On Thursday evening the Keene City Council, of which I am a member, adopted, on a vote of 11-4, a plan to widen sidewalks, create bicycle/multi-modal transportation lanes, and expand greenspace in the downtown core of our city.

This is part of some renovations in our downtown infrastructure, made necessary by the need to replace the century-old pipes and storm drains that currently exist in the area. The vote that has just taken place designates the broad overall plan for how Main Street and Central Square are to be laid out once the digging is over.

It was always a questions of, how do we put back the surface infrastructure once all the pipes have been replaced? Do we put it back the way it was, reusing a downtown design that was drawn out in the 1980s, to meet the automobile-centric, suburbanization-focused development needs of that era? Or do we modernize the street layout to reflect 21st century values, like walkability, green development, and inclusive urbanism?

In the end, the Council went with a lot of Column A and some of Column B.

The option that was picked - something called the Multilane Hybrid Option - wasn't my first choice. It wasn't my second, third, forth, fifth, or sixth choice, either. 

It was my seventh choice. Don't ever say I'm not one who's able agree to a compromise.

In the end, while I would have preferred a plan with far more substantial changes to our traffic pattern and greenspace, the Multilane Hybrid Option was able to meet the concerns of a strong majority of City Councilors, all of whom have spent a whole lot of time considering the different points of view of a whole lot of people on this topic. That's why, in many ways, this plan reflects the point of view of people who wanted very little change at all.

However, the reason this plan has my support is because it does include protected travel lanes for bicycles and other non automobile-based forms of transportation. I also appreciate that this plan expands the amount of greenspace in Central Square by about 40%.

These new bike lanes - sorry "multi-modal transportation lanes" - are a huge win for green transportation in Keene.

Multi-modal means not just bikes, but scooters, skateboards, small electric vehicles of various types. These are affordable and environmentally-friendly means of getting around our community that will become increasingly attractive transportation options for all sorts of people, especially now that Keene has committed to creating the space in our downtown streetscape that protects riders from the dangers posed by automobile traffic.

Currently, Keene's bike and multi-modal transportation network has a lot of promise, but I could give you a list of significant gaps that are preventing it from being used to its full potential. This plan fills an important gap that goes along Main Street and around Central Square, where its illegal to ride a bike or scooter on the sidewalk and quite dangerous to ride it on the road. 

Based of this latest action of the City Council, the sidewalks in this area will now be expanded and will include an outside lane, where multi-modal traffic is separated from the danger of automobiles by a row of parked cars and from pedestrians through the judicious use of trees and shrubbery. 

This is a big win for Keene, and puts our downtown on a path to reach its full potential as the delightful, green, populous, and prosperous urban core of our broader Monadnock Region.

Apropos of nothing, here is a picture I took in Barcelona this past April.

No Labels originated in 2010, calling itself “a refuge for sensible centrists”, which motivated a caucus called “Problem Solvers” on Capitol Hill.

According to an article on Mother Jones, No Labels refuses to disclose the donors who are contributing to the possible prospect of a third-party presidential candidate for 2024. The organization claims to be bipartisan and while several wealthy donors have given money in the past for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, conservative candidates seem to be favored a little more. For the 2024 election, most contributors gave $5,600. The founder and CEO of No Labels, Nancy Jacobson, called it a “mixed pool of individual contributors including people that want to help our country.”

Well, if they want to help our country, what or who are they hiding?

No Labels hold conference calls regularly with Sen. Joe Manchin (D.-W.Va.) joining in one this past April. If we recall he was just here in Manchester this past week talking up the No Labels organization. During one of those fundraising conference calls in 2022 Jacobson talked of Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Az.) as possibly headlining their ticket.

According to a former Federal Election Commission (FEC) lawyer, Adav Noti, if No Labels is considering possible candidates during meetings with contributors, that could open the organization to legal inspection. “If they’re going around naming potential candidates and somebody donates in response to that, that clearly presents” legal concerns. Current case law says organizations supporting or opposing a “clearly identified candidate” may be regulated as political committees, Noti said.”

Now on to some of the No Labels donors . . . 

In 2021, an IRS filing disclosed longstanding GOP lobbyist Charlie Black, former associate general counsel of the FEC. Kenneth Gross whose specialty is campaign finance and counsels Fortune 500 corporations, and recurring donor John Catsimatidis who contributed more than $600,000 to the Trump Victory Committee around the 2020 election.

Harlan Crow, the billionaire who allegedly “bought” himself a Supreme Court justice with expensive trips and gifts, has been a megadonor while bringing in nearly two dozen other donors by 2021. Crow, who is a Republican stated, “I support No Labels because our government should be about what’s best for America, not what’s best for either political party. That’s also why I’ve supported candidates from both sides of the aisle who are willing to engage in civil discussions to move our country forward.” Having a Supreme Court justice as a “friend” is apparently what’s best for Harlan Crow, also.

Michael Smith, the billionaire founder of the enormous natural gas company Freeport LNG. Not too much of a stretch to figure out where his sentiments lie. He has supported Republican senators and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.). However, he has also donated smaller amounts to Democrats who are seen as moderate, Jon Tester (D-Mn.) and Manchin.

Speaking of Manchin, the Senator who drives around in a $90,000 Maserati Levante and occasionally charters his 65’, $250,000 yacht named “Almost Heaven”, coal country seems to have been very good to him. His daughter, Heather Bresch is the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Mylan, and she had donated the maximum allowed to the Mylan PAC ($5,000) during both the 2010 and 2012 elections. Her father received $10,000 in 2010 from Mylan. From 2007 to 2016, Mylan increased the price of EpiPens by 461 percent, from about $100 for a package of two pens to about $600. Remember that?

Iris Smith, wife of billionaire Michael, has donated to No Labels. More than $500,000 went to Joe Biden’s presidential victory fund, which splits the money between the Biden campaign and other Democratic groups. But weeks before she made this donation, she donated to the reelection campaigns for Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Thom Tillis (R-NC). She has donated to Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ar). 

Another Republican donor is Tom McInerney, a private-equity investor, who regularly donates to the Republican National Committee and GOP-linked super-PACs.

Florida real-estate developer, Allan Keen, is a donor who in the past contributed to Trump. Additionally, he had supported the campaigns of the family Bush, father and two sons, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. Recently he’s contributed to Manchin and Sinema.

Peter Resnick, an investor from Connecticut, gave No Labels Action, a super-PAC, $93,000 in 2018. He also supported the presidential campaigns of Obama and Biden, in addition to contributing to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) last year. 

Other donors: Thomas McLarty III, who was Pres. Bill Clinton’s first White House chief of staff.
Alfred Spector, a noted computer scientist who was once vice president of research at Google, then a top executive at Two Sigma Investments, a tech-oriented hedge fund.
Martha Ehmann Conte, a San Francisco-based investor and philanthropist who co-founded WomenRun, which identifies and supports “center-right Republican women to run for federal elected office”.
Dennis Blair, a former US director of national intelligence and a No Labels board member.

People with money. Part of the problem. Don’t be fooled by “No Labels”. Or “Americans for Prosperity” either. A Koch (billionaire) brothers super PAC. Although only one brother is left now . . .

A group called “No Labels” has now come into public view by the recent visit to New Hampshire by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman (R). But upon closer inspection, this group has been in quiet existence since at least 2019, if not before. Their “mission,” they claim, is to create a space for moderates on both the left and the right to come together and find solutions above partisan disputes. 

Sounds fair . . .

No Labels, is a “bipartisan” organization whose stated goal is to add a third-party candidate to the ballot in every state for next year’s presidential election. An initial town hall gathering was held on Monday, July 17, here in New Hampshire at St. Anselm College in Manchester. Both Huntsman and Manchin were the featured speakers. In what was presented as the “Common Sense” agenda, they spoke about climate change, gun violence, mental health issues and the nation’s debt along with the potential of a bipartisan third-party ticket. 

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.), stated the purpose of No Labels is to reunite political parties and people, to "stop the partisanship and incivility and refusal to compromise that divided our country and disabled our government" and to bring about new ideas.

No Labels wants candidates who can "declare their freedom from the anger and divisiveness that are ruining our politics and most importantly, our country."

Sounds fair . . .

Manchin feels political parties have moved either too far left and/or right. Both men feel the need for a third-party candidate. No Labels is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment but wants restrictions on semiautomatic rifles and universal background checks. The organization also wants stronger border regulations, while supporting citizenship for those who were brought to this country illegally as children. No Labels is looking to bring compromise to politics.

Okaaay . . .

That could explain a No Labels blended ticket of a moderate Democrat and a moderate Republican for president and vice-president. So, while they claim to be exploring the possibility of a third-party candidate, No Labels also claims to not being committed to it. Wait. What? 

According to founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson, the organization would put a halt to its presidential pursuits if their efforts are in effect helping Trump. In a recent interview with NBC News she insisted No Labels will go forward in its third-party attempts only if they feel they can win without wasting votes. (huh?) The organization will take another look at the candidates next April and will only jump in the race if it appears the voters don’t want either candidate from the Democrat and Republican parties. 

Not sure how they will be able to gauge that as polls have gotten more and more untrustworthy over the years.

Data for Progress, a left leaning think tank wrote, “It’s evident that even under the best of conditions, a moderate third-party candidate is highly unlikely to secure the vote share needed to win the White House, further underlying the nonviability of a No Label candidacy. With no feasible path to victory, such a campaign would only serve to split Independent voters, undermine Biden’s reelection campaign, and likely spoil the election in favor of Trump.”

No Labels has gathered $70 million in donations and is seeking ballot access in every state. They have been successful in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Utah. A national convention is being planned for next April in Dallas.

It's quite a ways off to the next election, but we need to be aware and informed. Stay tuned as my next article will be about who has donated to No Labels.

This past Saturday I was on the radio show, WKBK's "What's Happening with Mike Hoefer," together with fellow Keene City Councilor Mike Giacomo. We were talking about the ongoing debate surrounding Keene's downtown infrastructure project.

You can listen here.... might want to skip through the commercials.

Some people heard this and seem to think I'm against restaurants downtown. I'm not! I love restaurants. But restaurants are expensive - eating out is a luxury many can't afford - and there are only so many restaurants that a city the size of Keene can support. 

Walk around and take a look at how few of our vaunted outdoor dining spaces are in use at any given time, and consider that we may have already bumped up against the limits of consumer demand.

We need more than restaurants, we need a diverse set of businesses downtown. It wasn't long ago that we had a pharmacy, a bike shop, and a store selling menswear downtown, but those places are gone.

The one way that downtown can really prosper is by having lots of people who live and work there. And we can make that happen - there is plenty of space available in the downtown area for high-density residential build-outs. But we need the transportation infrastructure to support it, infrastructure that works on a human scale. A downtown built primarily for the convenience of automobile drivers isn't going to to get us there.

Looking out my windows today, I see more rain! And not just a light, summer soaking for the lawns and gardens, no! A constant deluge of pouring down bucketsful of water! So, in between running down to my basement and garage to check for incoming water, I sit in front of my computer to expound on the immediate need for climate action! Not just here in New Hampshire, but nationally, globally . . .

In 2009, the state developed a climate action plan, which influenced the state’s energy efficiency goals and performance for new buildings. The document was also influential for some legislation on climate and energy policy. Unfortunately, it was never updated or codified into law after being released. 

So now, for the first time in fourteen years, New Hampshire is creating a new climate action plan, all thanks to Pres. Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” of 2022.

This new law includes $5 billion for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. From that amount, $250 million is earmarked to help states, including local governments, territories and tribes, create or update current plans which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Then, an additional $4.6 billion will become available to assist in carrying out these plans. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), grants will most likely be awarded in July and August. Those who receive the grants will have a March 1, 2024 deadline to turn in their completed plans for consideration. 

Last month, the NH state budget was signed by Gov. Sununu. It included a $3 million federal grant which supports developing climate action plans nationally. Hopefully, this climate action plan will be updated as needed and put into place as soon as possible, as this current weather situation (abnormal rainfall and abnormal heat) is unsustainable for New Hampshire, the United States and the globe!

In 2021, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and 22 co-sponsors introduced House Resolution 541, “Expressing support for the recognition of July as ‘Muslim-American Heritage Month’ and celebrating the heritage and culture of Muslim Americans in the United States.” 

The resolution is an acknowledgment of the many accomplishments of Muslim-Americans in fields such as entrepreneurship to politics, from medicine to sports. The resolution identifies remarkable ethnic and racial diversity among a people who can trace their roots to nearly half the countries in the world, people who identify as Asian, Black, Latino and White. Nationally, there are just under 4.5 million Muslims. Worldwide? More than two billion.

The history of Muslims in the United States goes back 400+ years, including many Asian and Black Americans a part of their ethnic community. Did you know Muslim-Americans fought in every war since the American Revolution? 

Here in New Hampshire, there are approximately 1,172 Muslims according to World Population Review as of May, 2023. In Manchester is the state’s largest mosque, The Islamic Society of Greater Manchester, with other smaller mosques in Concord, Dover, Nashua and Windham. 

In 2020, Aboul Khan (R-Rockingham) was the first Muslim-American elected to the NH House of Representatives. He was re-elected last year for another two year term. 

This month, we salute the successes and diversity brought to our state and local communities by Muslim-Americans.

Governor Chris Sununu recently struck a blow in favor of childhood lead poisoning when he vetoed HB 342. 

The bill would have changed the health form that parents fill out when their child enters school or child-care to include the results of a blood lead test. Parents who do not get their kid this routine test would be provided with a brochure explaining the risk that lead exposure poses to their child’s developing brain, with the goal of encouraging them to get their child tested.

Such things have been effective in encouraging blood lead testing in other states. 

There are, of course, opportunities for parents to opt out of all this based on religious beliefs or whatever half-baked ideas they might have picked up listening to right-wing talk radio. It’s important to recognize that nobody is forcing parents to do anything here.

Although, let’s be clear: anyone who intentionally dodges lead testing for their child is being a reckless and neglectful parent - straight up. The impact of lead exposure on a child’s brain can be lifelong and debilitating, and all children deserve parents who will protect them from this danger.

Current law – signed by Gov. Sununu in 2018 – requires that kids aged one and two get tested for blood lead test. Compliance with that law isn’t great – in 2021, 40% of two-years-olds and 50% of one-year-olds did not get tested. In particular, a lot of testing was skipped during the pandemic years, meaning that a lot of children will soon be entering school who have never been tested at all.

But the Chris Sununu of 2023 wants to make sure that nothing is done about this. He called the bill an “unnecessary check on parents.”

Its interesting to me that Sununu would reach for the “parents rights” rhetoric here, a la Moms for Liberty and Ron DeSantis. It’s a dog whistle as loud as a tuba.

As a parent myself, I take particular exception to this rhetoric.

But for all their bluster about Critical Race Theory, panic about transgender people using the bathroom, and deep concern over woke library books, it’s funny how Republican leaders don’t give a fig about something that actually harms children.

More good news for New Hampshire, thanks to the Biden administrations policies for clean energy and environmental issues, specifically the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021!

According to a recent  new report from the U.S. Department of Energy, between 2021-2022, NH added nearly 650 clean energy jobs. We are also seeing energy jobs experiencing an increase nationwide. 

The report listed the (nationwide) clean energy jobs:
11,299 positions in energy efficiency
8,199 jobs in motor vehicles
5,842 jobs in electric power generation
3,448 jobs in transmission, distribution and storage
1,367 jobs in fuels

For those who are interested in learning more about clean energy in NH or to become active in promoting the work towards a clean energy future: Clean Energy NH

Other good news is the expansion of clean energy jobs such as solar and wind power and zero emissions vehicles, surpassed that of all other jobs nationally! The United States has set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “Net-zero emissions” refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced, avoided, and removed from the atmosphere.

Good news indeed, as we watch and experience for ourselves the negative effects of climate change and extreme weather!

What is libertarianism? It is a political philosophy that advocates only minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens.

According to Brittanica, “Libertarians are classical liberals who strongly emphasize the individual right to liberty. They contend that the scope and powers of government should be constrained so as to allow each individual as much freedom of action as is consistent with a like freedom for everyone else. Thus, they believe that individuals should be free to behave and to dispose of their property as they see fit, provided that their actions do not infringe on the equal freedom of others.”

Libertarianism is a combination of minimal government fiscal conservatism, free trade, low taxes. They favor more gun rights, less restrictive drug laws, and (sometimes) favorable views on gay marriage. The Libertarian Party has been in existence since about the 1970’s.

What is agorism? It is a free-market anarchist political philosophy that believes the ultimate goal is bringing about a society in which all "relations between people are voluntary exchanges”, a free market.

Agorism believes the government has no right to ban, regulate or tax any exchange of goods or services through mutual consent. In other words, do what you what, when you want, however you want. Agorism is a plank of the official 2023 New Hampshire Libertarian Party platform, run by Free Staters and other Anarcho-Capitalists. 

The founder of the “Free State Project” (FSP) is Jason Sorens, now in his 40’s and a lecturer at Dartmouth. In 2001, he organized a migration of 20,000 Libertarians, anarchists, anarcho-capitalists, pacifists, even some like-minded Democrats and Republicans, to New Hampshire. Here they sought to create an even freer NH, free from laws and rules; free from government-issued currency, public schools and libraries; free from rules and laws that keep us safe such as environmental and zoning regulations, speed limits, drug laws (think fentanyl).

These new transplants immediately assimilated into NH life; lawyers, hair stylists, business owners, crypto dealers and most importantly, politicians. They quickly discovered there were already some elected officials and residents who were like-minded and formed the Liberty Alliance. Many of their members (FSP) got themselves elected to local planning, zoning, library and school boards. 

In the NH House, this group called themselves the “House Freedom Caucus.” They generally run as Republicans, however, there was at least one who ran as a Democrat. By the year 2000, the NH House Republicans were under their control. They began the process of defunding public education with the help of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. They opposed vaccine mandates, and strangled the governor’s emergency powers. All this and more was accomplished with the help of FSP board member Greg Moore, who is also the (NH) State Director of Americans for Prosperity. (think Koch brothers, although one is now deceased.)

Each year in NH, the Free State Project officially sponsors two events; the Liberty Forum, and The Porcupine Freedom Festival, or Porcfest. The Porcfest is a week-long festival held at a campground in Lancaster. At the Porcfest, those who are interested in doing so, are advised to seek volunteer positions in their towns. This way, when they want to seek an elected position they already have name recognition. 

As of May 2022, roughly 6,232 people had moved to NH for the Free State Project,17 of them hold seats in the NH House.  One of them is House Majority Leader and FSP member Jason Osborne.

2024 will be here before we know it. Before you vote, learn all you can about the people running for office who want to represent you! 

This guy!

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Monadnock Shopper-News' Best of Monadnock 2023 Awards. I was hoping for a bronze and won the silver.

It was a clean sweep for Keene City Hall, with Mayor George Hansel taking gold, and Randy Filiault, who sits next to me on the City Council, taking bronze.