Following receipt of this explosive letter, the thoughtful reader has many questions. We ask:
- Who are the four individuals mentioned in the Attorney General’s report who have yet to be identified? We know Steve Marchand was a central figure. Who else was involved? Knowing this will point the way to seeing how broad and deep the corruption is. It is important to “follow the money.” We have a hunch, given how much money had to be spent to fund these dirty tricks, that one or several real estate developers were involved. We also suspect, in spite of denials to the contrary, that people up and down the State Democratic Party were at least knowledgeable, if not financially involved.
- We also wonder, given how much the City management benefits from a compliant, “8-to-1” City Council, if a current or former City employee was directly or indirectly involved. This is still speculative, but we need to stay tuned.
- We would hope that those who are fingered in this mess, those who are either directly or indirectly guilty, have to figuratively be placed in the stocks in Market Square. They need to be made an example of as people who embrace all the City abhors. They have sullied the City’s reputation. They should be publicly shamed.
- Further, Marchand and his cronies have destroyed the good will in the City and made the atmosphere charged with partisanship. It’s ironic that Marchand’s buddies complained about the lack of civility in the previous City Council. We observe that the last City Council was no more or less contentious than earlier Councils. But the complaints about a lack of civility were really that psychological trick of projection. Those who complained about a lack of civility were perhaps the most acerbic and offensive. And we now see that perhaps they, too, were involved in a fraudulent election.
- Marchand and others have poisoned the well of non-partisan politics. It will take a long time to remove this stain on the City culture, but we have to start scrubbing it away immediately.
- We are heartened by the State’s response. Thank goodness there are those in our government who are ready to stand up and have the spine necessary to identify wrongdoings and the perpetrators. We would hope they can assist us in responding to this by making sure our City is cleaned of this ilk.
The Editorial Staff, Portsmouth Pulse
