Nashua Mayor James Donchess

Union, Concord, Rye, Manchester, Milford, and Newfields. Why are politicians from these towns appointing Nashua Police Commissioners?

During the City Election on Tuesday, Nashua’s voters will have the opportunity to take local control of their police commission by voting “Yes” on Question 2, so that appointments to the Nashua Police Commission will be made right here in Nashua.

The proposed change to the City Charter would have the Mayor appoint 3 commissioners and the President of the Board of Aldermen appoint 2, with all appointments needing the approval of the full Board of Aldermen. Today, Nashua is the only city in the State that does not select its own police commissioners. Every other city and town in New Hampshire exercises local control over its police department.

In 1891, the State took control of police commission appointments for a number of cities, including Manchester, Laconia, Portsmouth, and others. However, all of these communities have since voted to take back local control and end State appointments to their police commissions.

The system of State appointments has created unequal access to the police commission. In 130 years, only 1 woman has ever been appointed to serve as a Nashua Police Commissioner. That is not for a lack of qualified and interested women. These positions are not publicly noticed when they are opening and the entire process happens behind closed doors.

Switching to local appointments will introduce transparency into the process for the first time. The Governor and Executive Council do not hold public hearings on these appointments and do not have other opportunities for Nashua residents to provide input on nominees.

Nashua residents should have a say in who serves on their Police Commission. With local appointments, all nominees will have public hearings in City Hall, broadcast on Channel 16, where the public can ask questions and give their input on these nominations.

The proposed charter language says that appointments will be made based on “qualifications, merit, and a record of community service.” Whether or not candidates meet these qualifications will be discussed in public for all of Nashua to see. That does not happen today.

This change will also expand the Nashua Police Commission from 3 members to 5. These seats will create more room for a commission that better reflects our City, starting with having more women serve as police commissioners. It also means bringing a more diverse set of experiences and backgrounds to the table to represent the unique interests of our community.

Some opponents of local control have tried to suggest that these reasonable, common sense reforms to improve the connection between the residents of Nashua and their Police Department will endanger the national accreditation the department has from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

There are 12 other CALEA accredited municipal police departments in New Hampshire. All of those communities — including Manchester, Laconia, Portsmouth, and others who used to have State appointments to their police commissions — have local control of their police commissions.

These same opponents have also said that people who vote “Yes” on Question 2 do not support our police department or our police officers. This is a ridiculous claim, and it implies that every other community in New Hampshire that has local control does not support its police department. No one is questioning the service or sacrifice of our police officers, and it is unfortunate that this is even being suggested.

The citizens who collected the signatures to put this question on the ballot do support our police officers. They saw a way to make their Nashua Police Commission more connected to the community, and exercised their rights under State law to put this proposed change on the ballot.

Some opponents of local control have also tried to create confusion by suing the City and arguing these citizens didn’t collect enough signatures. If the judge believed the petition did not collect enough signatures, he would have ordered that the ballot question not go forward.

This is the first time Nashua voters have been given the opportunity to have their voices heard on if they want local control of their police commission instead of State appointments.

State appointments make Nashua an anomaly in New Hampshire. State appointments have prevented some members of our community from serving on the Nashua Police Commission. State appointments have excluded Nashua residents from the decision making process in favor of politicians from other parts of the State.

Please join me in voting “Yes” on Question 2, so we can make our Nashua Police Commission more transparent, accountable, and fair for all of Nashua.

Jim Donchess is mayor of Nashua.