Mayor Jim Donchess has a solution looking for a problem. For the past 120 years the Nashua Police Commissioners have been appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Executive Council in an effort to keep this bipartisan commission away from local politics. The system has worked exceptionally well and there is no good reason to change it. Mayor Donchess claims he wants local control, but this is simply a power grab. The city has local control because the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor have control over the police department’s budget. It is interesting that Mayor Donchess is trying to make this a referendum on the ballot in a mid-term election when few people vote. There has only been one public meeting held to discuss this important topic which was not well publicized. Our Chief of Police is vehemently opposed to this idea. A few years ago, the police department was required to investigate an alderman on charges of misappropriation of funds in a school renovation project. How would this be handled if the aldermen and the mayor appoint the commissioners? Why rush to get this ill-conceived idea on the ballot? Our police department is one of the best in the entire country. Our police commissioners are removed from local politics. I believe a change in the selection process for commissioners would negatively impact the professionalism of our police department and is not in Nashua’s best interests. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

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