State Rep. Al Baldassaro, R-Londonderry, is known for his fiery passion for his hometown and for his beloved Republican Party. He'll never be accused of being unwilling to go to the mat for people or causes he believes in.
However, exhibiting such unfettered vigor on a regular basis is a bit like playing political Russian roulette. Every once in a while, you find yourself clearly on the wrong side of an issue.
Such was the case at the Londonderry Town Council meeting on Oct. 6, when Baldassaro blew a gasket over a decision announced by Town Moderator Cindi Rice Conley to require candidates and supporters to remain at least 1,000 feet from the entrance to the town's polling place at Londonderry High School during the general election on Nov. 4.
Immediately, Baldassaro jumped to the conclusion that the move was a political maneuver by Conley, a Democrat, to limit Republican presence on Election Day. He put a call in to Greg Carson, the Rockingham County Republican Committee Chair, and within 15 minutes, the duo had put together an impromptu press conference and were tossing around accusations and threats of lawsuits like so much verbal confetti.
For her part, Conley has stated that decision, made with the guidance of other town officials, was made with public safety in mind. A record number of voters is expected, thanks to a ballot with a full slate of hotly contested races. In the minds of Conley and representatives from the Fire and Police departments, and school district, taking steps to avoid a potential log jam of people around the entrance to the school building is prudent, even if it means breaking with tradition and removing the gauntlet of politicos that voters generally have to walk through before casting their ballot.
Part of the problem is that Londonderry, a town of nearly 30,000 people, has just one polling place.
The bottom line is that Conley, as town moderator, has every right to impose whatever type of restrictions she wants when it comes to the town's polling place, which includes the building and the property it sits on. A spokesman for the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office confirmed this,
Carson and Baldassaro missed a golden opportunity here to seize the moral high ground. They should have seized the moment and publicly endorsed Conley's decision, making clear the Republican Party puts the safety of the public and easy voter access ahead of political banter.
Instead, they took the easy route of throwing around political accusations. Local Republican leaders need to step up and do a better job if they hope to reclaim control of the Statehouse and Congress.
A complete thrashing
Congratulations to the young men and women of Pinkerton Academy for their thoroughly dominating performance in winning the annual Mack Plaque competition against Londonderry High.
It was a landslide victory for the Astros, who won eight of nine contested games. The only blemish on their record came in field hockey, in which Londonderry and Pinkerton battled to a 1-1 tie.
Londonderry High deserves credit for acting as gracious hosts to the event, not always easy to do when you are on the short end of the results.
Overall, sportsmanship was the rule of the day. And in the rare instances when it was not, coaches stepped in and showed the type of leadership we've come to expect at these schools. Special recognition goes to Pinkerton boys' soccer coach Kerry Boles, whose team is 11-0-0 on the season, but who proved that he expects his players to show championship character as well.
Mack Plaque is a unique athletic tradition in New Hampshire and just one more reason for the residents of Derry, Chester and Londonderry to be proud of their schools and their young people.
