymandering in New Hampshire. Not even a bill that would allow New Hampshire residents exposed to PFAS pollution through their drinking water to receive medical testing. It is shocking to note that even the Republican co-sponsors of bipartisan bills voted against the overrides, such is the sway the Governor holds over them.

At the end of the day, with only a few bills left to discuss, the Sergeant at Arms reported to the Speaker of the House there were beer cans around the places where the Republican faction who refused to wear masks were seated (who were about a third of the Republican caucus), and a few minutes later the entire Republican caucus walked out.

Every Vote Is a Test of Character

Earlier that morning I stood, not at the polished pulpit called “the well” in Representatives’ Hall, but in the middle of the UNH hockey rink, separated 10 feet from any of the other Representatives sitting “on the ice” in folding chairs. I gave a short floor speech for one small net metering bill, HB466. The bill is about selling electricity back to the grid from any privately owned solar, wind, or small hydro facility. I believe the outcome of that vote is very important because the bill is so simple that its lack of complexity provides no cover to the behavior which I find disgraceful and corrupt on the part of the Repubican caucus. Even the Governor’s veto message included false claims of “subsidies,” “handouts,” and “cost increases” that are nowhere in the bill. Here is the text of my short speech:

“Thank you Mr Speaker, and thank you in advance to all of you, for two minutes of your kind attention.

“HB 466 increases the apportionment for net energy metering provisions from electrical facilities with total generating capacity of 100 kilowatts to 125 kilowatts.

“I trust that after so much discussion in this body, we all understand that ‘net-metering for customer-generators’ means the same thing in terms of free enterprise, as being allowed to sell your surplus tomatoes, grown in your own garden, to the local farm stand at something resembling the local going price. The only thing this bill changes is that the maximum quantity allowed is bumped up from 100 tomatoes to 125 tomatoes.

“This increase is largely symbolic, but nevertheless important, because it signals New Hampshire’s willingness to move in the 21st century direction of clean energy and supporting private energy enterprises, rather than stubbornly clinging to old ways that involve dirty energy and that support monolithic, monopolistic energy giants.

“According to a Yale survey dated just two weeks ago, the majority of New Hampshire adults are worried about climate change. And two-thirds of all New Hampshire adults favor changes in government policies to address the causes of climate change. (You can look at the data yourself at Yale Climate Opinion Maps.) My point is, that by supporting clean energy, HB466 is a symbolic step, perhaps not a large step, but a symbolic step, in the direction that the people we represent believe is the direction our state’s energy policy should be moving.

“So I’m going to ask you to vote to override the Governor’s veto, and show the majority of New Hampshire people that you represent their interests, not Big Energy’s. Thank you.”

However, the override vote failed, 199 to 139. I encourage you, if you are interested or outraged, to look up how various New Hampshire Representatives voted, and call out those who represent Big Energy in a letter to the editor.  You can find the data at gencourt.state.nh.us/nhgcrollcalls/rollcallsbyvotesummary.aspx

This, as much as the ballot box, is an important part of your voice and power as a voter in a democracy. Use it, or lose it!